The relics of Fernando de Bulhoes, better known as St Anthony of Padua, are due in Ireland next week. Thousands of people are expected to visit the relics when they arrive here from Italy on June 5th.
The relics were offered to Ireland by the people of Padua and will be brought here by the Franciscan Order.
A coordinator of the visit, Father Xavier Goulet, said: "I'm just hoping whatever happens is a positive and uplifting experience. If nothing else, maybe it would be a point of getting back to the principles of the faith and the gospel because that's what St Anthony was about. Many people pray to St Anthony for lost possessions," said Father Goulet.
"He's a saint among the common people. Whoever has a devotion, pray to him for intercession."
The relics will be on display at Our Lady of the Visitation Church, Fairview, Dublin, on June 5th; St Anthony's Church, Clontarf, on June 6th; and St Damien's, Ballsbridge, on June 7th.
They will travel to St Clare's Church, Graiguecullen, Co Carlow, on the evening of June 7th and remain until June 8th.
They arrive back in Dublin to St Mary of the Angels Church, Church St, on June 9th; Adam and Eve's Church, Merchants Quay, June 10th; then back to Our Lady of the Visitation Church, Fairview, from June 11th until the 13th, when they will return to Padua.
There have been inquiries from all over Ireland and England about the relics, which are a part of the body of St Anthony.
The relics will travel in a reliquary. It is a bust of St Anthony holding a book in one hand. A lamp rests on the book that contains the relics.
St Anthony was born in Lisbon in 1195 and was baptised Fernando de Bulhoes. He died in 1231 at the age of 36, in a small town on the outskirts of Padua.