On Tuesday, March 19, the Solemnity of St Joseph, His Excellency Frank Caggiano, Bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, visited the church of St Catherine of Siena in Trumbull, and deposited relics within the altar, in anticipation of the consecration of the altar and the church, which will take place this coming Sunday, March 24. (During the Mass of that day, the bishop will deposit a relic of the church’s Patron Saint, which will be visible through the grille on the front of the altar.) The relics deposited on March 19th were first-class relics of the martyrs Ss Eugenius and Candidus, which were original to the church, as well as Ss John-Marie Vianney, Frances-Xavier Cabrini, Pius X, Elizabeth Ann Seton, André Bessette, and Bl. John Henry Newman.
The individual reliquaries are tied with ribbons and sealed with the bishop’s seal.
They are then placed in a metal box, which is also tied and sealed.
The bishop places the box of reliquaries inside the altar.
“I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.”
This relic of St Catherine will be placed within the altar on Sunday, held up by the angels on either side of the space behind the grill.
Students from St Catherine of Siena School were on hand to witness the event.
St Catherine of Siena was built in 1958, and at that time blessed for liturgical use, but never consecrated, even after its mortgage was retired. Following recent renovations to the sanctuary, the church will be solemnly consecrated this Sunday. Duncan Stroik AIA is the architect of record for the project. Here we see it before the recent restorations...
... and after.
