BATON ROUGE - A blood relic of St. John Paul II is coming to the Capitol Region, and the Diocese of Baton Rouge is welcoming it to Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church.

On Wednesday, the relic can be venerated at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, located at 2250 Main Street, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is one of only four such relics in existence and the only one allowed to travel for public veneration. 

The relic contains the liquefied blood of the former pope, who served as the head of the Catholic church from 1978 until he died in 2005.

Earlier this week, the relic was at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Ascension Parish.

The relic will also be available at St. Helena Church, 122 South First Street in Amite, on Sept. 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Later that same day, it moves to Mater Dolorosa Church, 620 Third Street in Independence, at 5:30 p.m.