The Relic Tours began in 2010 with eight California Bishops writing to Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon (where the relic resides in the South of France), asking his permission to have the relic come from the Cave of Sainte-Baume (where Mary Magdalene spent the last thirty years of her life) to California for a one-month tour, and visit churches in their respective diocese. Then it was necessary to get permission from the Apostolic Nuncio (a country’s permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See) in Paris for the relic to leave France. Because the Dominicans have been guardians of the relic for 800 years, it is their duty to accompany it in travel to the United States and remain with it each day of the Relic Tour.
