Definition of Cruz de Caravaca

In Spain, the Murcian town of Caravaca de la Cruz is especially known for its popular veneration of a symbol Catholic, the Cross of Caravaca. The relic has been kept in the Basilica of the Real Alcázar de la Vera Cruz since the 11th century. This Murcian city is one of the five towns around the world that has the honor of celebrating a jubilee year in perpetuity.

The Vera Cruz de Caravaca is the official name of this Catholic symbol

This item symbolic is revered for a reason singular, since the cross is considered to include splinters from the authentic cross on which Christ was crucified (in the Catholic terminology this type of relic is known by the term Lignum Crucis, that is, the true piece from wood in which Christ died). According to tradition the Vera Cruz was found in the IV century AD. C in Jerusalem by Saint Helena, the first Roman empress to embrace Christianity.

The relic was initially guarded by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. As a consequence of the crusades between Christians and Muslims, the pieces of the cross and its corresponding reliquary were transferred for their protection to the Murcian town of Caravaca. From then on, this holy symbol became an inspiring element for the Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, which at that time was under Muslim domination.

In the 13th century the custody of the relic was handed over to the Order of the Temple and when the Templars disappeared the order of Santiago was responsible for the custody of the town and its most precious treasure. This circumstance attracted different religious orders, especially Franciscans and Jesuits, who made the Cross of Caravaca known in different territories of Latin America.

The mystery of the locket theft in 1934 is still unsolved

The chips of the Lignum Crucis of Caravaca are found in a reliquary, which disappeared in February 1934 under very strange circumstances. According to the official version of the Catholic Church, the holy piece was recovered six years later.

There are all kinds of versions and speculations about this curious episode. It is claimed that the robbery was a strategy of the Catholic Church itself to protect the relic. Some research suggests that the robbery was related to Freemasonry.

Also, it is said that his disappearance was related to an international gang of thieves of works of art or that it was the Nazis who promoted his robbery.

In any case, more than eighty years later it is still unknown what really happened to this important relic. Although there are reasonable doubts about the final destination of the cross, there is an indisputable fact: Caravaqueños carry the Cruz de Caravaca on their heart.

Photo Fotolia: Philippe LG