Lenten Station Church
Good Friday
Holy Cross in Jerusalem
(Santa Croce in Gerusalemme)

This is our second visit to the Basilica of Holy Cross in Jerusalem during the Lenten Calendar. The first occurred on the Forth Sunday of Lent. Today, our discussion will center on St Helen and the relics she is said to have brought from Jerusalem to Rome. These relics have been placed in the 'Chapel of Relics' since the chapel was built in the Basilica of Holy Cross in Jerusalem in 1930. The ancient church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme stands on the site of the Sessorium, a large palatial complex where St Helen lived. St Helen was the mother of the emperor Constantine (306-37) and in the early 4th century, she went on a mission to Jerusalem to locate the cross on which Christ had been crucified. She returned bearing an assortment to relics. According to tradition, a basilica was erected by Constantine, circa 326, to house them. It was originally called the Basilica Sessoriana. St Helen is said to have brought back relics that included the 'true' cross, 'title of the cross' upon which was inscribed, 'Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.' She also reportedly discovered the nails of the true cross that were driven into the hands and feet of Jesus. She also claimed to have found the crown of thorns that was placed upon the head of Jesus during his passion and his tunic that was stripped from his body. It is also said that she brought from Jerusalem to Rome the 'holy stairs' which led to the palace of Pontius Pilate. Outside of these relics associated with the passion of Jesus, Helena is also credited with bringing back relics of the 'holy crib' and even some hay from the manger where Jesus was laid when he was born. If St Helena did indeed find all of these relics, it was certainly not through her own power and would have been a great miracle of God. Most of these relics are discredited by historians, but even if she didn’t find any, they still point to the historical reality. In 1910, the parish of Holy Cross in Jerusalem was established by Pope Pius X and the complex has remained under the administration of the diocesan clergy ever since. In 1930 Pope Pius XI ordered the construction of a new chapel to host the holy remains of the basilica. The appropriately named 'Chapel of Relics' was built intended as a space of worship open to believers who can easily access it from the left nave of the basilica. Reference: '8 Incredible Relics from the Holy Land that St Helena Might Have Found' on Aleteia.org 'Santa Croce in Gerusalemme' on Wikipedia.org All Photographs are from Commons.WikiMedia.org Roman Basilicas - Holy Cross in Jerusalem 126 (1949) Beatification of Pius X 146 (1951) Canonization of St Pius X 183 (1954) Conciliation - Pope Pius XI 12 (1929) Gardens & Medallions - Pope Pius XI 29 (1933) Jubilee Popes 1750-2000 - Pope Pius XI 1146 (2000) Vatican Observatory 80th Anniversary Papal Palace, Pope Pius XI, Schmidt Telescope 1606 (2015)