France’s Notre Dame Cathedral is still a long way from full restoration, but the Catholic Church will not allow its treasured relics to go unseen for the duration of the construction effort. For the second time since the April fire, the Crown of Thorns — reputed to have been the same crown forced over the head of Christ during the Crucifixion — was presented to the city of Paris for veneration.
Crux News reports that the ceremony took place at St Germain l’Auxerrois church, on Friday, where Catholics were welcome to pray before the venerated relic. Earlier this month, the Crown of Thorns, along with several other relics saved from the Notre Dame fire, were put out for display at the Louvre museum, where they are also being housed and protected while Notre Dame is under construction.
The Crown of Thorns, along with a piece of the Cross and a swath of fabric believed to be from the tunic of St. Louis, were saved from the fire thanks to the quick work of Paris firefighters, and the Cathedral’s chaplain Father Jean-Marc Fournier, who put themselves at risk to save these Catholic artifacts as the roof threatened to crumble.
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‘He made straight for the relics’: Firefighter chaplain saves Crown of Thorns
The crown is reportedly made from rushes, and it is sealed within a glass container, which is covered in ornamental gold thorns. The majority of the actual thorns of the Crown have been broken off and are kept in separate reliquaries. Many of them were distributed to other Catholic institutions and were safe from the Notre Dame blaze.
And today we celebrate...