A fragment of Jesus' cross, right here at Villa!

Legend has it that the True Cross of Jesus Christ was found by St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, during her pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Jerusalem) around AD 326.

During her time there, she sought out the place of Jesus’ crucifixion and the very Cross on which He had hung. By interviewing many locals, and with the assistance of St. Macarius, the Bishop of Jerusalem, she discovered the spot and found the True Cross which had been previously hidden. She had a church built on the original site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection that is known as, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The history of this relic is fascinating, especially because of its survival after being fragmented throughout the ages. Many critics of these relics claimed there were enough fragments of the Cross to build an entire ship! However, in 1870, a Frenchman, Charles Rohault de Fleury catalogued all the relics of the True Cross, including relics that were said to have existed, but were lost. He measured the existing relics and estimated the volume of the missing ones. Then, he added up the figures and discovered that the fragments, if glued together, would barely have made up more than one-third of a cross.

How have we been so privileged to have this piece of the True Cross here at Villa, since last week? Well, the Christchurch Diocese has an archive of many relics that were kept in, and underneath our very own Christchurch Catholic Cathedral. These relics are now carefully stored away at the archives due to the recent deconstruction of the Cathedral. We are very thankful to our Diocesan archivist for letting us borrow this relic, and look forward to bringing more of the history of the Church to the classroom in future.

During its time with us, it has been beautiful to see many students, staff and members of our community spending time praying or going through the Stations of the Cross with the relic. Students have also had the opportunity to understand about the Catholic practice of venerating relics. Veneration means to show great respect or reverence. Catholics can venerate relics by respectfully bowing or making theSign of the Cross before the relic.

How blessed we have been to have arguably the most fascinating of relics here with us for Holy Week!