The Philippines' Manila Cathedral received St. John Paul II's blood relic and venerated it in public last April 7 and 8.
The pope's former secretary and also the Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz gave the vial as a gift for the Manila Cathedral's 60 years of celebration of its reconstruction following World War II.
According to Father Reggie Malecdem, rector of Manila Cathedral, the gesture was unexpected and said that it was a great honor for the church to get the custody of the relic.
"This precious gift ... is truly a source of consolation and help especially for those who are suffering physical illnesses," read a statement from Manila Cathedral. "Let those who have special intentions and petitions come in veneration and prayer."
When the Vatican canonized and beatified John Paul II in 2014, a similar reliquary was also displayed in the Cathedral. Seven vials were distributed to different churches across the world. The blood remained liquid as it was mixed with an anti-coagulant substance.
Pope John Paul II is loved by many Filipino Catholics. He came to the country and celebrated a mass at the Manila Cathedral during his visit for Saint Lorenzo Ruiz's beatification in 1981. The Pope also came back in 1995 for the World Youth Day celebration.
"Pope John Paul II came to us and opened his heart to us. The Philippines is welcome in his heart," Manila Cathedral Archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said in his homily with some 2,500 devotees lining up to pay their respects to John Paul II. "Now we welcome him again, the relic of his blood ... With St. John Paul II, let us be witnesses of Jesus Christ to the ends of the Earth."
