Up to 1.5 Million People are Expected to Flock to Philippine Churches for Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

Contact: Andrew Walther, 818-522-2005

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26 /Christian Newswire/ -- Relics of Christ's Passion are currently in the Philippines on loan from the Los Angeles-based Apostolate for Holy Relics (AHR). Up to 1.5 million people are expected to turn out as the relics travel to several Catholic churches in Manila and Cubao over the next week and a half. The relics previously toured the United States drawing tens of thousands of pilgrims from Detroit to Honolulu in 2005.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to bring these important relics to the people of the Philippines, and to share with them a very special reminder of Christ's love and sacrifice for us," said Thomas Serafin, AHR president. "Though not everyone can visit the great relic shrines in the Holy Land and in Rome, by bringing these relics to the faithful, we allow them to participate in the millennia-old tradition of honoring these relics of Christ's final hours."

Serafin personally accompanied the relics to the Philippines.

The relics include pieces of Christ's cross, the crown of thorns, the column of flagellation, the holy sepulcher and the nails with which Christ was crucified.

The relics will tour the Philippines – particularly Manila and Cubao – until March 1. A full schedule of the relics visit can be found at the website of the Philippine Catholic Bishops Conference http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/1055

Since 2002, the Apostolate for Holy Relics has been dedicated to the preservation and veneration of relics, and to educating the public about relics. The AHR is a non-profit, tax exempt organization, and an approved apostolate of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.