Exultation of the Holy Cross

September 14th The Exultation of the Holy Cross commemorates the historical event in the 4th Century when Empress Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine, found the true Cross while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with the intention of finding and preserving the sites of Christ’s life and death.When she found three crosses on Golgotha, he had Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem touch each cross to a dying woman. When she was immediately healed after the touch of one, Helen knew she had found the True Cross. The image shows Macarius lifting up the True Cross while Emperor Constantine and his mother Helen watch in prayerful astonishment below. The event is not only a historical moment but glorifies the salvific and life-giving power of Christ’s Passion and death.