Contact: Peter Sonski, Knights of Columbus, 203-752-4182

NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 15, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- A relic of Blessed John Paul II will be available for the veneration of the public at St. Stanislaus Church in New Haven during a 3 p.m. prayer service on Sunday, April 27, the day of the canonization of John Paul and Blessed Pope John XXIII.

By the time of the local observance, which will include events at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, the two blesseds will have been canonized by Pope Francis in Rome and will be known from then on as St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II.

"These two saints have each left very important legacies for the Church, and important examples of holiness for all of us," said Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. "Pope John XXIII led the Church into the Second Vatican Council, and Pope John Paul II served as its key interpreter, leaving the Church a profound legacy that continues to shape the third millennium of Christianity."

Following the prayer service at St. Stanislaus, there will be a procession with the relic along State Street to the Knights of Columbus Museum where it will be available for veneration until 7 p.m. The relic, a fragment of the pope's bloodstained cassock from the May 13, 1981, attempt on his life in St. Peter's Square, is normally housed at the John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., which is also operated by the Knights of Columbus.

Events on the day of canonization at the Knights' New Haven museum will include video presentations on the lives of the two new saints and children's activities. The museum's Papal Gallery, which traces the papacy throughout the Catholic fraternal organization's 132-year history, will be open at 10 a.m.

Retired Hartford Archbishop Daniel Cronin will present, "Personal Memories of Two Pope Saints" at the Knights of Columbus Museum at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 28. Veneration of the relic will also take place that day and on Tuesday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

St. Stanislaus Church, which serves a largely Polish congregation, is located at 800 State St., and the Knights of Columbus Museum is at 1 State St. All events are free and open to the public. For information, visit kofcmuseum.org or call 203-865-0400.