A tour featuring relics of six Knights of Columbus canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000 will arrive in Southern California this weekend.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels will host the relics April 30, while St. Anne Church in Santa Ana (1344 S. Main St.) will present the relics April 28 and 29.

The six priests --- Pedro de Jesus Maldonado Lucero, Miguel de la Mora de la Mora, Jose Maria Robles Hurtado, Luis Batiz Sainz, Rodrigo Aguilar Alemán, and Mateo Correa Magallanes --- were martyred for their faith by the Mexican government during the religious persecution in Mexico in the1920s.

"This pilgrimage seeks to promote knowledge of and devotion to the Knights of Columbus priest martyrs of Mexico and all those who sacrificed their lives for their faith during the Mexican persecution," explained Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson.

The U.S. portion of the pilgrimage began March 18 with a procession to the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Dallas, where a special Mass was celebrated.

The pilgrimage of the relics began in Mexico City in September 2005, to mark the centennial of the Knights of Columbus in Mexico. From there, the reliquary traveled to cities throughout Mexico; the pilgrimage will conclude in Orlando at the Knights of Columbus' 124th Supreme Convention in August 2006.

Relics have long been a part of Catholic devotional practice. Since the days of the Apostles, Christians have preserved and honored the physical remains of men and women recognized as saints. Previous relic pilgrimages have drawn large numbers of the faithful. In 2003, the Knights co-sponsored the journey of a relic of the Tilma of Tepeyac, the cloth that bears the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which drew more than 150,000 people.