Denmark: pilgrimage of the relics of St Therese. Bishop Kozon, “be love in the heart of the Church, by loving God without limits”

The last leg of the journey of the relics of Saint Therese of Lisieux and her parents across the Scandinavian countries has begun. The urns containing them, which arrived in Denmark on Sunday, 4 November, will be travelling across the country until 11 November. They will visit the cities of Aalborg, Aarhus, Svendborg, Hillerød, Vedbaek, Hellerup, and Copenhagen. Every stage of their journey will feature a rich programme of celebrations, vigils, and opportunities for reflection and individual prayer. “We must see this pilgrimage as a time of grace, a challenge, and an opportunity”, to do, “here and now”, something that we have not yet managed to do, Danish Bishop Czeslaw Kozon said in the run-up to the arrival of the relics. A pilgrimage is an “important part of our Catholic practice”: not only does it make us “see something new, but it is also an expression of our desire to repent and start anew”. Although in this case it is the “relics that come to us”, Therese’s message is an invitation for us to “be love in the heart of the Church, by loving God without limits, and to be instruments for the propagation of this love”. The Bishop in his letter establishes a connection between the arrival of the relics and the days of fasting and prayer for the Pope, the Church and its renewal that Denmark celebrated on 5-7 October: “There is need for a love that does not make us lose courage, makes us eager to love, and impels us to make up for” our mistakes; there is need for “a love that renews our faith”. The relics will return to France on 11 November.