Few could have anticipated the response the relics of St Therese would elicit in Ireland when they arrived at Rosslare on Easter Sunday. Catholic Church sources are wary of going "over the top" about the fact that an estimated three million people, North and South, will have visited the reliquary by the time it leaves Ireland on Monday.
Some see the turnout as a consoling sign that the Irish have not "gone secular". But they are as puzzled as many were by the Nice referendum result. "The people have spoken but what are they saying?", is a not dissimilar response.
Just as puzzling for many has been the uncritical stance of the media towards the event. Some within the church felt the notion of touring the bones of a saint all over the island was an invitation to ridicule. But it didn't happen. Indeed, it was never an issue. The only issue concerned the use of Army personnel to carry the reliquary off the ferry at Rosslare. That prompted a letter to this newspaper by the Rev Brian Kennaway of the Orange Order. He suggested that it simply proved that the Republic remained a Catholic state for a Catholic people.
The argument floundered when it was realised that, as both Ther ese's grandfathers were army men, it is traditional for soldiers to carry her relics on arrival in a country. This was even the case in Russia.
For one man the tour has been a personal triumph. Father Joe (Linus) Ryan, a Carmelite priest based in Dublin, is a life-long devotee of St Therese. He was the inspiration behind the visit and said he was "staggered" at the response.
Despite the joke that "it cost an arm and a leg to bring a leg and an arm to Ireland" this was not so. Costs were minimal, with most met locally. Other costs were paid for by individuals such as Mr Noel Smyth, better known as Ben Dunne's solicitor. He paid for the "Theresemobile", used to transport the relics.
And much of the advance publicity was handled by another devotee, Mr James Morrisey of the Dublin public relations firm, Fleischman Hillard Saunders. He was responsible for the poster campaign which preceded the relics' arrival.
The visit ends with a rally in the Wexford Park GAA grounds at 2.30 p.m. tomorrow. Taking part will be the Celtic Tenors, the Vard sisters, and Mary Sheridan de Bruin, who will sing the poetry of St Therese.
Presiding will be the Bishop of Ferns, Dr Brendan Comiskey, chairman of the visit organising committee, whose communications skills have played no small part in this extraordinary success.