ST. THERESE RELICS. A crowd holding red roses surround the pilgrim relic of St. Therese as it is brought to a Laoag City hospital in this file photo. The relic will be brought to Ilocos Norte province on Thursday (Jan. 5, 2023), the third time since 2008. (Photo courtesy of Alaric Yanos)
LAOAG CITY – Devotees of St. Therese of the Child Jesus on Wednesday began preparations for the arrival of her pilgrim relic at the Laoag International Airport on Thursday morning.
The relic will later be brought to the different churches in Ilocos Norte province until Jan. 7.
Rommel Sagucio, 45, a former parish youth leader and anchor of the Catholic media network DZEA here, said St. Therese had greatly influenced his virtues in life.
In his high school days at the St. Jude school in Pagudpud town, Sagucio said his first year class section was named after the famous saint.
It was then that he realized that his birthdate also coincided with the Feast Day of St. Therese.
“You don’t choose your patron saint. I think your saint chooses you,” said Sagucio.
He said her small acts of kindness to others have inspired him to be kind as well, and "do small things with great love.”
St. Therese saw herself as the “Little Flower of Jesus,” just like simple wildflowers in the forest and the fields, unnoticed by many, yet growing and giving glory to God.
A young couple, Clifton and Marishel Moreno from Mangato village in this city likewise named their only child “Therese,” in honor of their aunt who was a devotee of St. Therese.
“When my aunt knew that I was about to give birth to a girl [April 21] on the same month when St. Therese was beatified on April 1923, she gave us lectures about St. Therese's simplicity and her spiritual journey. We then named our child after her as we wanted our daughter to be blessed by the greatest saint of modern times, St. Therese, ”said Marishel in an interview on Wednesday.
Now 14 years old, their daughter Therese continues to make her parents proud both in school and their community.
"We are glad and thankful we named her after a saint which reminds us every day that it is the small things that truly matter in this life,” said Marishel.
Every time the pilgrim relic of St. Therese is brought to the province, the Morenos, including other Ilocano devotees like Sagucio, make time to visit and pray for her intercession.
Since 2000, the relic of the famous saint has been brought back to the country five times.
In Ilocos Norte, the Diocese of Laoag led by Bishop Renato Mayugba is set to welcome the relic as it will be brought to the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, St. William Cathedral, and Mt. Carmel Monastery here on Thursday.
After that, it will be brought to St. Nicholas Parish in San Nicolas, Immaculate Conception Parish in Batac City and at the St. John Bautista Basilica in Badoc town on Friday, then to Nueva Segovia in neighboring Ilocos Sur province on Saturday. (PNA)
