Citizen Staff Writer
A.J. FLICK
ajflick@tucsoncitizen.com
Relics that the Knights of Columbus believe belonged to the three kings who visited a newborn Jesus Christ will be on display Sunday and Tuesday in Tucson.
The international tour of the relics will stop at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, 8650 N. Shannon Road, from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
The relics will be displayed at St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave., Tuesday during the same hours.
In addition to the relics, the display includes alleged relics of the Nativity, manger, St. Mary’s veil, St. Joseph’s coat, and a relic from St. Elizabeth, the ninth cousin of St. Mary, according to a press release from the Knights of Columbus.
The Arizona State Council of the Knights of Columbus arranged for the statewide tour of the relics.
The kings, often called the Magi, the Wise Men or astrologers, were said in the Christian Bible to have visited Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem shortly after Jesus’ birth.
Religious historians say the kings were named Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar.
According to a press release from the Knights of Columbus, the small relics of the three kings come from a full collection of the bones and burial cloths located in a shrine in Cologne, Germany.
Historians say Emperor Zeno brought the relics of the Magi from Persia to Constantinople in 490, according to the press release. In 1162, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany took the relics to Cologne, where they have been housed since in a cathedral reliquary.
For more information, call 602- 525-4424.