St. Paul daily globe., 1895-08-30
A SACRED RELIC.
A Portion OF st. Anne,s Arm, Cur
ing the Faithful of New York.

n u
ing the Faithful of New York.
New York World, July Is.
The little Church of ST. Jean Bap-
tiste, in East Seventy-siXth street,
owes a great deal to st. Anne, the
mother of the Virgin Mary. In 1892
the church was struggling with a
heavy debt, and was hampered in
it's work of charity and pfety by
lack of funds. Through New York
came a relic, a. part of the arm of
st. Anne. It was on its way to Mon
treal to work miracles. The pastor of
st. Jean Baptfste got it's custodian
to stop with him and exhibit the
relic in his church. Thousands hocked
there; the relic is said to have
wrought many cures, and the church
was set upon the firm rock of pros
perity.
Then the church built new shrine
to st. Anne, and got from Europe a
small piece of her arm, and has had
it there ever since, to the curing of
many and to the edification of ali
good Catholics. And now that July
26 is only ten days away, the church
has begun a novena to st. Anne, a
nine days preparation for the cele-
bration of her feast day-July 26
Yesterday was, therefore, the first
day of the novena, and all day long
the church was the scene of special
acts of devotion and piety.
There were two sermons, morning
rv,
special subject. But. most important
of all, there was a priest in attend
ance all day long, and every hour
he sat at the chancel rail with the
relic in his hand to give to all who
blessed chance to come forward
and kiss it and be touched with it.
The shrine of st. Anne is to the left,
at the end Of the western aisle of
the church-a wonderful work of art,
With its marble and gold, it's cary
1ngs and statuary. Usually the relic
is suspended before the image of
st Anne. is in an oval silver box,
costly and beautiful. Instead of a
lid, there is a piece of glass immov-
ably fixed in the top, and through
this the relic may be seen. From
early yesterday morning until late
last evening the people were coming
to be benefited by contact with the
relic.
Every month the church issue a
pamphlet called The Annals, and in
the last page Of it is a. list of those
who have been benefited during the
past month. Usually those who thus
make public Acknowledgement of OBJ
legation to st. Anne number not less
than dozen. So the fame of the
relic is still growing. The most of
the visitors yesterday were young
women. Many of them brought lit
tie children with them; not a few
were girls.
They spent the time preceding the
welcoming of the priest in general
devotions. When the priest sat on
the chancel rail they went forward.
and, kneeling, kissed the glass cover
of the box, and then got the priest
to touch it to their heads, their hands
or TO the clothing over any particu-
lar part of the body which might
be afflicted. Also they brought scapu-
lars, pictures of sick friends, of their
sweethearts, of the absent. And the
priest rubbed the glass over each
separate article.
The little church in East Seventy
sixth street will daily witness scenes
of intense belief and devotion in
increasing numbers until the end of
the novena- The faces of all who
rise from before the relic or the
shrine are marked with that peculiar
expression of deep conviction that
makes radiant the faces in the pic
lures of the great italian painters
of the Renaissance. Inside the
church and near the altar one feels
years and even centuries away from
the practical, material, natter-of-
fact civilization which is flooded by
the sunlight outside the church
doors.