Veneration of the Relics of St. Damien and St. Marianne Cope
June 15
On Sunday, June 15, 2025, all are invited to venerate the relics of St. Damien and St. Marianne Cope of Molokai, which will be exposed in the Crypt Church of the Basilica. The relics will be on display from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. It is fitting that on this day, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, we host the relics of these two saints who are enshrined in Basilica’s Trinity Dome.
For more information, please see our previous blogposts about St. Damien and St. Marianne Cope.
Completed in 2017 as the ‘crowning jewel’ of the Basilica, the magnificent Trinity Dome sits at the crossing or central axis of the Great Upper Church. It’s central prominence in the Basilica is symbolic, for as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and life” (CCC 234). The Trinity Dome contains mosaic depictions of the Holy Trinity, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, and 18 saints — including St. Damien and St. Marianne Cope, spread around the dome.
Source:
Rohling, Geraldine M., PhD, MAEd. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: Guide and Tour Book. Washington, D.C.: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 2018.
