This June, in honor of the Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, Father Paolo Floretta will bring a holy relic of St. Anthony of Padua from his Basilica in Padua, Italy. Father Paolo will visit four dioceses in the Tri-State area: the New York Archdiocese, The Brooklyn/Queens Diocese, The Paterson, New Jersey Diocese and The Bridgeport, Connecticut Diocese.

Father Paolo is thrilled and honored to bring Saint Anthony of Padua, in the form of a holy relic, to Manhattan and Queens during the week in which the beloved saint's feast day falls – June 13.

Last year, the relics awed and inspired thousands of Catholics in America. Devotion to Saint Anthony is an accepted part of life for many people in the Tri-State region, but an encounter with the relic moves it to the forefront. People describe it as a confirmation of their Catholic faith. Father Mario Conte, Executive Editor of The Messenger of Saint Anthony, in Padua, Italy, reflected that the first Jesuit pope was deeply inspired by Saint Anthony and Saint Francis' love, care and concern for the poor and marginalized. Pope Francis once said "Relics are parts of the body of a saint which was the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Through this body, the saints practiced heroic values recognized by the church."