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| “CHRISTIAN ROME”: The Visits |
| BASILICA OF THE HOLY CROSS
OF JERUSALEM |
From USD$ 21 |
Duration: 2 hours
Beginning of Itinerary: Line B “St. Paul”, Stop
16 (Santa Croce di Gerusalemme) |
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| This visit brings us to an encounter with
the most venerable relics of the Passion of Christ that
have arrived in Rome, thanks to the faith of Saint Helen,
the mother of Constantine. This saint undertook a long
pilgrimage to Palestine in 326A.D., precisely in order
to visit the Holy Places, with the desire to find the
relics of Christ. From her search came to light the area
of the burial tomb and of Golgotha. Around this place
were also found some crosses. A series of miraculous events,
among which the resurrection of a man permitted her to
identify from among the others the Cross of Christ. Saint
Helen brought back from the Holy Land, other than a part
of the Cross, other relics of the Passion of the Lord
including two thorns from the crown, a nail, the label
INRI mounted on the Cross and some dirt from the earth
at Golgotha. She also brought to Rome the “patibulum”
on which Disma was crucified, the good thief cited in
the Gospel of Luke. To worthily house the relics in Rome,
Constantine had a first church built in a part of his
own palace. The earth from Golgotha was placed at the
base of the first church. Today the relics of the Passion
of Christ are exposed for the devotion of the faithful
in a chapel within precious protected reliquaries, these
in turn within a large glass shrine. |
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