Devotees told: No selfies with Saint Pope John Paul II’s relic

MANILA, Philippines — Devotees who will visit the Manila Cathedral on Saturday should venerate the blood relic of Saint Pope John Paul II, not take selfies, an official said yesterday.

“Let us give the proper respect to the relic because the relic is not just something to take a picture of, to take selfies with,” cathedral rector Fr. Reginald Malicdem said.

“This is not just a simple museum piece. We must have proper decorum before the presence of a holy person,” he added.

Malicdem asked the faithful to pray for themselves and their loved ones rather than take photos.

Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is set to preside over the welcome mass and opening of the public veneration of the blood relic at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

The relic is just one of the seven vials of the still-liquid blood of the pontiff-turned-saint that are enshrined in churches all over the world.

He said the reliquary used in holding the vial is the exact replica of the one used during his canonization in 2014.

They would also distribute 2,000 prayer cards bearing a third-class relic, which is a piece of cloth wiped in the vial, that would be distributed to those who would join the event.