3T

D. BALDUINO BEDINI O. CIST. £ & Q

THE SESSORIAN RELICS
OF THE

LORDS PASSION

ROME
Printed by Senoia Tipografiea Pio X
Via Etnischi, 7-9

1928

At|<Ô757

THE SESSORIAN RELICS
OF THE

LORD’S PASSION

THE SESSORIAN RELICS
OF THE

LORD’S PASSION
D. BALDUINO BEDINI O CIST.
Translation by Rev. ROBERT R. DaVIS
an D. MARCEL HAVARD 0. S. B.

ROME
Printed by Scuola Tipografica Pio X
Via Etruschi, 7 9

1928

COPYRIGHT

Cum in opusculo, cui titulus « The Sessorian Relics of
the Lord’s Passion » auctore Duo Balduino Bedini Ord.
Cister. nihil repertum sit contra fidem, vel mores,
nihil vetat quominus illud imprimatur.
Romae, ex Mon. S. Crucis in Jerusalem die 20 Maii 1928.

D. Edmundus Bernardini
Abbas Praeses Gen. Cong. Cist, llaliae.

IMPRIMATUR
Josephus Palica, Archiep. Phil., Vic. Ger.

Deacldif v

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ambrose (St.) — Oratio in funere Theodosii.
Baronius — Annales Ecclesiastici, Lucae, Venturini,
1738 sq.
Besozzi Raymond. O. Cist. — Storia della Basilica
di S. Croce in Gerusalemme. Roma, Salomoni, 1750.
Bosio James — La trionfante e gloriosa Croce. Roma,
Ciacone, 1610.
De Corrieris, O. Cist. — De Sessorianis... Reliquiis
Commentarium. Romae. Apud Bourliaeum, 1830.
Duchesne Louis — Liber Pontificalis. Paris 1886.
Eusebius — Vita Constantini (Valesio interprete).
Turin, 1746.
Kellner — Eortologia. Rome, Desclée 1914.
Mabillon, O. S. B. — Museum Italicum. Paris 1681-1689.
Moroni, Dictionnary, Tom XII Venise, 1842.
Nardini — Roma antica. IV edition weth notes by
Nibby. Tom. II Rome, de Romanis, 1818.
Ortolani - ■ 5. Croce in Gerusalemme. Roma, 1924.
Socrates, Soozomen, Theodoret — Vol. II and III
Historiae Eccl. Scriptores. Turin, 1746 and seq.

The Cross Buried and Profaned.
After the death of Jesus and His burial on
tiie evening of the 15 of Nisan, the instruments
of the Crucifixion, that is to say the cross and
nails, as well as those of the two thieves cruci­
fied with Him were buried in a hole, or grotto,
near the tomb, which had been presented by Jo­
seph of Arimathea to receive the body of the
Messiah. It was forbidden by the Jews to bury
criminals in the common cemetery ; it was con­
sidered a profanation. They had to be buried
in a separate place, as well as the instruments
of their death : cross, nails, spear, stones etc. all
these were considered as dishonoured by the use
that had been made of them. (*)
After the Resurrection and Ascension of our
Lord into Heaven, the place of His Martyrdom
soon became a sacred spot for Christians ; they
came there often, either in private or in groups,
(*) Baronius, Annales,, vol. I, an 34, n. 130 S. Am­
brose in 393 found at Bologne the bodies of. S. Vital
and Agricola. Near the body of Agricola had been
placed the cross and nails with which he had been
martyred. See: Exhortât castitatis, ch, II. See also Bosio
Antonio, Roma sotterranea. 1. 1., ch. 20 p. 56 sq.
(edit. Severani, Rome 1650) who speaks of similar
inventions.
____

Special
Elections

7 ::

to pray on this ground which the Blood of the
Redeemer had bathed, to kneel at the grot that
contained the glorious trophies of the Cross, to
kiss the rock on which the body of Christ had
been laid.
As Golgotha became a place of attraction for
the Disciples, the Jews and Pagans regarded it
with suspicion. The Emperor Adrian (117-138),
who in the last years of his life became a jeal­
ous and suspicious tyrant, decreed the profana­
tion of Golgotha and the holy Sepulchre in order
to prevent the Christians from venerating them.
By his. order the valley, which separated Golgo­
tha from Christ’s Sepulchre, was filled with earth
so as to close the entrance to the tomb and
obliterate the mount. The place of the Cruci­
fixion and of Christ's Burial was surrounded by
a ditch and levelled with stones. On this scene
of the hatred of Christianity Adrian had one, if
not two, infamous temples built, one to Jupiter,
on the tomb itself, another to Venus over the
actual place occupied by the Cross.
“ Fool ” writes an historian, (*) “ he thought to
hide from mankind the splendor of the Lux which
had risen upon the world! He did not perceive
that in trying to erase the memory of the Sa­
cred places, he for ever marked the site and
that, in the time fixed by Providence for the li­
beration of the Church, the infidel columns of
the temple would be the infallible signs of the
place of the Sanctuaries ”,
(*) Eusebius, Life of Constantine.
: 8 ::

The Christians came no more to the Calvary
now profaned by the temples and the debasing
ceremonies, but they did not forget that the
buildings of Adrian hid the spot where the Re­
demption of mankind was wrought. Golgotha,
the holy Sepulchre and the Cross of Christ re­
mained hidden under ground, but this desecra­
tion could not last for ever.

:: 9 ::

The Conversion of Constantine·
In 306 Constantine the Great succeeded his
father Constantius Clore in the government of
Britanny and Gaul. He was in Nicomedia with
Galerius Maximien, when the news that his father
was dying in York came tho him. Galerius, who
regarded Constantine as a dangerous rival, tried
to prevent him from returning to Europe. Con­
stantine however succeeded in escaping and, at each
stage of his journey, where he had to exchange
horses, he had the animals left mutilated, so that
they could not be used by the soldiers of Gale­
rius who were pursuing him. He reached York
safely and Constantius named him Cesar. He was
forced at once to take the field against a strong
army of Germans who had invaded Gaul. The
barbarians being defeated and forced to retreat
over the Rhine, Constantine found himself again
in war, this time to defend his throne. Maxen­
tius son-in-law of Maxi mien Erculeo, with the help
of a few tribunes and pretors, had himself pro­
claimed Emperor of the West. This was in 307.
A rising by Severus against the usurpation of
Maxentius was completely foiled by the latter and
Severus was killed.
Being proud of such an easy victory Maxen­
tius refused a proposal, made to him by Constan­
:: 10 ::

tine, to admit him as colleague in the government
of the Empire. Shortly after, becoming bolder,
he ordered all the statues and pictures of Con­
stantine in Italy and Africa to be destroyed.
This was a declaration of war which Constantine
could not refuse. He found however that he had
a numerous army and a crafty and powerful op­
ponent against h'mself.
His scouts brought news that some of Ma­
xentius forces were occupying the passes of the
Alps and that the army far outnumbered that of
Constantine. The latter, who realised that his
forces were inferior in number and in quality to
his enemy, had recourse to prayer. He knew not
to which divinity he should address himself, for,
though he felt a certain sympathy for the Chri­
stians, who filled his court and his army, yet he
was still an idolater, nevertheless he prayed that
Heaven would come to his aid. One day, while
he was still in Gaul, a miraculous manifestation
took place before him and his army. The his­
torian Eusebius of Cesarea, in his life of Con­
stantine, speaks of it as a thing which the Em­
peror himself narrated. This is what happened.
One afternoon, when the sun was sinking, a cross
composed of luminous rays appeared above the
solar disc. Inside the cross was written the fol­
lowing inscription in Greek: τούτο) νίχα that is:
by this signs thou shalt conquer. (*)
This wonderful apparition greatly astonished
(*) Maturally Eusebius gave the sentence in Greek ;
Philostorgius and others said it was in Latin.
:: 11 ::

Constantine and all the soldiers of the camp, who
witnessed the miracle. Constantine however did
not at once realise its meaning, but asked himself
what it could signify. All day he sought an ex­
planation of the prodigy.
During the night Christ appeared to him,
having in His hand the same sign that had been
seen in the heavens, and told him to have a
Standard made similar to it and to use it as a
sure aid in all his expeditions. The following
morning Constantine arose early and narrated to
his friends what he had seen and heard. Gold­
smiths and jewellers were called and orders given
for the construction of the Standard.
Eusebius, from whom these details are taken,
saw the original Standard and has given a full
description of it. He adds that the Emperor
always used this Standard ; which was a sure
defence against all his enemies and he gave or­
ders that similar Standards should be borne be­
fore all his armies.
Having this Standard at its head, the Constantinian army left Gaul and, having crossed
the Alps, met the forces of Maxentius at Susa.
Other encounters took place at Turin, Brescia,
Verona, in which Constantine was always victo­
rious. The last and decisive battle took place
at Saxa Rubra on the Via Cassia on October
28, 312. Maxentius was at the head of his army
which suffered a memorable defeat. During the
retreat, that followed, Maxentius was drowned in
the Tiber, owing to the fall of a wooden bridge
which had been built near Ponte Milvio. His body
:: 12 ::

having been recovered, not without great diffi­
culty, his head was severed and fixed upon a lance
and was carried before the victorious army into
Rome amid the acclamations of the people and
the Senate.
The visible divine protection, which Constan­
tine had felt during the war against Maxentius,
drew him still more to Christianity. In 313,
after an interview with Licinius at Milan, he pu­
blished an Edict of toleration of the Christian
religion and obliged the restitution of the goods
taken from the Christians during the last perse­
cution.
After a few years Licinius broke the agree­
ment made at Milan and renewed the persecution
in the East. Constantine declared war on him,
was victorious and forced him to abdicate. He
then proclaimed himself Emperor of the whole
Roman Empire. Political unity having been rea­
lised by Constantine through the abolition of the
polygarchy introduced by Diocletian, there still
remained the ideal to be attained of religious
unity, that great and powerful coefficient in the
unification of nations. Constantine did not see
in Christianity an Enemy of the State but rather
an indissoluble divine strength; and decided to
follow the Christian movement. His conversion
was sincere. His numerous laws in favor of
Christianity, against blasphemy etc., the abolition
of the punishment by crucifixon, the building of
many Christian Basilicas are an undeniable proof
of it.

:: 13 ::

Saint Helena
and the finding of the Cross.
To show his love towards Jesus Christ and
His religion, Constantine conceived the desire of
building a great basilica on Golgotha and on the
tomb of Christ. Eusebius has preserved in its
integrity the letter in which Constantine informs
Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, of his decision,
asking him to superintend the work. Twelve
years however elapsed before the basilica could
be finished. Eustachius, a priest of Constantinople,
was the architect. The Basilica was dedicated
on the 14th of September 335. It was formed
of various vestibules and porticos, and contained
two large churches : the Martyrion on the place
of the Crucifixion and the Anastasis which con­
tained the grotto of the Sepulchre.
While the demolition of the temple, or tem­
ples, constructed by Adrian was progressing and
they were endeavouring to restore the place to
its former condition and thus unearth Golgotha
and the grotto of the Sepulchre, St Helena, the
mother of Constantine, already almost an octo­
genarian, arrived at Jerusalem. She was born at
Drepanum in Bithynia. Proprietress or servant
in an inn, she attracted by her beauty and good­
ness an officer of high rank in the roman army,
:: 14 ::

named Constantius Clore, who married her in 273.
From this marriage Constantine the Great was
born on the 27 of February 274 at Naissus. (*)
Constantius Clore having reached the dignity
of Cesar was forced in 292 to divorce his wife
in order to marry Theodora, daughter of Maximian Erculeo, this union being more suitable to
his new position. Helena lived from that time
in strict retirement until her son in 306 became
Cesar and ruler of the Empire. Constantine re­
called his mother to the Court where she receiv­
ed the title of Augusta. In 311 when, after the
apparition of the Cross, Constantine was convert­
ed to Christianity, Helena encouraged by his
example, became a Christian at the age of 64
or 65. This last period of new life was filled
with acts of tender charity and Christian zeal.
Eusebius pictures her to us as devoting her life
to feeding and clothing the poor, visiting and
consoling the prisoners and, when possible, pro­
curing their release. Although she had the title of
Augusta and was moreover the mother of the Em­
peror, her simplicity was so great that she would
serve the Virgins at Jerusalem at table and de­
lighted to call herself “ the servant of the ser­
vants of Christ ”, (*) Helena showed by her piety
her burning love of God. In every town she
entered, her first visit was for the church. “ Pra­
yer and charity for others was the compendium
of the life of the holy Empress
(*) Today Nisch in Yugo Slavie.
(2J Rufin, 1. I. c. 8.
:: 15 ::

The Greek historians, Eusebius, Socrate, Sozomene and Theodoret, have rendered an elo­
quent homage to the Christian virtues of Helena
and she has obtained the honours of the altars
from the voice of the people. The chief glory
of Helena, by which she will be always remembered
with feeling of gratitude, is, of course, the find­
ing of the holy Cross, which was obtained
through her prayers and zeal. The Cross, which
had appeard to Constantine and was really the
cause of the successes of the son and glory of
the mother, was the centre of the cult and de­
votion of Helena. The religious love she bore
to it, was the cause of her ardent desire to see it
drawn from obscurity and honoured.
To build a sumptuous and magnificent church
on the spot that had witnessed the death and
Resurrection of our Saviour, was doubtless in
the thought of Helena a just and holy thing ;
and she willingly agreed to it. But... what
about the Cross ? Must the Standard of Salva­
tion remain unhonoured and buried in the dust ?
“ No. I must find the sacred wood ” was the
cry of Helena ; and in her holy transport she
was wont to say : “ If Mary brought God down
to earth, I will raises up the sign of our Re­
demption ”, (*)
With this holy and generous desire she em­
barked for Jerusalem. The excavators and ma­
sons on mount Calvary saw the aged mother of
the Emperor walking in the midst of the debris,
f1) S. Ambrose, Oratio in fun. Theodosii.

:: 16 ::

observing carefully the ground in deep reflexion.
One day her features were illuminated and she
cried for joy. She pointed to a spot, and the
workmen, devining that a great event was near,
began to dig. Helena, kneeling near by, was
praying to God to hear the ardent wishes of her
heart. Having come to a certain depth, a slab,
covered with earth, appeared. Having carefully
cleaned it, four words, imprinted upon it, were
clearly visible. It was the inscription, or Elo­
gium, which Pilate had had placed on the Cross
of Jesus, giving the reason for which the Roman
Procurator had condemned the Galilean to be
Crucified — “ Jesus of Nazareth, King of the
Jews ”.
While Helena, with tears of consolation ve­
nerated this glorious Title which embodied all
the Messianic dignity of Jesus, the excavators
drew out three crosses and the separate inscrip­
tions of the two thieves. The joy, that filled thé
sbul of Helena and of the bystanders at having
discovered the cross, was embittered by the fact
that they could not tell which of the tlir.ee
crosses was the Cross of the Saviour. Because,
according to the Roman custom, thé two thieves
had been crucified, themselves also, with' nails,
which after the bodies had been detached, wêre
replaced in the holes ; if even the wounds in the
hands and feet were not enlarged in order to
release the limbs, without having. recourse.to
pincers. Hence it was impossible .either frémr. the
nails or from the holes in the crosses to have
any indication as to which was the Cross of Je:: 17
2

sus. The only indication was the “ elogium ” ;
but this was detached. Consequently a superna­
tural intervention was needed to indicate with
uncontroverted evidence to whom the crosses
belonged. Macarius, the saint bishop of Jeru­
salem, had a very happy idea. He had the cros­
ses taken to the house of an illustrious lady,
who was dying, for a bold experiment. A histo­
rian has preserved the prayer of the bishop at
this emotional moment : “ Lord, Who hast grant­
ed salvation to the human race through the
death on the cross of Thy Only-begotten Son:
and Who has now inspired Thy servant (Helena)
to search for the holy wood on which was sus­
pended our Salvation, show us with evidence
which of the three crosses served for the divine
glory, and which served for the execution of the
malefactors. Grant that this lady, who lies on
this couch dying, may, at the touch of the sa­
lutary wood, suddenly rise from imminent death
to life ”,
This said, the bishop arose and touched
with one of the crosses the body of the dying
person, who continued to struggle in the spasms
of agony. He touched her with the second ; and
also this time the result was negative. But scar­
cely was she touched with the third cross, thath
the sick person, as though given a shock from
a galvanic battery, opened her eyes, jumped from
the bed and commenced to walk about the house,
glorifying God for her instantaneous cure (').
(!) Rufin, t. I, c. 17.
:: 18 ::

The finding of the Cross of Jesus, thrdugh
the action of St Helena, is an historical fact that
cannot absolutely be put in doul t. Someone has
objected that Eusebius has not spoken of this
discovery, although he speaks of so many things
done by Constantine and Helena. Many, howe­
ver, see an allusion to the finding of the Cross
in a letter of Constantine to Macarius about the
construction of the Basilica. When Constantine
wrote the letter, the building : of Hadrian had
been demolished, the clearing away of the earth
finished and thé rock of Calvary and the grotto
of the Sepulchre were once more open to the
air. Constantine, in his letter to Macarius, wrote
this sentence : (it is the second part of the whole
of the letter). “ Certainly it greatly surpasses the
all wonder of men that, the monument of His
(Jesus’) passion (insigne illud, sanctissimae illius
passionis monementum) hidden in the bowels of
the earth through the course of so many centu­
ries, should be displayed to His servants when,
the enemy (paganism) being conquered, they ha­
ve been called to liberty ”, Many see in this
sentence an allusion to the discovery of the Cross;
and they say : To find a grotto and a rock, bu­
ried for two centuries in a place precisely marked
by a superstructure, is certainly not a thing that
surpasses the just expectation of men. But to
find the Cross of Christ, buried for three centüries, this certainly justifies the phrase of the Em­
peror. However, no mattef how one may inter­
pret the words of Constantine; reported by Eu
*
sebius, the finding of .the Cross cannot be weak:: 19 ::

ened by the silence of this letter. St Cyril of
Jerusalem (386), in a letter to Constance, son of
Constantine, says to the Emperor ; "■ In the time
of Constantine, thy father, the salutary wood of
the Cross was found at Jerusalem ”. This sen­
tence is decisive. Constance died in 361. The
letter, therefore, of St Cyril was anterior to that
date. St Cyril, moreover, was the second suc­
cessor to bishop Macarius, and his assertion can­
not be disputed ; still more so, since St Cyril
speaks of the true Cross and of the relics tney
made from it, through his catecheses and espe­
cially in the tenth. As it is well known, St Cy­
ril held his twenty four catecheses for the Cate­
chumens of his community, in 347 or 348 ; that
is to say hardly twenty years after the finding
of the Cross of the Lord. He, when a little boy,
was probably an eye-witness of the discovery.
St Ambrose (397), Rufinus (410), St Paulinus of
Nola, the continuator of the Ecclesiastical History
of Eusebius, Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret,
which last one died in 458 at a very advanced
age, all speak of the finding of the’Cross. We
could make a long list of the ancient writers,
who. mention .the finding of the Cross of JeSus,
through the actjon of St Helena;, but the.nature
of thisbooklet· would not allow?®t...· We ;can..only
say/that the; .belief: .that St.Helenas .had found
the: Cross was^eo général that the Emperor Justinian>c(565) legalised, i solate, sâÿ/;·officially . the
historical legend Avhenj. wiiting>oin<tHe Novella
‘t/Quod jiulchreA’ rsHeiena.tifoundifefusdheTsaf
cred wood of Christians P. to §
■rfl ettidse
j

20 ::

Someone has remarked that the three cros­
ses, after three centuries of interment, would have
rotted away. But one must remember that not
all woods decay with the same quickness. The
hard woods are not an easy pray to decay ; then
one must consider the nature of the arid and
stony soil of Palestine, especially of Jerusalem,
where it rarely rains and that not abundantly. In
the third place, the superimposed buildings of
Hadrian certainly hindered the rain from filtring
into the earth, where the crosses were buried.
Lastly it is necessary to attribute the preserva­
tion of the crosses also, in some way, to thé
Divine Providence, which did not wish to de­
prive the Church of this notable trophy of the
Redemption,
St Helena sent to her son a relic of the Cross,
which Costantine caused to be placed in his sta­
tue erected in the Forum of Constantinople ; one
part she took with her to Rome, as we shall see
later; the rest remained at Jerusalem.

21

The date of the finding of the Cross·
The historian Socrates speaks of the finding
of the Cross, immediately after having spoken of
the Council of Nicea (325), from which most
assign the year 325 or 326 to the discovery. The
Alexandrian chronicle, which is very reliable
in its dates, gives the day and year of the find­
ing, namely, the 14th of September A. D. 320.
An interpolation in the chronicle of Eusebius si­
milarly places the invention of the Cross in the
fifteenth year of Constantine’s reign, that is to
say in 320. But it seems that one cannot ac­
cept the year 320. Constantine became the ma­
ster of the East with the defeat of Licinius in
324 ; before this date Constantine could not have
been able to initiate the work at Jerusalem. Li­
cinius had thrown off the mask in putting him­
self at the head of the pagan party, persecuting
Christianity and declaring the edict of Milan to
be of no effect in his states. The discovery of
the Cross, then, must be assigned to some year
after 324. However, if the date is uncertain as
regard the year, the day would seem to be sure,
since already in the fourth century, they cele­
brated the feast of the Cross at Jerusalem on the
14th of September. They called it: “ the Exal­
tation of the salutary and venerable Cross ”, and
22

also “ of the holy wood ”. On this day were
made to coincide the dedication of the “ Anastasis and of the “ Martyrium ”.
For the ce­
lebration of this day, members of the faithful and
bishops came to Jerusalem, even from Mesopo­
tamia and Egypt. An illustrious female pilgrim,
of the name of Silvia, has left an interesting de­
scription of this feast. Another visitor, a mon­
daine and sinner, Mary the Egyptian, was con­
verted on the occasion of this feast. On Good
Friday, at Jerusalem, the Cross was exposed for
the adoration of the faithful, a rite that soon
passed to the Latin Church. The Roman liturgy
prescribes the adoration of the Cross in the Mass of
the Presanctified on Good Friday. At Rome, befo­
re the exile of Avignon, (1305-1377) the Pontiff
went in person to the Basilica of “ Santa Croce in
Gerusalemme ”, to celebrate there the said function.
The relic of the Cross, that remained at Je­
rusalem, underwent a dangerous, sudden change
of fortune, in the 7th century. Chosroes II, king
of Persia, declared war on the Emperor Heraclius. In June 614, the Persian general Salbaras occupied Jerusalem, devastated it and retired
taking away, amongst the spoils, the portion of
the Cross preserved there. Heraclius aroused
himself, made peace with Bulgars and marched
with all his forces against the Persians. Chosroes
was beaten several times and finished by being
assassinated by one of his followers. His sue
cessor, Si roes, hastened to sue for peace. Amongst
the conditions imposed by Heraclius was that of
restoring the relic of the Cross. It was done,
:: 23 ::

and he carried it back personally to Jerusalem,
delivering it up to the Patriarch Zachary on the
3d of May. This victory gave the origin in the
West to the Feast of the Invention — better,
the Recovery — of the Cross.

24 ::

The Cross at RomeSt Helena did not remain a long time in Je­
rusalem. After having satisfied her devotion to­
wards the Holy Places, and having provided for
the erection of a church in Bethlehem — the Ba­
silica of the Nativity — and one on the mount
of Olives — the Basilica of the Ascension — she
set sail for the West in order to return to Rome.
The ship, which carried her to Italy, bore a pre­
cious cargo. A portion of the wood of the holy
Cross, a part of the Title or inscription which
Pilate had had affixed to the Cross of Jesus; one,
or two nails of the crucifixion and, very probably,
some thorns of the crown with which the Roman
soldiers had tortured and insulted Jesus Christ.
Then, at the bottom of the ship, they had pla­
ced some sacks filled with earth from Calvary.
Helena could detach her heart no further from
the holy Places: she carried with her all that
would permit her to live at Rome the religious
life that she had lived in Jerusalem, full of my­
stic emotions and of holy enthusiasms. The pre­
cious load, she had brought from Jerusalem, was
to go to enrich the Basilica which she had con­
structed in her Sessorian palace. The Basilica
of “ Santa Croce in Gerusalemme ” is certainly
anterior to her journey to Palestine; for St He:: 25 ::

lena, almost an octogenarian when she set out
for Jerusalem, did not long survive her return to
Rome. It would appear almost certain that she
died on the 18th of August, 326. Eusebius re­
lates that Helena died in Rome, amid the em­
braces of her son and grandsons.
Now, accord­
ing to the chronological reckoning of the Theodosian code, Constantine, who was building a new
Capital for the empire, was in Rome for.the last
time in 326 ; and stayed there during the JulySeptember quarters.
During this stay of the
emperor in Rome, Helena passed to a better life.
And certainly, during the short period of time,
which elapsed between her return front Jerusa­
lem and her death, Helena could not have built
a Basilica, or have transformed a part of her
Sessoriam palace into a Basilica. But the tradi­
tion agrees with the statement that the Basilica
of S. Croce in Jerusalem owes its existence to St
Helena. The first name, that this basilica has
borne, was the Helenian Basilica. This adjective
is indicative of paternity, as the Liberian, the
Eudoxian, etc. The “ basilica Heleniana, quod
dicitur Sessorium ” (*). appears in the acts of the
Council which Pope Sixtus III is supposed to
have held in 433. The reality of this Council
is questioned, today; the acts, however, are not
later than the first decade of the Vlth century.
If in 500, that is to say, two centuries after St
Helena, thé basilica of S. Croce was called He,(*) Sac. Cone. Nov. Coll. Florentiae Tom, V, 1761.
col. 1163.
:: 26 ::

lenian at Rome, that would mean that St He­
lena had been its foundress. It is true that the
Liber Pontificalis attributes the Sessorian Basi­
lica to Constantine (£) ; but that would not con­
stitute a great difficulty. St Helena made use
of the imperial treasury for the works of benefi­
cence and piety (*) and wishing to give another
destination to property of the crown, she was
necessarily obliged to obtain the consent of her son.
Similarly one can reconcile the Gesta Sixti, which
make St Helena foundress of the Basilica, and the
Liber Pontificalis, which attributes- its origin to
Constantine. Consequently St Helena founded
the Basilica before her journey to Jerusalem :
after her return she would not have had the time
to link her name with the Basilica.
Because of the relic of the Cross, which St
Helena took there from Jerusalem, the Basilica
also took the name of Santa Croce.
In this basilica there is a semisubterranean
Chapel, separated from the church. Actually it
is dedicated to St Helena ; and anciently was
also designated by the name of *' Cubiculum S.
Helenae ” In this chapel the mother of Constan­
tine deposited the Relics which she had brought
from Jerusalem; the earth from Calvary was spread
under the pavement of the said chapel, as witnes­
ses it an old marble tablet, placed there and of
which we shall speak further on. The custom

(1) Duchesne, Liber Pontificalis, pag. 81.
(2) Eusebius, Vita Constantini, III, 47.

>■: 27 X

• of transporting earth from the Holy Places, in
order to lay it underneath the pavements of
houses of prayer, was not introduced by St He­
lena. Already Naaman had loaded two mules
with earth from Israel in order to pray to the
true God upon it; and the Jews of Nardea, in
Persia, had built a synagogue with stones and
earth carried there from Jerusalem (l).
On account of the earth from Calvary spread
under the pavement of this Chapel, the Helenian
Basilica of S. Croce took also the name absolutely
of Jerusalem : “ Basilica Jerusalem ” (2).
It had also, and still preserves it, another
title: “ Sessorian Basilica ”, by reason of the
spot, where it was built. The corruption of La­
tin, during the low empire and the high middle-age,
gives the following denomination : 11 Basilica in
palatio sessoriano ” .. basilica sessoriani palatii ”
“ basilica in Suxurio ” .. “ basilica in Censorio ”
. . “ in Suxorio, in Susulio, basilica in palatio Ses­
soriano ” (3). Whatever this Sessorium, or Suxorium, was, which gave the name, in the past, to the
sessorian palace, to the Basilica and to the pi azza,
which extends to the Porta S. Giovanni and to(*)

(*) See Calmet : Dictionarium S. Script. Venetiis
1795, over Naaman.
(2) Cone. Rom. sub. Symmacho. SS. Cone. Nova
Coll. Florentiae, t. VH I ; Col. 249; Ordorom. X, N. 13,
aoud Mabillon, Mus. ital. II. See also Ordo XI, N. 6:
«Statio ad Jerusalem in palatio Sussurriano ».
(3) See Besozzi, op. cit. in Bibl., pag. 26.
28 ::

the actual Porta Maggiore, is not easy to say (*).
Some think that it is derived from some exer­
cise performed by the pretorian in the neigh­
bouring amphytheater, or circus castrensis. The
“ Sessorium ” could not have been anything else
than a straw dummy, sat, or set astride, on a
wooden horse, against which the soldiers, feigning
a cavalry assault, exercised themselves first to
strike the horse, to make it fall, and then the
knight.
Someone (2) has stated that it is derived from
Sessorius, a Roman citizen, who must have had his
palace where now stands the Basilica of S. Croce.
Against this arbitrary statement there is a detri­
mental defection. Roman history knows nothing
about of any family bearing this name. Recently
there has been going another explanation. Lam­
pridius, speaking of Eliogabalus, (218-222) says
that this Emperor built a circus in the Horti Va­
riani, that it extended behind the Circus Castren­
sis to the via Casilina, opposite the temple of
Spei Veteris, which appears to be the circular
ruins, actually enclosed within the area of the
Umberto I Barracks, which are to the north of
S. Croce, distant some thirty metres from the
church. The palace which came to be transfor­
med into à basilica, (at least some halls) must
have been a building dependend on the Circus
W>ol “ f1,’ ’
i
· ’ StL M
·>θΗ
(*) Cf. Nardini, t. II p. 12, note of Nibby, with
quotation from Anastasio, librarian.
(*) Moroni, Dizion., vol. XII, p. 5.

:: 29 ::

of Eliogabalus, in which he probably resided.
This palace, being crown property, passed to
Constantine, who gave it as a residence to He­
lena and she turned it into a church. The name
of “ Sessorium, sessoriano, Suxorium, suxoria
*
num ” came to it from the people, through a
nickname, given to the Emperor. The immora­
lity of Eliogabalus is well known and it obtain­
ed for him most insulting names: the people
called him the “ sus ” (pig). Moreover, Elioga­
balus was a native of Syria, hence Syrian, sorien. To distinguish him from other immoral
emperors, and also scorning his nationality, the
people had united the two words: “ sus ” and
“ sorianum ” ; hance the word Suxorianum, sux­
orium, etc, given to Eliogabalus and, conse­
quently, to his buildings. When, some centuries
later, Eliogabalus and the orgies of Julius Domna’s
nephew had been forgotten and no one any
longer understood the meaning of Suxorium,
suxorianum, the word was corrected into Sesso­
rium which offers an idea and finds room in the
dictionary.
In whatever way one may solve the question
of “ Sessorium ”, be it monument, palace or
herwise, the first who speaks of it, laconically,
is Acrone, an author of uncertain date. There is
a simple reference, inserted in the Commentary
on Horace at the word “ Esquiliae ” (*) “ locus

(*) Satyr., lib. I; satyr VIII, 14. See edition of
Bale 1555.
•■‘I.........
’·■
- t . Z ·' .

■·,·. 30 ■:·:

in quo antea sepeliebantur corpora extra portam
illam in qua est Sessorium
It was certainly an important construction,
since Aurelian (270-275) in encircling Rome with
a wall, caused an elbow to be made in the wall
behind the Sessorium so as to include it within
the enclosure. St Helena has connected her name
with the Sessorian palace. Three halls of the pa­
lace, except for the division walls, went to make
the actual Basilica, of which the sidewalls, espe­
cially the lower part, are very ancient and appear
to go back to the third century. A little distant
from S. Croce, on the modern via Eleniana that
leads to Porta Maggiore, at the side the third
factory of railway workmen, some disinterred cham­
bers may be seen. They are called the “ Baths
of St Helena ’’ (*·) whether they were public or
private, these baths belonged to St Helena, as
the followng inscription, found in a wall, shows:
D. N. HELENA... VEN... AUG... MATER...
AVIA. BEATIS.................................................
THERMA..................................... SI..............
In the space, now occupied by the Barracks
“ Umberto I ”, which, before the confiscation of
ecclesiastical properties, was a vineyard of S.
Croce, in the time of Sixtus V there was found
a pedestal, which had supported a statue erected
to St Helena by the celebrated Giulio Massimi­
liano. This pedestal, fractured up to the height
(*) Nardini, t. II, pag. 12. Note by Nibby.

31 t;

of the lower cornice,is to be found actually in the
atrium of the Chapel of St Helena. From what
the dedication says, the statue was erected to St
Helena before the death of Constantine, because
Constance, son of Constantine, is referred to, as
Cesar and not as Augustus. Here is the text
of the inscription:
DOMINAE NOSTRAE FL. IVL.
HELENAE PIISSIMAE AVG.
GENETRICI D. N. CONSTAN
TINI MAXIMI VICTORIS
CLEMENTISSIMI SEMPER
AVGVSTI AVIAE CONSTAN
TINI ET CONSTANTI BEATIS
SIMORVM CAESARVM
IVLIVS MAXIMILIANVS, V. C. COMES
PIETATI EIVS SEMPER DICATIS (*
).

{*) See Bksozzi, op. cit. p. 70.

..

i: 32 ::

T ■·<· I·...·': .·.·.

The Ancient Chapel of the Relics
of the Passion of the Lord.
As we have said above, the relics brought from
Jerusalem were deposited by St Helena in a se­
mi-subterranean chapel, which is now dedicated
to the foundress of the Basilica herself. This
chapel is situated behind the left side of the apse.
It runs parallel to the transept of the basilica
and extends as far as the half of the apse. Be­
hind the right side of the apse, opposite the cha­
pel of St Helena, there is what is now called
the Chapel of the Pietà. Beyond this chapel,
Bernardino Carvajal, Titulary of St Croce, elect­
ed cardinal by Alexander VI, constructed a re­
ctangular hall, which serves as a vestibule to the
two chapels. The same cardinal was responsible
for the two corridors, which lead from the piers
of the apse to the chapels. In descending by
the corridor situated at the right of that which
faces the apse and which leads direct to the cha­
pel of St Helena, one sees extended on the side
walls a long inscription on panels of majolica.
The inscription, which is now incomplete, owing
to the fall of several panels, relates, in brief, the
story of the basilica and of the chapel and what
cardinal Carvajal did for the benefit of the church
and of the monastery attached to it. On the
:: 33 ::
3

entrance doorway to the chapel one reads the
antiphon of the Magnificat at first vespers of the
two feasts of the Cross. It is reproduced on pa­
nels of majolica and arranged in three lines.
Above this inscription there is a circle in ma­
jolica having a Greek Cross in the middle and,
around, the words : “ Contra spem in spent ”,
The door of the chapel consists of a wrought-iron
grill, with brass ornaments. In the thickness of
the wall is clamped a marble stone, similar to
another which we shall see later.
This corridor is habitually closed on the tran­
sept by a door. In order to descend to the cha­
pels one passes by the other corridor, pierced
through the pier to the left of that facing the
apse. This corridor, like the preceding, has the
side walls curved. On the right the wall curves
round the apse; on the left it curves round the
base of a circular building in which ended the
portico which flanked the side walls of the Sessorian Palace. (*).
The existence of these porticos
is vouched for by the Liber Pontificalis in the
life of Gregory II, (715-731) and by the lower
courses in travertine, still in place along the side
external wall facing north.
On the left wall of the corridor is walled up
the remains of the Ciborium, or Baldacchino of
the high altar, that the titular cardinal of S. Croce,
Ubaldo Caccianemici, (elected in 1144) had erect­
ed. There are three fragments of mosaic on
(*) Liber Pontificalis, Greg. II, p. 401.
:: 34 ::

a band of marble. On the three fragments is
reproduced the half of the inscription which was
formerly on one side of the Ciborium:
IOHES DE PAULO CV FRTB
SVIS ANGLO ET SASSO HVIVS OPIS MA[GISTRI FUERVNT.

They are the names of the three workers in mar­
ble, who executed the Ciborium, which was de­
stroyed in the restoration of 1744, and replaced
by the present one (*).
Over the arch, at the end of the corridor,
one reads the following invocation to the Cross,
it is carried across on panels of majolica:
AVE · CRVX · SPES · VNICA · VITE · MORTA[LIS ■ TEMPORE · REIS
INDVLGE · VENIAM · PIIS · AVGE · IVSTI[TIAM.
The corridor leads into a rectangular room, which
serves as porch to the chapel of the Pietà, which
is to the left, and to the chapel of St Helena,
which is to the right. The porch is flanked by
the monuments and sepulchral stones oi the car­
dinals, bishops and abbots of the Cistercian Order
to which were entrusted the custody and the ser­
vice of the basilica of. S. Croce by the Pontiff
Pius IV in 1561.
The chapel of the Pietà is separated from
the porch by a grill. It is so named since the
(*) Besozzi, op. cit. pag. 31 sq. ; Ortolani, pag. 15.
:: 35 ::

time when the painting of the retable which re­
presented Jesus taken down from the Cross was
substituded by an altorilievo in white marble, re­
presenting the Pietà. Formerly it was called the
Chapel of St Gregory. At the sides of the re­
table are two statues representing St Peter and
St Paul. The front of the altar is inlaid with
marble. The wall has frescos by Nappi and Nani
with scenes representing the liberation of Souls
from Purgatory. These paintings, much perished
through salpetre, are in accord with the dignity
of the altar which is Gregorian similar to that
which is in the church of St Gregory on the Celian. As all know, the Pontiffs, availing them­
selves of the treasure of the church, first in favor
of the most famous churches, then of all Cathe­
dral and parish churches, have granted a plenary
Indulgence — that is to say the total remission of
temporal penalties — to the souls for whom is
offered the holy sacrifice at a certain altar, which
for that reason becomes privileged. Besides the
privileged altars there are, throughout Christen­
dom, a very few Gregorian altars, which profit
by a special concession of the holy Pontiff,
Gregory the Great (604). The dignity of a Gre­
gorian altar was accorded to this altar by Gre­
gory XIII in 1574 (*).
Consequently in applying the holy Mass, ce­
lebrated at this altar, to a dead person, the soul
of the dead person can enjoy the plenary indul­

(*) See the Brief in Besozzi, op. cit. pag. 154, seq.
:: 36 ::

gence of Ordinary Privileged Altars and the suf­
frages of St Gregory, offered to God for the li­
beration of that soul from the sufferings of Pur­
gatory.
The porch, we have spoken of, leads to the
chapel of St Helena through a vaulted passage
constructed in the wall of the chapel. This pas­
sage is closed by a great iron grill. In the
thickness of the wall of the arch is inserted the
following inscription. It is very old and conta­
ins some orthographical errors.
IN HANC CAPELLAM SANCTAM
HIERVSALEM NON POSSVNT
INTRARE MULIERES SVB PENA
EXCOMVNICATIONIS NISI TANTVM
SEMEL IN ANNO SCILICET IN
DIE DEDICATIONIS EIVSDEM
QVE EST XX MARTII

Here is the translation: “ In this holy Cha­
pel of Jerusalem women cannot ender, unter pain
of excommunication, except once in the year, na­
mely on the day of the dedication of this, which
is March 20 ”. The motive of this prohibition
cannot be discovered. In the Chapel has certainly
been the Sessorian Holy of Holies. The Relics
of the Passion, which were kept in this chapel,
as we shall see, for more than a millenium, other
relics which were added later, the earth from
Calvary spread under the pavement, the very
place hidden and out of the centre, give to the
chapel something hidden and mysterious. It is
not for that, however, that the female sex were un­
:: 37

worthy to enter there, still more so that since
ancient times permission has been given to wo­
men to enter it once a year, the 20th of March.
Recently it has been attempted to give a proba­
ble explanation. Before Cardinal Carvajal had the
Chapel of the Pietà and the corridors which lead
to the two chapels built, it is not known which
was the passage to go down there. Probably
the chapel of St Helena was separated from the
Basilica and one entered from the adjacent mo­
nastery. In this way the relics and most pre­
cious reliquaries were sheltered from any thievish
device. It is well known how in the middle ages
it was a habit to steal relics. To descend into
the chapel the women wonld have to violate the
enclosure of the religious and so incur excommuni­
cation. Whether this supposition be true or false,
the prohibition to women to enter the chapel
still continues. In the pavement of this chapel,
not far from the threshold, there is to be seen
ancient stone witnessing to the presence of the
earth from Calvary under the pavement.
HIC · TELLVS · SANCTA · CALVA
RIE · SOLIME · AB · BEATA · HELENA
IN · INFERIOREM · FORNICEM
DEMISSA ■ SERVATA · EST · ATQVE
INDE · NOMEN · HIERVSALEM
CAPELLE · INDITV M

The Chapel presents the type of the catecumbal chapels. A rectangle with three altars
disposed in the form of a cross. At the bottom
of the chapel, opposite the entrance archway, ri:: 38 ::

Ancient statue of St Helena in her Chapel

ses, severe and majestic, the altar of St Helena.
It is raised from the pavement on three steps of
white marble. Exceptional to all the three al­
tars of the basilica, the front of the altar is scagliola in various colours and decorations. The
pilasters of the retable and the arch above, are
in African marble. Until about two centuries
back, the altar piece consisted of a canvas by
Rubens. For fear of damp, the canvas was ta­
ken away. A large niche was cut out of the
wall and lined with Bardiglio marble. In the
niche was placed an ancient statue, which some
supposes to be a copy of the Vatican Juno. The
statue, which is very beautiful, has the head and
arms replaced. These restorations, from their
very bad taste, are in contrast with the statue.
With the right arm the statue supports a woo­
den cross, and with the left, two nails On the
wall of this altar could be once read the whole
of the hymn “ Te Deum laudamus
Now be­
neath the great oculus, which alone admits light
to the chapel, are seen three frescos of Pomarancio. In the middle one, St Helena is shown
in the act of adoring the Cross ; in the side ones
the symbol of Faith and of Piety. In the side
walls of the chapel there are two altars, one on
each side. The frontals, inlaid with marble, con­
ceal the ancient consoles very much smaller and
almost in rough marble. The retables are sur­
rounded by large cornices which are set in the
wall. The canvases were by Rubens and re­
presented the “ Crowning of Thorns ” and the
“ Crucifixion ”. To save them from damp, these
:: 40 ::

canvases also were taken away and replaced by
two copies executed by Mariani. Of these co­
pies there remains one in miserable condition :
the Crowning; the other, the Crucifixion, has fal­
len into shreds and the retable has been covered
with draperies of red cloth. The pavement of the
chapel was of “ opus tesselatum ” so it is said,
like that seen in the basilica, that is formed with
little bits of varied marble disposed in various
geometrical forms. Through the action of indi­
screet visitors wanting to carry away the under­
lying earth from Calvary, the pavement was en­
tirely destroyed. Captain Herz of the Hungarian
army, had it restored in 1854, in honor of St
Helena with bticks in cement, which for the pe­
riod, was a rarity. One still sees remains of the
“ opus tesselatum ” at the sides of the altar of
St Helena. The same officer also had the free
walls of the chapel painted with a decoration ol
drapery of red. The decoration is now much
spoiled by the salpetre. Above the entrance
archway to the chapel is the coat of arms of Cle­
ment VIII (1592-1605) during whose pontificate
cardinal Alberto, Archduke of Austria, restored
the chapel. The coat of arms of the cardinal is
placed above the side altars and at the side of
that of St Helena. At the corners of the cha­
pel, resting on stucco pilasters, rise two arches,
one above the entrance, the other above the al­
tar of St Helena. Upon these arches and upon
the side walls rests a domical ceiling. Arches
and dome are covered with a splendid mosaic.
The emperor Valentinian II (375-392) had it pla­
:: 41

ced there; cardinal Carvajal had almost the whole
renovated and the Austrian cardinal had it repair­
ed in 1593. It is believed to be the work of
Baldassare Peruzzi. In the centre of the dome
is represented the Saviour surrounded by Angels
and Cherubins. He holds the right hand in the
act of blessing; and with the left supports an
open book in which is written the sentence pronunced by Jesus : ego sum lux mundi (*).
The
lineaments of the face of the Saviour betray a ve­
nerable antiquity; not so the toga that covers
Him, which is badly done. In the corners are
represented the Evangelists in lhe act of writing
and, between the Evangelists, in four triangles,
are reproduced: the Invention of the Cross, the
miracle by which the Cross was distinguished
from the two others, St Helena adoring the Cross
St Macarius carrying the Cross to Jerusalem.
In the arch, which is over the altar of St
Helena, are reproduced the figures of St Peter
and St Paul; and in that over the entrance arch,
St Sylvester, who consecrated the Chapel, and
St Helena, holding the Cross, with at the feet,
cardinal Carvajal, kneeling. The empty spaces
and margins of the dome are decorated with
peacocks, flowers, leaves and fruits in mosaics oi
finest workmanship. Over the side chapels and
the entrance arch, the Pomerancian has frescoed
all that we have seen in the triangles of the vault,
namely: the invention, distinguishing and the di­
pl St. John. VIII, 12.

:: 42 ::

vision of the Cross. Each painting is flanked by
two female figures symbolizing the principal vir­
tues by which St Helena was adorned. '1 he
twelve frescos are greatly ruined by the action
of salpetre.
In this chapel, as attested by a stone placed
at the cornu Evangelii (gospel side) of the prin­
cipal altar, St Helena deposited the relics of the
Passion of Jesus, namely: The portion of the
Cross, a nail, perhaps two thorns of the Crown
and the earth from Calvary. The part of the
Title, she carried from Jerusalem went to occupy,
perhaps from that time, another place in the same
Basilica, as we shall see when we come to talk
of the Title of the Cross.

:: 43 ::

The Modern Chapel of the Relics.
The chapel of St Helena, from its semisub­
terranean position, was bound, during the courss
of centuries, to feel the effects of the dampnese
which, owing to the Roman subsoil of tufa, in­
exorably rises from the foundations. In the six­
teenth century they thought by taking away the
Relics from the ancient chapel to save them from
the dampness of the place. After obtaining the
permission of the holy Pontiff Pius V, Cardinal
Francesco Pacheco, titular of S. Croce, provided
for the translation of the relics to the place that
was drier and also more secure (*).
He adapted as
a chapel an empty chamber already existing over
the corridor which we have just now described.
The chamber is large and in the side wall of the
left, turns around the curvature of the vault of the
apse of the basilica. The niche, where the relics
are kept, is constructed in the side wall of the
chapel of St Helena. Over the altar of the new

(*) Cardinal Pacheco was one of the plenipotentia­
ries of the king of Spain who, with the Venetian
representatives, Suriano and Soranzo and the delegates
of the Pontiff led by Cardinal Morone, concluded the
naval league which culminated in the victory of Le­
panto (Oct. 7-1591).
:: 44 ::

chapel is placed the following inscription, which
witnesses to the translation of the relics.

EX AVCTORITATE PII V · PONTIFICIS MA[XI MI
FRANCISCVS CARDINALIS PACECVS
LOCUM HVNC
IN QVO SANCTISSIMAE RELIQVIAE CONDERENTVR
EXTRVXIT DICAVITQVE ANNO MDLXX
The chapel underwent the first restoration
in 1778, as is witnessed by an inscription above
the inside doorway of the chapel :

RESTAVRATVM
ET
PICTVRIS ORNATVM
MDCCLXXVIII
A second restoration took place in 1878, as
one learns from a stone placed in the corridor
adjoining the chapel. The pavement was made
of marble, as also the graceful altar and the flight
of steps behind the altar, by which one mounts
to open the niche and to show the holy relics.
The altar was consecrated by the Cardinal Vicar
Monaco La Valletta, Titular of S. Croce, on
March 31th - 1878. A second stone, placed in
the bottom of the corridor, bears witness to this:

:: 46 ::

ALTARE
IN · CELLA · CRVCIS · SALVTIFERAE
SVB·QVO
CORPVS ■ S.THEODORI ■ M. CONDITVM · EST
RAPHAEL MONACO·A·VALLETTA
PRESB. · CARD. · TITVLO · SESSORIANO
VICE · SACRA · ANTISTES · VRBIS
RITE · CONSECRAVIT
PRIDIE · KALENDAS · APRILIS
ANN. · M.DCCC.LXXVIII
On entering this chapel one sees at the bot­
tom a marble altar. The mensa (altar stone) is
placed upon two supports. Under the altar, in
an urn covered with glass, lies on his side the
body of St Theodore, soldier and martyr. Al­
though it bears a veil, the skeleton is complete
and beneath the embroidery of the covering, are
visible a bone of an arm and a bone of a leg.
The gradine above the altar contains a part
of the cross of the good thief. This relic, visible
behind the glass which covers it, is 1,78 meters
long, and about 13 centimeters broad. The
weight, according to De Corrieris, is two Roman
ounces (l).
The niche, which contains the holy relics, is
flanked by two columns standing on marble bases.
Of marble also is the cornice placed upon the(*)

(*) See w. cit. p. 67, note 5, II. As for the relic
see: Giovanni Marangoni, L’amtnirabile conversione
di S. Disnia, p. 107.

:: 47

capitals of the columns. The altar is slender and
elegant. The niche is closed externally by a door
of two leaves and gilded around the edges, and
interiorly by a grill of gilded iron. The reli­
quat ies are arranged thus: in the lower division,
to the left of the person facing the reliquary, a
holy Nail ; to the right, a reliquary in the form
of a small temple, containing a small piece ot
stone from the Crib (Grotto of Bethlehem); a
small piece from the Sepulchre, and a little chip
from the column of the Flagellation. In the centre:
the relic of the sacred Title. In the upper di­
vision: to the left, the reliquary containing two
Thorns of the Crown of Jesus; to the right, two
falanges of the index finger of St Thomas, the
Apostle; in the centre, on an elegant pedestal, is
enthroned the cross which contains three fragments
of the holy Cross of Our Lord. We will speak
of them separately, beginning with the most nota­
ble reliquary.

:: 48 ::

The Relics of the holy Cross.
Of the portion of the Cross, that St Helena
carried away from Jerusalem, there remain only
three shapeless fragments, or chips. The division
of the relic into three parts goes back to the
period when it was thought to put it into a re­
liquary in form of a cross. These three frag­
ments do not constitute the entire relic that came
from Jerusalem. It is certain that relics of the
Cross have left Rome. St Gregory, the Great,
sent a particle of the Cross, as a gift, to Recaredo, king of the Visigoths in Spain (*).
But admitting that this particle was not
taken from the Sessorian relic but carried per­
sonally by St Gregory when he was recalled
from the nunciature of Constantinople, it is certain
that the Sessorian' relic has suffered some dimi­
nution. In 1515 the Pontiff Leo X extracted a
small particle in order to give it to Francis I,
king of France. Ciacconi, in the life of this Pope,
has preserved for us the text of the letter sent
to Cardinal lacobazi, charged with the extraction
(l) Reg. Epist.. book IX, epist. 228 towards the
end. (Edit. Ewald-Hartmann, Berlin 1893). He sent
another particle to the son of Thodolinda. — (Reg.
Lib. XIV, epist. 12).
:: 49 ::
4

of the relic. We translate from the latin: “ To
Cardinal lacobazi, left at Rome in the quality of
legate ”. We, desiring to offer a pious and excel­
lent gift to Francis, king of the French, on the
occasion of the visit he is about to make us, we
wish thee to go to the church of S. Croce, called
in Jerusalem, and bring away from the relic of
the Lord’s Cross which is kept there, a particle
having the dimension which we trace on this
sheet. Immediately having done this, send the
little piece, well sealed, by means of a rapid
courier, together with an official report signed by
thyself, that we may present it to the king toge­
ther with the relic. Do everything with diligence;
and health to thee. From the Villa Cafifagioli,
near Florence Decembers, 1515” (*).
The cen­
tury afterwards, Urban VIII (1623-1644), wished
to give a relic of the holy Cross to the Vatican
Basilica; and this relic was obtained from S. Croce
in Jerusalem, as the following inscription, placed
over the statue of St Helena in a pilaster of the
Dome of Michael Angelo records:
PARTEM CRVCIS QVAM HELENA IMPE­
RATRIX
E CALVARIO IN VRBEM AVEXIT
VRBANVS VIII PONTIF. MAX.
E SESSORIANA BASILICA DESVMPTAM
ADDITIS ARA ET STATVA
HIC IN VATICANO CONDITORIO COLLO[CAVIT
(‘) See Besozzi, work cited, p. 142.
:: 50 ::

During the last century the Pontiffs Pius VI,
Pius VII and Pius IX removed other small pieces
to satisfy the piety of noble personages (*).
Other
abstractions are not known.
The authenticity of the Sessorian Cross abso­
lutely cannot be suspected. There is the most
ancient tradition and the support of ancient writers
that a part of the Lord’s Cross was taken to Rome
and placed in the Sessorian basilica. The book
of the munificence of Constantine, attributed to
Anastasius the Librarian, says that Constantine
“ made a Basilica in the Sessorian Palace, in which
he placed the wood of the holy Cross, enriched
with gold and gems, and gave the name to the Ba­
silica that came to be always called Jerusalem ” (’).
This assertion is reproduced in the Liber Pontifica­
lis (in the biography of St Silvester) and in both
editions. This proves clearly that at Rome the
fact of the deposit of the relics of the Cross in
the Sessorian Basilica was notorious. That after­
wards the erection of this basilica came to be
attributed to Constantine ought not to be wondered
at. For one can certainly attribute to this Em­
peror that which St Helena did with the funds
of the imperial treasury.
We have spoken above of the adoration of
the Cross, practiced at Jerusalem on Good Friday
(*) See the De Corrieris, work quoted p. 143. As
regards Pius IX, the abstraction in assured by a mar­
ginal note in a copy of Besozzi, kept in the library of
S. Croce.
(8) See Baronio, tom. IV, Year 324, n. CVI.
:: 51 ::

and how this adoration; following the example of
Jerusalem, came to be practiced also in the Latin
Church. In churches not possessing the relic of
the true Cross, one adored the altar Cross. Al­
ready the Sacramentarium Gelasianum prescribed
the adoration of the Cross on Good Friday (l)
and at Rome this was done in the Sessorian
Basilica, as the Antiphonary of St Gregory the
Great (1604) gives one to understand, which
fixes the Station for Good Friday “ at Jerusa­
lem ” (2). The Pontiff in person proceeds ba­
refooted from the Lateran Basilica and goes in
procession with the clergy and people to the Ses­
sorian Basilica, there to adore the wood of tLe
true Cross. Several Ordini Romani, published by
Mabillon O. S. B. in the Museum italicum, second
volume speaks of this solemn ceremony. These
Ordos contain generally the ’ritual of the papal
functions. Ordo X, which belongs to 1000, speaks
of the procession which moved from St John La­
teran to the church of the holy Cross “ quae est
Jerusalem ” (which is Jerusalem) and of the ce­
remony which took place there. After the ado­
ration of the Cross, the pope communicated himself
at the altar with the Eucharistic consecrated the
day before at St John’s and carried processionally
from the Lateran Basilica (3).(*)

(*) See Thomasii, opera, t. VI, pp. 63 and 66, Edi­
tion Vezzosi, Rome, 1750.
(2) Ibid., t. V, p. 82 sq. edit. Vezzosi, Rome 1750.
(3) Afus. ital. t. II, p. 202 sq.
:: 52 ::

Of this ceremony speak again Ordo XI of Canon
Benedict, drawn up before 1114; Ordo XII of
Cencio Savelli, who became pope under the name
of Honorius III (1216-1227); Ordo XIV of Gia­
como Gaetani, nephew of Boniface VIII (12941303). The presence of a part of the true
Cross in the Sessorian Basilica certainly deter­
mined the ancient Pontiffs to fix the Station for
Good Friday in the said Basilica. That proves
the authenticity of the relic and confirms the
historic tradition of its preservation in the Helenian basilica. If, besides, we consider that the
Pontiffs have, at various times, detached particles
from the Sessorian relic, and that, although after
the exile of Avignon they no longer carried out
the ceremonies at S. Croce, nevertheless, they did
not fail to betake themselves to venerate the sacred
wood of the Cross in the Sessorian Basilica, such
as Innocent III, Innocent VIII, Clement XI, Bene­
dict XIII with all the Fathers of the Roman Coun­
cil (*) and, lately, pope Pius IX, May 3d, 1858 (’)
the slightest doubt would be unreasonable, as it
is difficult to find à more ancient relic that could
present so many documents attesting its invention
and veneration as the Sessorian relics of the
Cross.
The three fragments of the Cross are kept
now in a precious reliquary, the work of Valadier.

(*) Besozzi, work quoted p. 162.
(2) See the stone in the chapel of the relics. Leo XII
went there several times.
:: 53 ::

In 1798, by the order of the Tiberine Republic,
the Monastery of S. Croce in Gerusalemme was
confiscated, the monks, save one, expelled, the
basilica despoiled of its precious objects. The
13th of September, the vigil of the Exaltation
of the Cross, another order caused the depredation
of the very precious reliquaries. The three frag­
ments of the Cross and the two Thorns were
wrapped up in thin paper; the Title and the holy
Nail were left in their cases, but stripped of their
artistic stands. It was a loss of inestimable value;
but the relics remained in their chapel. On the
19th of September some agents of the Republic
presented themselves to the custodian of the Ba­
silica, D. Sisto Benigni, O. Cist, with the order
to take away the relics themselves. The custodian
understood that they wished to came their disappearence from hatred of religion ; and defying all
menaces, declared that he vould not give up the
keys of the chapel, except to the Prefect, to
whom, as a matter of fact, he presented himself
in order to give them up. A stratagem saved
the relics. D. Sisto had hidden, or thrown away
one key. Then the Prefect came personally to
S. Croce and saw himself obliged to smash open
the interior door of the chapel, he stormed, he
threatened ; but, afterwards, cooling down, by a
secret counsel of providence he finished by res­
toring the keys which he had received, to D. Sisto.
The relics were saved.
In 1803 a Spanish duchess of Villa-Hermosa
provided the money for a new reliquary for the
holy Cross. On the 12th of September the re­
:: 54 ::

liquary was taken to S. Croce, and the three
fragments were placed in it. The Diario Romano
of the year 1803, n. 284, describes in the fol­
lowing manner the reliquary and the ceremonies
of enclosing the three fragments therein. “ Having
been completed, the Reliquary which was to con­
tain the most holy wood of the Cross, was last
Monday taken to S. Croce in Jerusalem. About
22 o’clok, (two hours before the Avemaria). Mon­
signor Cappelletti, who have been commissioned
to have it made, crowed over there with father
D. Girolamo Castiglia, abbot of the Monastery,
and father Comprocurator General of the Order,
D. Sisto Benigni abbot of St Bernardo. A little
later arrived his Eminence the Cardinal Vicar
della Somaglia and, having ascended to the chapel
of the relics, the three pieces of the sacred wood
were transfered into the new reliquary by his
Eminence and by Monsignor Ponzetti, with the
help of signor Giuseppe Valadier, the maker of the
reliquary, which was closed with the seal of his
Eminence the Cardinal Vicar. The reliquary con­
sists of a silver gilt cross on the model of the ancient
Stational crosses. In the centre of the arms there
is a basrelief in gold, representing the most holy
Trinity. In the upper part, under the rockycrystal, one reads the inscription in letters of gold:
“ Humiliavit semetipsum, factus obediens usque
ad mortem, mortem autem Crucis ”, In the la­
teral arms and in the lower one, under rockcrystal, are placed, with graceful ornament of gold,
the three pieces of the glorious Relic. In the
lower part within a rectangle, there is a bass:: 53 ::

relief in gold of the sorrowful Virgin, below which
in another square, is the Crown of Thorns; at
the four ends of the cross, are in the three upper
ones, in the letters of gold, the divine Title in
the three languages: Hebraic, Grecian and Latin;
and on the lower one, a skull and cross-bones.
The same extremities are ornamented with foliage
and little globes of purplebronze, as also with
other ornaments which encircle the bass-relief of
the most holy Trinity in the centre, as well as
other little globes of lapislazuli and gilded rays.
The Cross is set up on a base of silver gilt, or­
namented with festoons of flowers and leaves with
gold ribbons, beneath which is a lapislazuli plinth,
in the middle of which appears a bassrelief in gold,
which represents the Crucifixion of our Lord with
the two thieves and a great number of figures
and horses. On each side of the pedestal, are two
Angels in silver, who, with sad countenances,
carry, one the lance, the other the sponge; resting
the one and the other on a base of lapislazuli
ornamented with cornices and gilded festoons.
The height of the work is five palms, and the
value is two thousand sequins

:: 56

The Title of the Cross of Jesus.
The Sessorian Basilica has been restored se­
veral times. The popes, who carried out nota­
ble restorations, are: Gregory II (731) Adrian I
(795) (*) Benedict VII (983) Lucian II (1145) (*);
and Benedict XIV (1758), who transformed
it. Other restorations are due to the Titular
Cardinals. In 1491 and 1492 Cardinal Peter
Gonzales Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo and
Titular of the holy Cross, repaired the roof, lo­
wered the ceilings of the transept and of the
principal nave and renewed the plastering of the
Basilica. While the workmen were at work round
the arch which separates the nave from the middle
of the transept, an important fact in the history
of the Title of the Cross happened. Above the
arch, at the point where one sees a cherub sur­
mounted by a cross with rays in stucco, there
was a short inscription in mosaic, illegible through
the decay of the characters and the falling out
of several letters. While the masons were at
work around this inscription, they noticed that
(*) For these two popes, see Duchesne, Lib. Pont.
vol. I, pag. 401 and 508.
(2) See John the Deacon in the Museum liai. vol. II,
pag. 568.

:: 57 ::

there was a hollow behind. They took off the
plaster and found a little space, like a little win­
dow. In this space there was a lateritious block,
a brick, with this inscription, engraved on the
anterior face : “ Titulus Cruris” (S'). Behind the
brick, laid a leaden box, two palms in length,
closed and tied with a bit of string. The box
bore three seals, in the centre of which was a
half-figure with the hat and, around it, this in­
scription : Gerardus Cardinalis S. Crucis. In the
box was found a wooden tablet, a palm long,
and of thickness of more than two fingers. It
was a very ancient and very damaged board.
On one side of the board there were three lines
of writing cut on the wood. Each line had dif­
ferent characters. On the bottom line one read
in latin : Js Nazarenus Re. The characters were
straight and pointed, like the laws affixed by the
Romans in the Pretorium Album, and the writ­
ing ran from right to left. Above the latin
words ran, in the same sense, the Greek words
and above the Greek were to be seen the same
words in Hebraic or Syro-Chaldean characters,
very much damaged.
The edges of the board were broken : it pre­
served here and there whitish stains, and in the
letters cut in the wood were to be seen vestiges
of minium. The board presented a dark colour,

;*) This brick is always to be seen in the Chapel
of the Relics, preserved in a case covered with glass
which lets the inscription to be seen.
:: 58 ::

Picture of the whole Title.

like chestnut or tobacco. There could not be
any doubt that they found themselves in the pre­
sence of a part of the Title that Pilate caused
to be fixed to the Cross of Jesus and which said
in Hebraic, (perhaps Aramaic), Greek and Latin:
“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews ’’ (*).
The discovery made a great sensation in Rome.
Contemporaries spoke of it, as Lelio Petronio,
Stephen Infessura (!), Paul De Magistris, Leo­
nardo di Sarzana al Volaterrano (8), Burcard, the
Master of Pontifical Ceremonies in his M. S. Me­
mories (4). The discovery took place the first of
February, 1492. The 14th of March following,
Innocent VII, after having heard Mass in the
church of St Gregory on the Celian Hill, went
with his suit to the Basilica of S. Croce, to see
and adore the Title. On this occasion Burcard
had it in his hands; and so he was able to de­
scribe it minutely. Pope Alexander VI who, dur­
ing the same year succeeded Innocent VII, pu­
blished, the 29th of July, 1496, the Bull “Admi­
rabile sacramentum ”, by which he aknowledged
the authenticity of the finding of the Title, and
granted a plenary indulgence to those who, hav­
ing confessed and communicated, should have
visited the Sessorian Basilica the last Sunday of
(‘) Gospel of St John XIX, 19.
(2) Cited by G. Bosio. See the Bibliography Book 1.
Chap. II. page. 92.
(3) Cod. Vat. cited by De Corrieris, p. 95.
(4) J. Bucardi, liber Notarum, tom. 1,12 March, 1492.
Published a new by Celani in Rer Ital. Scriptores. Edit.
Fiorini (Vol. XXXII, p. 339-341).
:: 60 ::

January (*).
The Title was placed in a Reliquary,
that Cardinal Mendoza had made, and put in the
Chapel of the Relics, (2) Then, as later on in the
19th century, small pieces were taken away.
As regards the Hebrew inscription, deteriora­
tion has increased. Sante Pagnini (f 1541 at Lyon)
in his “ De nominibus hebraicis ” wrote that he
had clearly read “ Notzeri = Nazarene
Now this
word can no longer be read there. There only
remain undeciphrable scratches. That is owing
to the work of wood worms and to the handling
of the Title in putting it into the new reliquary,
as we shall see. The reader will ask why was
the Title placed over the arch of the transept.
Anciently to preserve relics from possible theft
they had the custom of placing them in high pla­
ces in churches. We could cite cases of relics
immured in the box of apses. St Helena, or
some one else later, placed the Title over the
great arch perhaps in consideration also that in
the church of the Cross ought to be enthroned
the trophy which described the Messianic dignity
of the Victim who had breathed out His last
breath thereon. The leaden box, in which the
Title was found, as we have seen, bore three seals
with the legend: Gerardus Cardinalis S. Crucis.
This Cardinal is Gerard Caccianemici of Bologna,
canon of the Abbey of St Marie of the Rhine,
(*) Bullar. Roman. Magnum. Edit, de Luxemburg
1721 Tom. 1, p. 455.
V) De Corrieris, op. cit. pag. Ill et seq. and
pag. 120, n. 9.
:: 61 ::

Reliquary of the Title of the Holy Cross.

near Bologne. Pope Honorius 11(1124-1130) made
him cardinal librarian of the Holy See and as­
signed him the title of the Sessorian Basilica.
At the death of Celestinus III, in 1144, he was
elected Pontiff. He took the name of Lucius II;
and he died the following year, September 20,
1145. The Blessed Eugenius III of the Cister­
cian Order followed him in the pontificate. When
he was still cardinal, Lucias II carried out im­
portant repairs at the Sessoriam Basilica, his cardinalatial title. The present campanile of the
same Basilica is owing to him. During the re­
pairs the Title of the holy Cross was found. The
cardinal did not dare to remove it from the place
and, after having authenticated it, he left it over
the arch.
We have said that the phrase : Nazarene
King, for the Latin and also for the Greek, runs,
as in Hebrew, from right to left. This fact might
give room to doubt the authenticity of the Title.
In a small book, like this, we could not enter
into the question of the ancient manner of writ­
ing. It is certain however that there is no lack
of Latin and Greek inscriptions engrave from
right to left. We cite one in Latin and one in
Greek.

NA TIXIV · 3VQ A1TN33NIV ' AIJ3
etc. .. SIN13..31V ' MVD ' Il ’ SIS3W ' T3
(Elia Vincentia who lived with her husband Cinis...
Years... and 2 Months).
:: 63 ::

This is a Christian inscription (*).
In an Ephe­
sian coin the inscription surrounding the figure
of Diana is thus written:

ΕΦΕΕΙϋΝ . VblEWIC
(Artemis [Diana] of the Ephesians).

We could multiply examples, but these two
cited suffice to prove that amongst the ancient
Greeks and Romans, the custom of writing like
the orientals, from right to left, was not un­
known. The intention of the engraver to facili­
tate the reading of the “ elogium ” for the Jews,
who used to write from right to left, certainly
suggested to him to write the condemnation of
Jesus in the same direction in Greek and in
Latin.
Some have observed that the word “ Naza­
renus ” is not traced regularly in greek, because
it should contain the letter eta (η) and not epsi­
lon (ε). We reply that the ancients used epsi­
lon indiscriminately for eta and viceversa (2).
It has struck one that the engraver has made
use of the diphthong ω instead of omicron. Also
the diphthong ou was used for omicron. Fi­
nally others have noticed that “ Nazarene ” in
Greek is written ΝΑΖΩΡΑΙΟΣ (3).
(‘) See
Chap. 18,
(2) See
Chap. Ill,
CJ) See
:: 64 ::

Boldetti, Il Cimilero di Pretestato, II,
p. 555.
Montfaucon, Palaeograbhia graeca, lib. II,
p. 127.
De Corrieris, p. 197 and the following.

This is true, but it is also true that in the
time of the Roman Empire many Latin words
were written in Greek characters. Examples
would never end. In the Gospels there also
exist many Latin words written in Greek.
There is nothing, then, at which to be as­
tonished if the Pilate’s engraver, following an
usage adopted in his time and even earlier, wrote
in Greek what he had written in Latin, still more
in dealing with a name. There is not, then, any
orthographic reason to authorise any doubt as to
the authenticity of the Sessorian Title. St Helena
theft certainly found the Title, as St Ambrose
assures us, and one part of it, even if not the
entire Title, she took with her to Rome, where
it was going to occupy the transeptal arch in the
Sessorian Basilica. The elevated place which it
occupied, and the oblivion into which it had
fallen, constitute sure elements for seeing in it the
authentic “ elogium ” that the procurator Pontius
Pilate caused to be fixed on the Cross of Jesus.
The base of the Reliquary in which it was placed
in 1492 was confiscated by the Tiberine Republic
of 1798. The Title rested in the silver “ teca ”,
that Card. Gonzales de Mendoza had made, up
to 1827. In that year Card. Zurla had a new
base made for the reliquary and decorated the
teca, completing thus the recognition of the sa­
cred relics. The reliquary consists now of a base,
placed upon a step with six lions’ paws. In the
centre of the base, on a small square base, rises
a cylinder flanked by two festoons of little roses,
tied at the top with a knotted ribbon.
:: 65 ::
5

On one side of the cylinder, on a boss in
relief, is represented the pelican, and, on the
other, the coat of arms of Cardinal Zurla with
the following inscription on the little base:

THECAM · ADVERSIS · TEMPORIBVS · EXPI­
LATAM · D. PLACIDVS · ZVRLA · CARD. ·
TITVL. · RESTITVIT · ANNO MDCCCXXVII.
In the cylinder, by means of a large metallic
pin, is inserted the case which contains the Title
of the Cross. The case is rectangular, open in
front, where, through crystal, one sees the tablet
with the Latin and Greek inscription, and the
remains of the Hebrew. It is surrounded by a
festoon of small roses, which, in the upper part,
forms a crown. At the point, where the crown
rests on the case and on the reproduction of the
Title, a pair of pincers and a hammer are crossed
together with two lances and the sponge. In the
lower part, the reliquary rests on a base formed
by acanthus leaves; on both sides is engraved
the coat of arms oi Cardinal Mendoza. On the
back of the case is carved in basso rilievo a scene
from the Way of the Cross.

:: 66 ::

The Holy Nail.
Although the Evangelists do not say whether
Jesus was fastened to the Cross with nails or with
cords, the declaration of the Apostle Thomas that
he could not believe in the resurrection of Jesus
unless he had first put his finger into the place
of the nails (St John XX, 25) removes all doubts.
The Saviour was fixed to the Cross by means of
nails which passed through His hands and feet,
as the prophet predicted: “ They pierced my
hands and my feet ” (Psalm. 21, 17).
As we have shown above, St Helena found
also the nails with which Jesus had been crucified.
Socrates (Book I, c. 17) assures us that a miracle
was not necessary to distinguish them, because they
were together with the Cross which was proved
to be that of Jesus. Speaking of the finding of
the holy Nails and of the use St Helena made of
them, St Ambrose, Rufinus, Sozomen, Theodoret,
Cassiodorus, etc.said that she had one nail put into
the bridle of Constantine’s horse, and another into
the crown or helmet of the Emperor. One cer­
tainly she took to Rome with her and deposited
it in the Sessorian basilica. The tradition is so
constant and sure that it is useless to insist

.: 67 ::

on it (*). One must not pay too much value to the
observation that some have made, that for example,
the nails of our Lord are venerated in too many _
places.
Jesus was crucified with four nails The custom
of painting or sculpturing the Crucifix with one
io t over the other began to appear in the
XIst century. The ancient pictures and sculptures
represent the Saviour as crucified with four
nails (*).
Besides these nails, which penetrated
the living flesh of Jesus, other nails were su­
rely used to prepare the gibbet. The Title was
nailed to the cross, as St Cyprian says ; the crosbar
of the cross at the point where it was clamped to
the upright, was necessarily fixed with nails. Then
some people believe that on all crosses there was
a support upon which the victim rested otherwise
the weight of the body w’ould have torn the holes
in the hands with the probability of the executed
criminal becoming detached from the cross. Others
deny the existence of this support and hold that
the ancient phrase “ equitare cruci ” (ride hor­
seback on the cross) supposes the custom of
putting a crutch between the thihgs in such a way
that the trunk of the crucified weighed on the
crutch.
(1) See Baçonius, book IV, year 326, n LVIH ;
Cornelius Kurz, Bartolini, etc.
(2) This at any rate, was the custom of the Ro­
mans. Plautus in one of his comedies {Musteliaria,
act. II, sc. I) wishes one of the characters the puni­
shment of the Cross : “ ea lege ut adfigatur bis pedes,
bis brachia ”.
:: 68 ::

One of the nails of the Passion.

Whether they used the support or the crutch,
it is necessary to admit that, besides the four nails
of the crucifixion, other nails were necessary to
fix the arms of the cross, the Title and the support
or the crutch, if this last was not of iron. These
nails were not as precious as the lour which mar­
tyred the Redemptor ; still they are venerable
from the use to which they were put; and they
too, pass today as those of the Lord. It is certain
that adding also these secondary nails, one does
not catch up to the figure necessary to justify the
number of sacred Nails disseminated through the
churches of Europe. However it has been stated
that in some of these churches named, the holy
Nail does not appear in the catalogue of Relics;
in others there is scarcely a little fragment of nail,
and not an entire nail. One knows, besides, that
in the middle age, with a filing or fragment of
the true Nail, fused with other iron, nails similar
to those of the Crucifixion were fashioned. For
example, Clement VII gave such a nail to the
Due of Berry (*).
St Charles Borromeo, later on,
gave several persons nails which had touched the
holy Nail of Milan. All this ought to make us
prudent in the presence of nails said to be the
Saviour’s. When, however, the tradition, as in
the case of the holy Sessorian Nail, is very ancient,
constant and accepted by critics, the slightest doubt
is unreasonable and one can securely venerate in
it an instrument of the Passion of Jesus Christ.

(l) Felibanius, Hist. Abb. S. Dionysii, p. 299.
:: 70 ::

The holy Nail of the Sessorian basilica is,
probably, that which Gregory of Tours spoke of.
This writer relates that St Helena, on returning
from Palestine to Italy, finding the Adriatic very
rough (l), caused one of the Nails of the Cru­
cifixion to be lowered into the sea and that, in
coming into contact with the holy Nail, the sea
became calm immediately. No one could suppose
that St Helena allowed it to be thrown into the
sea, so depriving herself of a relic so renown.
She let it be submerged in the sea and drawn
back, carrying it with her to Rome. In 1798
the reliquary of the sacred Nail was broken up.
They left the part, in which it was kept, but the
very rich base was confiscated. In 1827, by the
efforts of Abbot Benigni, O. Cis., the case re­
ceived a new support substituted in 1889 by
another silver base, which Abbot Bartolini had
made.
The reliquary resembles a monstrance. Above
the knob the silver plates expand circularly so
as to support a circle of columns. On the upper
part of this peristyle stands a smaller peristyle,
covered by a dome surmounted by a Greek cross
with rays. The base of the first peristyle, at the
sides of the reliquary, protrudes externally to form
brackets to support two Angels kneeling in the
act of adoring the sacred Nail, which occupies(*)

(*) The Adriatic of the ancients included also the
Ionian sea and the sea of Malta. See the Acts of the
Apostles, chap. XXVI, 27, and XXVIII, 1.
:: 71 ::

the centre of the peristyle. It is secured by small
tongues of silver, which fasten the head. The
Nail is head downwards. It is 12,05 centimetres
long, and it is blunt ; — has the point broken off.
The iron stem is square and measures 9 milimetres. The head of the Nail is empty interiorly;
it looks from the outside like a domeshaped
capsule with the edge somewhat expanded like
campanulas. From the position of the Nail, one
cannot see whether the head is joined on, or is
all one with the iron stem.

:: 72 ::

The two Thorns from the Lord’s Crown.
To still more insult and torture Christ, the
Roman soldiers added to the scourging a cha­
stisement of their own: the crowning of Thorns.
(St John XIX, 2). We do not know whether
this crown was buried with the instruments of the
Passion, or whether, after the theatrical and bloody
representation of the king in mockery and after
two presentations to the people, the soldiers threw
it away to be retrieved and preserved by some
disciple of Jesus. Baronius (Annals, tom. I, Year 34,
n. 131) holds that St Helena found also the crown
of our Lord. Moreri accepts and adopts this opin­
ion. (Diet. art. Coronae). Whether found with
the other instruments of the Passion, or guarded
jealously by some Christian family in Jerusalem,
the Lord’s Crown was venerated at Constantinople
in the time of Justinian. During the Latin empire
of Constantinople (1204 1261), Baldwin II pledged
it to the Venetians in return for a sum of money.
St Louis, King of France (died August 1270),
redeemed it and deposited it in the Chapel of
the royal palace. In 1791 it passed to the Abbey
church of St Denis and, a short time after, to
the imperial library. In 1806 it was transferred
to Notre Dame, where it is still preserved. It is
bereft of thorns; there only remains the stem.
:: 73 ::

The thorns are distributed in many churches
The Sessorian basilica possesses two. How came
these two thorns in the basilica of St Helena?
It is difficult to say. Bartolini (*) and Panciroli (*) assert that these two thorns were ta­
ken to Rome by St Helena, or by others when
the thorns commenced to be detached from the
crown, and distributed to illustrious churches; and
it is certain that these two thorns have been ve­
nerated in the basilica of S. Croce inJerusalem for
many centuries. St Helena, say ancient, reliable
writers, besides a portion of the Cross, the Title
and one of the Nails, placed other relics in her
basilica.
To what species belonged the branch of thorns
which was interwined into a crown for Jesus? Let
us say at once that the botanical examination of the
crown and of the thorns, attempted several times,
has given no result. Time has so altered the
character of the bark that competent judges have
not dared to give a pronouncement. Some persons
have believed that the crown was plaited from
berberry or holy thorn, but berberry does not be­
long to the family of thorns; it is a brier which
bears these thorns at the summit. This then has
no resemblance to the thorns of the Lord’s Crown
which are venerated in several churches. The name
of holy thorn became attached to the berberry not

(*) De Cruce, p. 164.
(2) Tesori nascosti dell’alma città di Roma, 1625,
p. 151.
:: 74 ::

Three small stones of 'the
grotto of Bethlehem, the ho­
ly sepulchre, and the column

Two thorns of the holy
crown of our Lord

because it served in the coronation of Jesus, but be­
cause among the pagans it was regarded as a
charm, a preservative against ill-luck (*).
For a
long time it has been believed that the Crown was
made from marine rush; but this is inadmissible.
Prescinding from the fact that the marine rush is
not found at Jerusalem, and the soldiers, there­
fore, were unable to provide themselves with it,
the marine rush, although it has woody and
sharp points, is not a thorn. Now the Evange­
lists say that the soldiers “ plectentes coronam
de spinis ” (platting a crown of thorns) (2) put
it upon His head. It deals, therefore, with one
or more branches of thorns twisted round to
make a painful and sanguinary wreath for Jesus.
Some, finally, believe that the branch or branches
employed by the soldiers to prepare the crown,
were furnished by the thorn, called “ Ranno ”.
This opinion is supported by the Syrian tradi­
tion, which says that the soldiers placed upon
the head of Jesus “coronam rhamnorum». Pliny
(Lib. 24, Cp. XIV) says that the “ Ranno ” is
whitish and its branches covered with straight
and woody points. Whichever way, the question
is insoluble. The two Thorns, preserved in the
Sessorian Basilica, are straight, woody, pointed.
One is 3. 05 centimetres long, the other 3. 04,
some more centmetres taken up by the ring that
supports them. The bark is ash-white, but it is
(*) Dioscoride, Lib. I, Chap. 102.
(2) Matth. 27, 29 \ John. 19, 2.
:: 76 ::

understood that the pith is reddish. These two
Thorns resemble perfectly the other thorns pre­
served in other churches. The reliquary, that
contains them, has the form of a chalice up to the
knob. Above the knob or head, stands upright,
a crown of thorns whose centre is occupied by
the case glazed on the two sides with crystal.
Between the crystals rise the two sacred Thorns
on two little cornucopias.

:: 77 ::

The Other Relics
of the Sessorian Lipsanoteca.
In the same niche of the Chapel of the re­
lics, are kept other relics contained in reliqua­
ries, placed at the right of those which they face.
In the lower reliquary, which is taken to be
Lombard work, are preserved small stone frag­
ments from the Grotto at Bethlehem, the one of
the holy Sepulchie, and the Column of the Fla­
gellation. The reliquary is of gilded bronze, in
the form of a small circular temple. It began
to form part of the Sessorian relics in 1825,
through Abbot Benigni O. Cist. It is not known
from whence it came or by vhom it was given (*).
On the upper shelf is kept the index finger of
the Apostle St Thomas. Some say that this relic
has been preserved at S. Croce from the time of
St Helena. In the basilica there is an altar de­
dicated to St Thomas. It is the first to the left
on entering the church. The altar-piece is by
Passeri ; and represents the apparition of the Re­
deemer, who invites the unbelieving Thomas to
place his finger in the wound of the side, and
to convince himself thus of the reality of the re(l) See De Corréris, work cited, p. 67, note 5, HI.
:: 78 ::

Finger of St Thomas the Apostle.

surrection. The reliquary, newly made after the
French Revolution, has at the base the form of
a chalice. Above the knob, two palms, symbols
of the martyrdom of the Apostle, interlace in the
form of a crown, surmounted by a radiated cross.
In the centre of the crown is fixed an oval re­
ceptacle glazed with crystal on its two faces. In
the middle of the case stands a sheath in the
form of a finger, with two slits at the sides.
Along the slits one sees clearly the falanges of
the sacred finger (*).
Outside the Niche and on the epistle side,
on a small table of the XVIII century is pre­
served a most precious reliquary, for the number
01 relics which it contains. It is a sort of “ aedi­
cula ” (a small building or temple) closed by
folding doors ; it bears an inscription in letters of
gold : “ Fuit S. Gregorii Magni ”. (It belonged
to St Gregory, the Great). When the doors are
open, one sees on their interior face and across
the interior of the “ aedicula ” two hundred and
two divisions covered with glass (*).
These small

(*) Really the two reliquaries, that of the holy Thorn
and this of the oly finger, are a pair, as they resemble
one another, except that the glazed teca, or case (oval)
is surrounded in one case by thorns and in the other
by palms. Note of the translator.
(’) Besozzi, work cit. p. 149, gives 137 “little bo­
xes”. If this number is not a typographical error,
the compartments have been increased since Besozzi ;
perhaps at the time of restoration, to which the text
alludes.
.: 80 ::

Reliquar}’ ol Pope St. Gregory the Great.

compartments contain relics of martyrs and Saints
wrapped in green silk. In some compartments
are miniature ampullas. The names of the relics
are for the most part illegible vith age. In the
centre of the little temple there is seen a very
delicate Byzantine mosaic surrounded by a bronze
frame worked in relief. The mosaic is much pe­
rished, but allows some details to be seen enough
to make us understand that it represented a Jesus
of Nazareth in the scene of « Ecce Homo».
In 1862 the reliquary was repaired externally,
and a new base was made for it. The tradition
is that the reliquary belonged to St Gregory the
Great. As one sees it at present, it is not pos­
sible to attribute it to St Gregory because there
are relics of later Saints. But the tradition has
some foundation. The Sessorian basilica, down
to St Gregory,was immediately dependent on
the Pope. When the title of the church of
St Nicomedes on the via Nomentana ceased towards
the end of the sixth century and it was not
thought opportune to reconstruct it, the title of
St Nicomedes was transferred to S. Croce, which
began to function as a parish church. From that
time then began for the Sessorian basilica the
series of the Titular Cardinals. It is not known
whether St Gregory was the first Titular of
S. Croce, or whether he transferred to the church
the parish of St Nicomedes ; but it is certain that
the name of St Gregory is ccnnected with the
Sessorian Basilica; and it is not improbable that
he had given the Byzantine mosaic to the ba:: 82 ::

silica, (l) surrounded by some relics of martyrs
and saints. This initial reliquary has become
gradually enriched with new relics until it con­
tained two hundred and two, and even more, as
certain little compartments contain more than
one name.(*)

(*) St Gregory had been apocrysarius at Constan­
tinople.

:: 83 ::

Exposition of, an visits to the most
holy Relics.
In the Sessorian Basilica it has been usual
for centuries to show the holy relics from a bal­
cony which looks from the Chapel over the small
nave to the right of the entrance to the church.
The exposition takes place:
The fourth Sunday in Lent, after the singing
of Vespers and the stational procession;
Twice on Good Friday, once in the morning after
the Mass of the Presanctified, and a second time
in the afternoon, after the procession of penitence
The 3d of May on the Feast of the Inven­
tion of the Cross, twice : in the morning, after
the pontifical Mass, and in the afternoon after the
pontifical Vespers ;
The 14th of September, the Feast of the Exal­
tation of the Cross, after the pontifical Mass.
Very rarely and exceptionally, they are shown
on the occasion ot some important pilgrimage.
On Good Friday, the two Thorns, the holy Nail,
the Title and the holy Cross are shown ; at other
limes the finger of St Thomas, which is shown
the first, is added. The relics appear for a short
time on the balcony, and are then withdrawn.
The cardinal, or abbot, who shows them, is ac­
customed, at the end, to bless the people with
:: 84 ::

*

the holy Cross. Then, centuries ago, the Title
alone was exposed. (*).
The past centuries it was very difficult to
visit the holy relics. In 1625, at the holy apo­
stolic visitation, a decree of excommunication
was renewed against those who dared to enter
the said chapel. Cardinals, bishops and the abbot
and monks af the adjoining monastery were ex­
cepted. A copy of this decree reproduced on
parchment is still affixed to the outer door of
the chapel. (*). To obtain access to the chapel, a
written permit from the Titular cardinal was re­
quired. Now it is no longer necessary to address
oneself directly to the Titular, nor, in his ab­
sence, to the Vicariate. During the Jubilee of
1900, on account of the great number of pil­
grims, the titular cardinal delegated the abbot
of St Croce to give this permission. During the
following years the number of pious visitors not
having diminished, the delegation became per­
manent. Every new Titular grants the delegation
ad annum, or ad suum beneplacitum to the ab­
bot of S. Croce who, by means of priest monk,
custodiam of the chapel, conducts visitors there,
and, after some prayers, shows the sacred relics.

U.I.O.G.D.
(*) Mabillon, Mus. liai. I, p. 233. There was
also exposed a coin of Rhodes, thought to be one of
the 30 pieces of silver given to Judas for the betrayal.
It is still preserved in the Chapel, but not amongst
the relics.
(8) See the text in De Corrieris, work cit. p. 150,
Note '27.

:: 85 ::