Relic of St. Francis Xavier draws crowds at Vancouver church

The 465-year-old arm of St. Francis Xavier is making its way across Canada and stopped at a Vancouver church Wednesday.

Local Catholics spent a brief moment in the presence of a piece of religious history at St. Francis Xavier Parish in East Vancouver.

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When Xavier died in China in 1552, his body was moved back to India and his arm was removed by the Catholic church 60 years later.

Angele Regnier, one of the organizers of the relic's visit, said she's moved by the reactions of people who witness the arm.

"My favourite thing to do is to just park myself in a front row and you can see there's an anticipation as they're coming up… As they turn away there are just beautiful expressions on people's faces, their eyes are closed, sometimes there's a tear, a hand on their heart, a deep sigh… it's amazing."

Xavier was a Basque Catholic missionary and co-founder of the order of Jesuits. He's revered in Catholicism for his missionary work in Goa, India, and Southeast Asia. He was also the first Christian missionary in Japan.

Given the significant population of Asian Catholics in the Lower Mainland, the response from the local congregation was overwhelmingly positive with lines snaking between the pews of the parish.

Father John O'Brien, who's accompanying the arm across Western Canada, said that the physical embodiment of such a significant figure offers a special occasion for prayer.

"In the life of Jesus Christ himself you have this strange activity in God becoming man, so there's something about the divine or the spiritual entering right into the very stuff of creation," he told On The Coast producer Matthew Lazin-Ryder.

Although many attest to the life changes experienced after coming into contact with the relic, O'Brien acknowledged that the arm itself is not a "talisman."

He compares the significance of Catholics crossing themselves with holy water to the prayers people make in front of the relic.

"The water itself is an occasion, or perhaps a channel or just a means by which blessings are delivered... It in and of itself is not like a positive kryptonite."

Xavier's arm travels to Coquitlam on Thursday to the All Saints Parish with viewings from 12:30 P.M. to 11 P.M.

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With files from On The Coast, Matthew Lazin-Ryder