Future stops for Catholics to venerate the Saint Jude Thaddeus relic were canceled after an unspecified incident regarding a priest and students was reported to Joliet police to investigate, according to statements by the Joliet Diocese and Queen of Apostles Catholic Church.
Queen of Apostles Catholic Church, 18 Woodlawn Ave., Joliet, hosted a visit with the relic of Saint Jude Thaddeus Thursday. The nonprofit outside ministry, Treasures of the Church, is responsible for hosting the relic in the U.S., and has been traveling to churches around the country for more than a year.
“During the course of the day’s veneration in Queen of Apostles Church, an incident with the priest and some students was reported to have happened in our church,” the Rev. Michael R. Lane, moderator, and the Rev. Gregory L. Alberts, parochial vicar to the moderator, said in a statement.
“We immediately contacted the police,” the statement read. “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 statement does not name the priest, but Joliet Diocese officials said in an email Monday the individual involved was the Rev. Carlos Martins, who was leading tours of the relic throughout the country.
“He was visiting the parish for one day,” the statement said. “He is not a Diocesan priest but belongs to an Order outside of our Diocese.”
Queen of Apostles Catholic Church said the remainder of the veneration of the relic and the evening Mass was canceled out of “an abundance of caution” in accordance with the Diocesan Safe Environment Policies and Standards of Behavior.
“All involved in this incident are safe,” the statement read.
The incident was reported to Bishop Ronald Hicks of the Joliet Diocese, who supported the decision to cancel the remainder of the event and canceled the tour of the relic at two more of the diocese parishes, according to the statement.
The Queen of Apostle’s statement was read this past weekend at St. Mary Mokena Catholic Church, which was scheduled to receive the relic this past Friday.
The Apostle of the Impossible website, which contains information about the relic tour, states four events from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1 were canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. The relic was scheduled to stop in Valparaiso, Indiana on Monday; Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Tuesday and Wednesday and Bowling Green, Ohio, on Sunday, Dec. 1.
Hicks also informed the Superior of the Companions of the Cross Order of priests about the incident.
According to Companions of the Cross’s website, Martins’ ministry “has been temporarily suspended pending an ongoing police investigation into a recent complaint at one of his relic expositions that took place in the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois.”
Martins also runs “The Exorcist Files,” a weekly podcast that features dramatic reenactments and commentary of actual cases as part of his work as an exorcist.
The Joliet Diocese said via email this is an ongoing police investigation and no additional information can be provided.
The diocese has no information about the upcoming plans for the relic tour.
The relic has been on tour in the U.S. for more than a year. It was on display Sept. 13, 2023, at St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church in Tinley Park. It was at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Naperville Nov. 15 and was scheduled Nov. 20 at Incarnation St. Terrence Catholic Parish in Crestwood
According to the information about the relic, Saint Jude’s body was buried in the place of his martyrdom but was transferred to Rome during the time of Emperor Constantine. Several centuries ago, his arm was removed and placed in a simple wooden reliquary carved in the shape of a priestly arm giving a blessing.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown
