This Friday, December 13, the most important Christian relic returned to its rightful place in a new reliquary designed by Sylvain Dubuisson. The return was preceded by a procession.
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Newsroom (14/12/2024 20:02, Gaudium Press) The Holy Crown of Thorns of Our Lord Jesus Christ has returned to Notre-Dame de Paris, five and a half years after being saved from the flames. It has been installed in the axial chapel of the cathedral.
France has had custody of it since 1239. In 1806, this relic was entrusted to the chapter of canons, until 1923, when the Archbishop of Paris, restoring an old custom, granted the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre custody of the relics of the Passion when they are presented for veneration. The Knights of the Holy Sepulchre then act as a kind of bodyguard for the relics. Thus, there are always four knights present while the faithful pray before it.
The return of the Holy Crown was eagerly awaited by the faithful worldwide. The relic was saved from the flames that devastated Notre Dame on April 15, 2019, as was the robe of Saint Louis, which was also kept in the cathedral, according to its rector, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, on the night of the fire. It had been kept at Notre Dame since 1806.
Around 2,000 faithful gathered in the cathedral to celebrate the return of this relic, in a ceremony that lasted just over an hour last Friday afternoon, December 13. The ceremony was attended by 30 canons, eight chaplains from the diocese of Paris, and 430 ladies and knights from the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
After the procession, the archbishop himself placed the crown in a new modern reliquary, designed by Sylvain Dubuisson, in the axial chapel of Notre Dame. From now on, the Crown of Thorns will be removed from the reliquary and displayed every Friday from January 10 to April 18, and then every first Friday of the month after that.
Compiled by Dominic Joseph
