Illinois diocese halts St. Jude relic tour amid ‘incident’ involving priest, students

CNA Staff, Nov 24, 2024 / 15:25 pm (CNA).

A bishop in Illinois has halted in his diocese a traveling tour of a relic of St. Jude following an “incident” that allegedly took place between a visiting priest and several students.

A statement from Father Michael Lane and Father Gregory Alberts at Queen of the Apostles Catholic Church in Joliet, Illinois, said that on Thursday of this week the parish hosted the arm of St. Jude as part of the relic’s ongoing tour throughout the United States.

A priest with the Canadian order Companions of the Cross was overseeing the relic’s visit through the “Treasures of the Church” ministry, the statement said.

During the visit, “an incident with the priest and some students was reported to have happened in our church,” it continued.

“We immediately contacted the police,” the priests said. “A police investigation is still ongoing. The priest was confronted with the information. We informed the priest that he must depart from our parish and out of our diocese.”

The priests subsequently canceled the remainder of the relic’s visit, they said. They further informed Joliet Bishop Ronald Hicks, who “canceled the tour of the relic scheduled at two more of our parishes this week.”

The bishop “also informed the superior of the Companions of the Cross Order of priests” of the incident.

“All involved in this incident are safe,” the priests wrote.

The statement did not identify the priest by name, though the Pillar on Saturday evening reported that the priest was Father Carlos Martins, the director of Treasures of the Church. The ministry said last August that Martins would be leading the St. Jude relic tour throughout the United States.

CNA could not immediately confirm whether Martins was the priest referenced in the statement. Reached by CNA on Sunday afternoon, Martins declined to comment.

Treasures of the Church is based out of Michigan. It identifies itself as a “ministry of evangelization of the Catholic Church” that exists “to give people an experience of the living God through an encounter with the relics of his saints in the form of an exposition.”

Martins is also known for his ministry as an exorcist. The podcast “The Exorcist Files,” hosted by Martins and Ryan Bethea, topped the charts last year with what are claimed to be dramatic reenactments of the priest’s case files.

This is a developing story.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/260667/illinois-diocese-halts-st-jude-relic-tour-amid-incident-involving-priest-students