St. Helena and the True Cross
St. Helena is often depicted holding a cross because tradition
maintains she found the true cross in Jerusalem. Before delving into this
matter further, some background information is necessary.
Because of Jewish insurrections, the Roman Emperor Hadrian (reign
A.D. 117-38) abolished the name of Judea and renamed the area "Syria
Palaestina." He also made Jerusalem a new capital, named "Aelia
Capitolina," and forbade Jews from entering the immediate area. While
Jerusalem remained mostly in ruins because of the revolt in A.D. 70 (when the
Temple itself was razed),
Hadrian demolished the rest. While regarding Judaism
as insurrectionary, Hadrian regarded Christianity the same way. To eradicate
the influence of Christianity, Hadrian leveled the top of Mount Calvary and
erected a temple to the pagan goddess Venus. He also cut away and leveled the
hillside where Jesus tomb stood and built a temple to the pagan god Jupiter
Capitolinus. Ironically, this destruction actually preserved the sacred sites.
The Emperor Constantine seized power in the year 312, and in the
following year, legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan. About this
time, Constantine’s mother, St. Helena, converted to Christianity. (She died in
the year 330 at about the age of 80.) According to the early great Church
historian Eusebius, she was about 63 at the time of her conversion. With the
authority of her son, St. Helena went to Palestine in search of the sacred
sites about the year 324. In the following years, St. Helena would build
churches marking the place of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and the site of the
Ascension.
True Christian zeal motivated St. Helena. Eusebius described her
as follows: "Especially abundant were the gifts she bestowed on the naked
and unprotected poor. To some she gave money, to others an ample supply of
clothing; she liberated some from imprisonment, or from the bitter servitude of
the mines; others she delivered from unjust oppression, and others again, she restored
from exile. While, however, her character derived luster from such deeds ... ,
she was far from neglecting personal piety toward God. She might be seen
continually frequenting His Church, while at the same time she adorned the
houses of prayer with splendid offerings, not overlooking the churches of the
smallest cities. In short, this admirable woman was to be seen, in simple and
modest attire, mingling with the crowd of worshipers, and testifying her
devotion to God by a uniform course of pious conduct" (The Life of
Constantine, XLIV, XLV).
About the year 326, the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus was
demolished, and the workers began to excavate the area. They discovered the
remains of the tomb that was reported to be that of our Lord Jesus. They built
a new shrine over the tomb, which has been modified over the centuries, but
today stands in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
While the details provided by St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose,
Rufinus, and Socrates (not the philosopher) are lacking and sometimes
contradictory, the essence of the story follows: The three crosses and the titulus were
removed from the cistern. A woman, dying from a terminal disease, was brought
to the spot. She touched the crosses, one by one. After she touched the third
cross, she was cured, thereby identifying the true cross. Other sources also
relate the later finding of other instruments of the Passion. Most importantly,
St. Ambrose preached that when St. Helena found the true cross, "she
worshiped not the wood, but the King, Him who hung on the wood. She burned with
an earnest desire of touching the guarantee of immortality."
Another point: A reader in Canada asked, "Why is there a
skull and two crossed bones placed at the foot of the cross in paintings of the
crucifixion?" Many of the older depictions of the crucifixion do show a
skull with two crossed bones at the foot of the cross. The tradition is that
Adam was buried at Calvary. When our Lord died, His Precious Blood dripped down
onto His skull. Again, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, one
finds the Chapel of Adam underneath the Chapel of Golgotha.
The Feast of the Triumph of the Cross was Sept. 14. Let us
remember the words of St. Francis of Assisi: "We adore Thee, O Christ, and
we praise Thee, because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world."
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| St. Helena's Sacrophagus |
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| St. Helena's tomb is in Aracoeli Church in Rome |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Saunders, Rev. William. "St. Helena and the True Cross." Arlington
Catholic Herald.
THE AUTHOR
Father William P. Saunders is pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish in
Potomac Falls and former dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom
College. Father has been writing his weekly "Straight Answers" column
for the Arlington Catholic Herald since 1993. The above article is one of those
"Straight Answers" columns. Father Saunders is the author of Straight Answers, Answers to 100 Questions about the
Catholic Faith, a book based on 100 of his columns and published
by Cathedral Press in Baltimore.
Copyright © 2005 Arlington Catholic Herald
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