25-28 September, Madhavaram: From September 25 to 28, 2026, St. Sebastian's Church in Chennai, India, became a place of pilgrimage and grace as the parish hosted the "2000 Holy Relics" faith experience, a solemn commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi — his passing from earthly life into eternal glory. Organized in communion with the parish community, this witness of the holy relics invited the faithful of Chennai and beyond to encounter, in a tangible way, the "great cloud of witnesses" — St. Francis of Assisi and the many saints who have gone before us in faith.
The four-day celebration opened on Friday, September 25, with a bilingual Solemn Inaugural Mass at 3:00 p.m., with Br. Xavier Duraiaraj, Minister Provincial, presiding over the Holy Eucharist and setting a prayerful tone for the days ahead. Over the following days, the church offered a rich array of Masses in both Tamil and English — from early morning liturgies at 6:00 a.m. to evening celebrations at 6:30 p.m. — ensuring that the community, in all its diversity, could gather around the altar.
Friars were seated throughout these days to hear confessions, and many among the faithful took the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation as part of their preparation for the jubilee grace on offer.
At the heart of the celebration were some 2,000 relics of apostles, martyrs, missionaries, mystics, and saints, presented for the faithful to venerate inside the church. The parish also extended a Plenary Indulgence to all who fulfilled the usual conditions during this jubilee year of St. Francis of Assisi. In this way, the celebration became not only an occasion for veneration but an invitation to conversion and renewed grace.
The concluding bilingual Mass on Monday, September 28, brought the four days of prayer and pilgrimage to a fitting close, sending the faithful forth renewed in the spirit of the Poverello of Assisi. Br. Arun Junes, the Parish Priest, together with the fraternity and the parish community, arranged this opportunity for the faithful to avail themselves of the grace of the plenary indulgence and to visit the relics of the saints.
As the Franciscan family throughout the world marks eight centuries since Francis returned to the Father, celebrations like this one in Madhavaram remind us that his witness — poor, joyful, and utterly given to Christ — continues to draw multitudes to come, pray, reflect, and encounter the saints.
