Hundreds
of people have queued in the rain outside Holy Trinity Church in Cork
to venerate the relics of St Anthony, one of the most popular saints in
the Catholic Church.
The relics - a small piece of bone from the Saint's rib and a layer
of St. Anthony's cheek skin - are being brought to six venues around
Ireland.
Earlier this morning, Bishop of Cork and Cloyne Dr John Buckley
received the gold reliquary containing the relics at the entrance to the
church.
St Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1195.
He is the patron saint of lost and stolen articles and was a powerful Franciscan preacher and teacher.
Mass at 12.30pm will be followed by veneration until 8.30pm.
The relics will be brought to Limerick tomorrow, then Galway on
Tuesday and on Wednesday they will return to Dublin to St Mary's of the
Angels on Church Street.