FRESH MEADOWS — Mireya Gutierrez said she reads about saints regularly to deepen her faith.  

Her devotion to her favorite saint, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, led her to participate in a veneration of 250 relics at Holy Family Parish in Fresh Meadows on Oct. 31.  

“The veneration of the saints is very important to me because you get to pray to the saints and they always intercede for everybody,” Gutierrez said.  

Among the relics venerated were those of St. Thérèse and her parents, Sts. Marie-Azélie Guérin and Louis Martin. Others included St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Gianna Beretta Molla, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Padre Pio, and St. Carlo Acutis. 

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The relics were brought to the parish by Father Justin Cinnante, chaplain at Iona Preparatory High School in New Rochelle, who stated that he received them as gifts from various religious sisters, priests, and bishops.  

“Each relic has a story,” Father Cinnante said. “I always say that we don’t find the saints, the saints find us, and they make themselves known to us.” 

The veneration of relics is held annually at Holy Family to commemorate All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1.  

Speaking to those in attendance, Father Cinnante emphasized the importance of honoring the saints, remembering the call to be a saint in the face of hardship, and praying for their intercession. He also stresses the importance of the sacraments.  

“To be holy, we must spend time in the presence of holiness and that’s Jesus himself in the Eucharist,” Father Cinnante said, “To avail ourselves of the sacraments regularly, [go to] confession as often as possible, [receive] the Eucharist as often as possible, going to daily Mass, going to adoration.” 

Just before the veneration, parishioners lit candles to honor the dead.  

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Peggy Cuskley, a 57-year parishioner of Holy Family Parish, said she came to venerate the relics to pray for her husband. 

“I’ve been through a lot recently,” Cuskley said. “My husband has some serious illnesses, and I have to manage him a lot. I pray every time I come to church for my husband and my family.” 

Father Sean Suckiel, pastor of Holy Family, said this is the sixth year the parish has venerated relics on Oct. 31. He described the evening as a “beautiful opportunity” for parishioners to pray for the intercession of the saints.  

“This is an amazing experience to invite my parishioners to encounter the saints because we are all called to be saints, all called to be holy to get to heaven,” Father Suckiel said. “And so this was an opportunity for them to really encounter them through the first-class relics that we offered tonight.  

“This was a beautiful opportunity for me as a pastor to do this for my people.”