Announcement about the Tour of the Relic of St. Jude

On Thursday, November 21, 2024, the parish of Queen of Apostles in Joliet hosted the visit of the relic of St. Jude for public veneration. A non-profit, outside ministry called “Treasures of the Church”, was responsible for hosting the relic in the United States. The relic has been on a national pilgrimage in the United States for over a year. The tour and the relic were overseen by a priest with the Companions of the Cross, an Order of priests in Canada.

During the course of the day’s veneration in Queen of Apostles Church, an incident with the priest and some students was reported to have happened in our church. We immediately contacted the police. A police investigation is still on-going. The priest was confronted with the information. We informed the priest he must depart from our parish and out of our Diocese. In an abundance of caution, the veneration of the relic and evening mass were cancelled. These decisions and actions were in accordance with our Diocesan Safe Environment Policies and our Standards of Behavior.

The incident was also immediately reported to Bishop Ronald Hicks of the Diocese of Joliet. On the evening of November 21, Bishop Hicks cancelled the tour of the relic scheduled at two more of our parishes this week. Bishop Hicks also informed the Superior of the Companions of the Cross Order of priests.

All involved in this incident are safe. We are deeply saddened by this incident and all affected by the cancellation of the relic tour. Thank your for your patience as we worked through all the proper protocols, decisions and actions.