Catholic Christian Outreach reported on the success of the Canadian pilgrimage of the relic of Saint Francis Xavier. The relic was venerated by almost 79,000 pilgrims, and this event was covered by the media in more than 250 reports.

On tour across Canada at the start of 2018, the right arm of Saint Francis Xavier was exposed at approximately twenty places of worship and in fourteen cities, from one end of the country to the other. The relic of the patron saint of missions was venerated by 78,900 pilgrims.

The relic attracted the greatest number of faithful at St. Francis Xavier Church, in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, where 13,800 pilgrims prayed before the relic of the missionary who evangelized in India. Nearly 2,000 faithful also prayed to the relic of the cofounder of the Society of Jesus during the pilgrimage event at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, the Jesuit parish in Toronto.

The relic was venerated by 1,500 faithful in Quebec City. In Montreal, 4,930 pilgrims gathered before the forearm of Francis Xavier, 500 when the relic was displayed at the Church of the Gesù.    

This pilgrimage received impressive media coverage. More than 250 reports on this event were released in the media. Relayed by 160,433 users of social media, these reports reached almost 84 million individuals. Organized jointly by Catholic Christian Outreach, the Archdiocese of Ottawa and the Jesuits in Canada, this pilgrimage received overall positive media coverage.  

The Jesuit communities of Quebec City (Notre-Dame Residence) and of Montreal (Saint Nom de Jésus Residence) contributed to the success of this pilgrimage, marked by worship and solemnity.

Source: Jesuites.org