On 11 April 2023, relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux visited San Lorenzo Ruiz and Companion Martyrs Parish in Navotas, the Philippines. A timestamped SOPA Images caption records a mother, accompanied by a child dressed as an angel, “falling in line” to pay respect to the relic. This was the relic’s fifth pilgrimage visit to the country and the first stop in a tour through the Diocese of Kalookan.
The act at the front was more than viewing from a distance. Other photographs show worshippers touching the glass enclosure and rubbing handkerchiefs against the image of the saint on the reliquary. The relic itself remained protected, but the cloth allowed people to carry away a material reminder of contact.
A travelling relic remains at each church for a limited period. The line divided those brief encounters among many worshippers, one after another. The photo series documents not merely a crowd but the order governing who approached the enclosure next.