Greater Sydney will host first class relics of the famous Franciscan friar St Anthony of Padua for three days as they make their way around Australia to Adelaide.
Fr Bartolini Maistrello, a friar from the Pontifical Basilica of St Anthony of Padua, will bring three relics to St Mary’s Cathedral on Friday 5 June.
They will be made available for veneration before and after Masses at 10.30am, 1.10pm and 5.30pm.
Fr Maistrello will preach at each of the three Masses about the patron saint of lost items and souls, who was also a renowned preacher of the Gospel.
He will then take them to two parishes in the Diocese of Parramatta for the weekend. The relics will be presented at Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Kellyville on Saturday, 6 June, and St Padre Pio parish in Glenmore Park on Sunday, 7 June.
The relics include the skin of St Anthony, taken from his body when his casket was opened in 1261, and will be housed in reliquaries related to the saint.
Pope Leo XIV declared 2026 the Jubilee Year of St Francis in honour of the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.
Fr Richardson said the timing of the relics tour “ties in nicely” with the jubilee and the opportunity to visit the Sistine Chapel: Revelations exhibition in the cathedral forecourt.
The relics tour was sponsored by the St Anthony of Padua Committee based in South Australia.
It concludes in Payneham, an Adelaide suburb known as “Little Padova” which celebrates the Feast of St Anthony each June.
“St Anthony is such a popular and well-known saint, and when the committee wrote to the archbishop seeking his permission for the relics to visit here, he was very glad to give them permission and for us to have them here at the cathedral,” said Fr Richardson.
“So many of us, of course, will have been praying to St Anthony for various things over the years.
“So I really encourage people to come and venerate his relics and spend some time in prayer. His intercession has proven to be so helpful for many things.”
For those who wish to learn more about St Anthony of Padua, Fr Richardson recommended the Basilica of St Anthony website, which details the saint’s life, miracles, and teachings at www.santantonio.org
