It's the biggest religious sensation in Ireland since the Pope visited 21 years ago, but this time the visitor has been dead for more than 100 years. The relics of the 19th Century French saint, Saint Therese, are on a 75-day tour of the country, and the church claims that three out of five Irish people will have turned out to see them by the end of June. The tour has been organised with military precision. The relics arrive at each new destination in a specially built van, the Theresemobile, at 1400, and remain for 22 hours before travelling onwards across Ireland.
Police supervise the crowds and the Irish army is on hand to carry the casket.
Photographs Silence falls when the silver van comes into view and once the casket has been safely transported into the church, a public address system broadcasts a welcoming service to the crowd outside. Unusually for a saint, there are over 40 photographs of St Therese. The photos show Therese at eight years old, taking her vows to enter the Carmelite order at 17, and even four days after she died of tuberculosis at the age of 24 in 1897. These photos make her more real to her fans and are partly responsible for her popularity. Roses St Therese is traditionally associated with roses.