Lift High the Cross
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, celebrated on September 14, commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helena in 326 AD. This feast highlights the significance of the cross as a symbol of Christ’s victory over death. In the Catholic tradition, the cross is venerated on Ash Wednesday and Passion (Palm) Sunday, reminding the faithful of Christ’s suffering and the promise of redemption.
Built of Living Stones reminds us well that “the cross with the image of Christ crucified is a reminder of Christ’s paschal mystery. It draws us into the mystery of suffering and makes tangible our belief that our suffering when united with the passion and death of Christ leads to redemption.”
The same USCCB document then goes on to delineate the options we are given for how to do this within our sanctuaries: 1. A crucifix may be placed upon the altar. 2. A crucifix may be suspended over the altar. 3. A crucifix may be affixed one of the sanctuary walls. 4. A processional cross of sufficient size may be placed in a stand within the sanctuary following the procession. (side-note – If one of the first three options is adopted, the processional cross must be placed out of view following the procession.)
The original crucifix (used from 1898 to 1939).
Sanctuary Crucifix Options
As we get ever closer to actual work beginning within the sanctuary, discussions have been taking place about which of the above four options for a crucifix in our sanctuary would proportionally interact best with our new altar, ambo, presider’s chair and tabernacle stand. Originally, we were leaning towards option number 4 – with the idea that our parish’s original crucifix (used from 1898 to 1939 and currently visible in the downstairs atrium’s display case) could become the processional cross. However, the discussions have led us to land on option 3: affixed to the wall above the tabernacle.
We looked at a few artistically distinct renderings of crucifixes (see above) – the third one being a most beautiful crucifix that was found in one of our sacristy cabinets a couple of years ago (most likely it was used in decades past for worshippers to venerate the cross during the Good Friday Liturgy here at the Basilica). In any case, that is the one we have ultimately landed on. The halo over Jesus’ head will mirror the circular gilded artwork on the front of the altar, ambo and tabernacle stand – artistically connecting all three items – with the wood used being the same as the presider’s chair.
As seen below, there are many different things to consider when deciding on the look of the corpus (see below). The face of Jesus will be depicted as still alive, not yet dead.
The picture below depicts the dimensions and ultimate placement of the crucifix in our sanctuary.
