Fragments from Calvary

The Holy Cross Pilgrimage, in which a relic of the True Cross will traverse England and Wales, begins in London this coming Good Friday. Richard Pickett reports

The Holy Year 2025 happily coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of the Latin Mass Society. This confluence of events gives us much to thank God for. Among the special events organised to mark the year will be the Holy Cross Pilgrimage, during which a relic of the True Cross will traverse the dioceses of England and Wales.

Beginning in London on Good Friday, the relic will then make its way across the country, journeying from north to south and stopping at Catholic churches throughout England and Wales. In some locations, it will be the focus of solemn liturgies; in others, it will simply be exposed for silent veneration and prayer.

Beginning in London on Good striking that form this relic of the True Cross path. Tradition holds that St Helena the fourth century. Until John XXIII’s Rite commemorated this miraculous event on 3 May each year with the disprove

The Church Fathers ascribe latria — the highest form of worship, reserved for God alone — to the Holy Cross because of its intimate connection to Christ and His redemptive work. For this reason, sacred relics of the Cross and Passion are held in special veneration above all other relics. The liturgical signs of honour given to the Cross bear a striking resemblance to those accorded to the Blessed Sacrament: we genuflect before it, it is carried in procession under a canopy, and it is borne with a humeral veil, emphasizing its sacrality.

The two small pieces of wood that form this relic of the True Cross have travelled an extraordinary path. Tradition holds that St Helena discovered the Cross in Jerusalem in the fourth century. Until John XXIII’s calendar reforms in 1960, the Roman Rite commemorated this miraculous event on 3 May each year with the feast In Inventione S. Crucis. From Jerusalem, major portions of the Cross were taken to Constantinople and to Rome, where they remain enshrined at Santa Croce and the Vatican. Smaller fragments were disseminated throughout Christendom, and by the time of the Reformation, England had significant relics at Canterbury, Glastonbury, Westminster and Bromholm.

The inspiration for this pilgrimage came from the account of England’s conversion recorded by the Venerable Bede. When Pope St Gregory the Great sent St Augustine and his monks to evangelize the English, they arrived carrying a silver Cross as their standard. Alarmed by the tales of the pagan English's barbarism, as recounted in Gallic reports, Augustine and his companions relied on the Cross for protection and as a sign of Christ’s ultimate victory over sin and death. Landing on the Isle of Thanet, they followed the silver Cross in procession to the court of King conversion recorded by the Venerable

Ethelbert at Canterbury, chanting litanies and imploring God for the salvation of the English people. And so, through divine providence, the conversion of England began. In the same spirit, the Holy Cross Pilgrimage will be offered for the Church and for the (re)conversion of England and Wales, uniting the prayers of all who participate in this sacred journey.

In the nineteenth century, the French scholar Charles Rohault de Fleury set out to disprove Protestant claims that there were enough relics of the True Cross to build a ship (a myth started by John Calvin). He published Mémoire sur les instruments de la Passion in 1870, demonstrating that if all known relics were gathered together, their combined volume would not exceed that of a single full-sized cross. The relic which will tour England and Wales came into the possession of the Archdiocese of Southwark, where it was authenticated by mandate of Archbishop Amigo in 1945.

To believe that these fragments of wood come from the actual tree of Calvary upon which Jesus Christ died for the salvation of mankind requires a leap of faith. Yet this is precisely what the Church proposes to us: Ecce lignum Crucis, in quo salus mundi pependit. Venite, adoremus!

For details of the Holy Cross Pilgrimage visit holycross2025.org