Devotees venerate bone relic of St. Augustine at Antipolo Cathedral

Devotees stayed until midnight on Monday to offer prayer and song for the bone relic of St. Augustin at the Antipolo Cathedral, James Agustin reports for GMA News' "Unang Balita."

The veneration for the relic continued on Tuesday, with devotees flocking to the cathedral from 5 am to 10 am. 

St. Augustine's blood relic, which is in the care of Postulator General Friar Dennis Ruiz Friar Order of Discalced Augustinians, arrived in the Philippines on May 20. It has already been brought to Cebu, Batanes, Pasig, and other churches in Antipolo. 

Later this Tuesday, the relic will be open for veneration at the Santuario de San Antonio Parish and the Greenbelt Chapel. 

St. Augustine is known for his shift from a sinner to a man of deep faith. 

"[Dati] siyang magkasalanan, dati siyang mahina, pero dahil sa panalangin ng kaniyang ina na si Monica, siya ay na-convert sa edad ng 33 sa himilya ni San Ambrosio sa Milan," Fr. Nante Tolentino told GMA News. 

The bone relic of St. Augustine will be in the country until June 28. — Aya Tantiangco, GMA News