Is the Holy Cross still preserved by the Church?

According to tradition, St. Helena (the mother of Constantine and an Empress of the Roman Empire) discovered the Holy Cross (or the “True Cross”) while making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land between 326-328 AD. She led an excavation to search for the True Cross, together with the bishop of Jerusalem and the local church. They eventually found three crosses and decided that only a miracle could prove which was the True Cross. A dying woman was brought to the site, where she touched the first two crosses–but her condition didn’t change. Then she touched the third cross, upon which she was miraculously cured. St. Helena and those present celebrated because they knew they had found the True Cross!

Pieces of the True Cross were brought to various churches and religious houses around the world, and many of those pieces remain preserved today. You might see a small splinter of it in a reliquary (a small container for relics).

The Church also celebrates the finding of the True Cross (and the important symbolism of the Cross) with a special feast day. In the Latin rite, it is on September 14th and is called the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.