Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (Part 1) - Sunday, Fourth Week of Lent
- Rick Bessey
- Mar 15
- 2 min read
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (in English, Holy Cross in Jerusalem) is a fascinating place where you can be present in the space of some pretty amazing history and legends.
Turn your mind back to the time when the emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 AD. He had defeated his rival at the Milvian Bridge in Rome, and credited the Christian God with his victory. His mother became enamored with the religion and traveled to Jerusalem to find the physical items related to Christianity. She returned with pieces of the True Cross, thorns from the crown of thorns, and nails from the Crucifixion. These items, along with soil from Jerusalem, she placed in her palace in Rome, the Palatium Sessorianum, which became the basilica we see today.
The brick remnants of the original walls of the imperial palace are visible on the side of the structure. In the time of Constantine, this complex was just inside the Aurelian walls, and you can still see the original work and the original Roman complex surrounding the church.
In reviewing this amazing church, I discovered that you can actually stay there when you visit Rome! The monks have converted the medieval monastery to a B&B! Can you imagine staying as a pilgrim in a monastery in one of the holiest buildings of Rome, experiencing the layers of history present at the site of this pilgrimage church? (The website is here: https://www.domussessoriana.com/en.html.)
We will return to Santa Croce in Jerusalem two more times this Lenten season, where I will tell you about the finding of the True Cross, and the fate of Pope Sylvester II, associated with this basilica.
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