Dearborn parish, which first hosted first- and second-class relics of St. Pio in 2023, now part of a national initiative
DEARBORN — St. Barbara Parish is now one of five Saint Pio Chapels in the United States that contain a first-class relic of Padre Pio, the famed 20th century Italian Capuchin, abundantly available for public veneration.
On May 10, Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger was on hand to dedicate the chapel while he was celebrating confirmations at St. Barbara Parish, where, at the beginning of Mass, he blessed the assembly with the relic.
“Your Excellency, at this moment we wish to present you with this first-class relic of St. Padre Pio,” said Fr. Zbigniew Grankowski of St. Barbara Parish. “You already blessed us when you came (to St. Barbara) for a funeral service, but officially today we ask you to bless us, and Padre Pio will reside in our parish family for days to come.”
Archbishop Weisenburger received the relic — pieces of cloth containing blood from Padre Pio’s famed stigmata — and then elevated it to bless the people gathered for Mass.
“Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for the blessings of this day through the intercession of St. Padre Pio,” Archbishop Weisenburger prayed. “May we continue to know the depth of your love for each of us and the redemption and holiness to which you call.”
The story behind how St. Barbara Parish became a St. Pio Chapel started when the parish hosted first- and second-class relics when the New York-based Saint Pio Foundation visited the parish in November 2023, when thousands visited the parish to venerate the relics over the course of a weekend.
“It all started when we were celebrating our 100th anniversary as a parish, and we wanted to do something to recognize the Italian community that built St. Barbara, so it was ideal to bring the relics of St. Padre Pio to our church,” Judi Kadela, business manager and pastoral associate for St. Barbara Parish, told Detroit Catholic.
After thousands of people came to St. Barbara Parish to venerate the relics in 2023, a groundswell of devotion to the Italian Capuchin friar began in the parish community.
“The Saint Pio Foundation recognized such a strong devotion to Padre Pio at our parish, and they asked if we would like to become one of their new chapels of St. Pio, where people could come and venerate the saint at all times and not just once in a while when there was a veneration event,” Kadela said.
The Saint Pio Chapels initiative is part of the Saint Pio Foundation’s 10th anniversary celebrations to offer the faithful around the country the opportunity to access a chapel close to home containing a first-class relic of St. Pio.
Others are located in Columbus, Ohio; Tyrone, Ga., in the Archdiocese of Atlanta; Fort Worth, Texas; and Mechanicsburg, Pa., in the Diocese of Harrisburg.
The relic resides on the high altar of St. Barbara Parish, for now, as the pastoral team at the parish figures out a place where the relic is readily available for veneration.
“People here have huge devotions to the saints, and Padre Pio was so active and continues to be active in terms of devotions at the parish, just like St. Charbel,” Kadela said. “Father put out a poster of St. Charbel in the church, because St. Charbel has worked so many miracles for our parish community; he’s one of the first Maronite Catholic saints as well, and he speaks to the Middle Eastern community we have here. But the same thing for Padre Pio and the large contingent of Italian Americans in our church, and for the Spanish-speaking people as well, they have such a devotion to Padre Pio.”
Kadela said the St. Barbara community has always felt Padre Pio’s saintly presence, but now his first-class relic adorns the parish’s high altar, and his witness to the faith and edification of the people is all the greater.
“It’s his presence; it’s like he’s there with you now that we have the relic,” Kadela said. “He’s there for everybody; he calls us his spiritual sons and daughters. It’s like he tells you, and you feel his presence, that he will be there to pray with you. I pray to him every day for miracles, because every day is a miracle, every day is a possibility for more miracles, and we at this parish have seen him do wonders.”
