The true Cross. An important discovery celebrated in Jerusalem - the only place in the world after the liturgical reform of 1969 - on May 7 in the very same place where it was discovered: the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Br. FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land “St. Rufinus tells us how this discovery happened, as the queen, St. Helen, came here to Jerusalem for a vision and identified the place. Three crosses were found. (...) a sick noblewoman is cured on her third attempt when she touches the real cross. Another strand of tradition speaks instead of a dead man who is resurrected with the true cross.” The discovery of the Holy Cross in 327 led to a devotion to the relic. In fact, the relic was divided and - according to the story of St. Rufinus - Queen Helen sent parts of the cross to the main churches of the time: Constantinople and Rome, where it is still possible to venerate its fragments. Br. FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land “Part of it was covered in silver and remained here. On that occasion, according to the story of St. Rufinus, the title placed on the cross was also found in the three languages: 'Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews'.” While the part preserved in Jerusalem was lost with the conquest of Saladin of the Holy City, many fragments and splinters were taken in the years following the discovery, as Cyril of Jerusalem testifies in his Catecheses: "the wood of the cross is now distributed throughout the earth in small fragments". A solemn mass to reflect and meditate on the mystery of the cross as an instrument of salvation. What do we glory in and what should we glorify? The Custos Father asked during the homily. Br. FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land “Saint Francis tells us that we can glorify ourselves when we carry the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we patiently live in our infirmities, we follow Jesus Christ with all the difficulties that our daily lives involve and we do so knowing that in this way we are reliving that mystery of humiliation and lowering but also of exaltation and elevation that was the cross.” At the end of the celebration, the faithful went in procession for three rounds around the shrine of the Holy Sepulchre. After the blessing, they could venerate the relic of the Holy Cross as a sign of hope and instrument of Salvation. Read More