by Katie Lamborn

Nearly 2,000 visitors turned up at The Friars in Aylesford to welcome the relics of a Catholic saint today.

More than 25,000 people are expected to make the pilgrimage over the weekend to see the holy remains of Ste Therese of Lisieux.

Arriving in a black hearse Ste Therese was regaled by around 200 waving school children who lined her path to the Relic Chapel.

“She was a very simple nun who died very young in Northern France.” says Father Fernando Millan who is Prior General of the Carmelites. “She had a very deep experience of God. We can all learn from her goodness and love. ”

Millions of people around the world have prayed beside the relics of Ste Therese of Lisieux as they have been touring the world.

Jez Mordley lives in Germany, but was in Aylesford just for the weekend. “Having already made the pilgrimage to Rome to see the Pope it was almost the same level of excitement…there was that spark, that little buzz of excitement”.

They will be on show in Aylesford from Friday to Sunday, October 9 to 11.

The holy relics attracted a crowd of several thousand within minutes of their arrival in Britain. Hundreds of Christians snaked around the Roman Catholic cathedral in Portsmouth to light a candle and touch the Perspex surrounding the casket of the saint, who lived from 1873 to 1897.

Ste Therese entered the Carmelite convent of Lisieux at an early age and her canonisation followed in 1925. Her spiritual teaching, known as The Little Way advocated simple, everyday responses to life and people's relationships with God.

For more information, call The Friars, Aylesford, on 01622 717272.