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The McKenzie Towne traffic circle churned with cars Sunday as thousands of local Catholics made their way to St. Albert the Great Parish in the southeast to catch a rare glimpse of a holy relic on display in Calgary.

The 465-year-old severed right arm, believed to have belonged to St. Francis Xavier, is on display for public veneration by Catholics — as well as the curious — during a brief stop in Calgary on its cross-country tour.

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By Sunday evening, more than 3,000 people had already shuffled past the relic and up to another 3,000 were expected to visit it before viewing hours concluded at 10 p.m. A second public viewing at the St. Michael church in West Springs will be held Monday between 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Sara Francis drove across the city for the chance to see the striking, if slightly grisly-looking, relic.

“I was really intrigued. It piqued my curiosity (t0) see St. Francis in the flesh — it’s a bit quirky, I won’t lie,” Francis said. “But at the same time, I think that little quirkiness has drawn me to sort of ask some deeper questions.