Relics of three Mexican martyrs installed in new altar

Our Lady of the Mount Parish in Cicero celebrates a solemn Mass for the consecration of the its altar and the rededication of the church on June 24, 2022. Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Birmingham celebrated the Mass and installed relics of the Mexican martyrs -- Sts. Turibio Turibio Romo, José Luis Sánchez del Río and José María Robles – in the altar. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Parishioners pray in the newly renovated church during the dedication Mass. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
A cantor leads the congregation in song. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Father Juan Luis Andrade-Limon speaks to the congregation. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Bishop Birmingham places the relics in the case in the front of the altar. Instead of embedding the relics in the top of the altar, where they are rarely seen by anyone other than priests or liturgical ministers, the relics are visible to everyone through a window in its base on its front side. This was a stipulation from the dioceses that gave Andrade-Limon the relics for St. Toribio Romo and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
A parishioner seals the relics in the altar. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Parishioners pray the litany of saints. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Birmingham pours chrism oil on the altar during the consecration. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
A young woman prays in the sanctuary during Mass. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Bishop Birmingham incenses the altar following the consecration. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Parishioners wipe off the oil from the altar in preparation for the liturgy of the Eucharist. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Parishioners bring up candles to the newly consecrated altar. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Parishioners dress the altar with flowers. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Bishop Birmingham elevates the Eucharist during Mass. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
An altar server looks up the cross while holding the bishops miter. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Parishioners pack the pews for the Mass. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Father Juan Luis Andrade-Limon, the then-pastor of the parish, speaks to the congregation about the three Mexican martyrs killed during the Cristero War. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
A replica of a statue designed by St. Jose Maria Hurtado Robles, whose relic was installed in the altar, of Jesus giving himself in the Eucharist as seen on a wall pedestal adjacent to paintings of the saints and above the baptismal font. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Altar servers make their way back to the sanctuary following Mass. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

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