But for 2,000 years, Christians have safeguarded the evidence.
These are 10 holy relics of Christ’s Passion that still exist today - a🧵
1. The Crown of Thorns in Notre-Dame, Paris.
2. The True Cross in Jerusalem, Rome, and beyond
After Emperor Constantine’s mother, St. Helena, discovered the Cross in the 4th century, fragments were dispersed to churches across Christendom.
Today, you can venerate parts of the True Cross in:
>Basilica of the Holy Cross, Rome
>Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
>Monastery of Mount Athos, Greece
These relics are among the most sacred in the world.
3. The Holy Nails in Milan, Rome & Trier
The nails that pierced Christ’s hands and feet are venerated in multiple sites.
The most prominent:
>Milan Cathedral: suspended above the altar in a golden reliquary.
>Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome.
>Trier Cathedral, Germany.
4. The Titulus Crucis in Rome
This is the wooden inscription placed above Christ:
“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (INRI).
It’s preserved in Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, brought by St. Helena.
The Latin, Greek, and Hebrew script match St. John’s Gospel (John 19:20).
5. The Holy Lance in Vienna, Vatican, and Armenia
The spear that pierced Christ’s side (John 19,34) has multiple claimed relics.
The most famous are:
>Hofburg Palace, Vienna
>St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican
>Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Armenia
Many saints and emperors held it in awe, including Charlemagne.
6. The Seamless Garment in Trier Cathedral, Germany
This was Christ’s tunic, woven without seam, symbol of His priesthood and unity - John 19,23.
Legend says St. Helena brought it to Trier.
It’s rarely displayed, only during special jubilees. The last was in 2012.
7. The Holy Shroud of Turin, Italy
A linen burial cloth bearing the mysterious image of a crucified man.
No paint. No ink. Blood type AB.
Many believe, because of the undeniable evidence, it is the actual burial shroud of Jesus. Housed in Turin Cathedral, rarely displayed.
8. The Column of the Flagellation in Rome
Before the Cross, came the scourging.
The pillar where Christ was whipped is preserved in the Basilica of Santa Prassede, Rome.
Pilgrims since the early centuries have wept and prayed before it.
9. The Sudarium of Oviedo, Spain
Mentioned in John 20:7 as the cloth that covered Christ’s face.
Bloodstains match the Shroud of Turin, same type, same pattern.
Venerated in the Cathedral of San Salvador.
10. The Holy Sponge in Basilica of St. John Lateran, Rome
At the Crucifixion, a soldier soaked a sponge in vinegar and lifted it to Christ’s lips - John 19,29.
That very sponge is said to be kept at St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of the Pope.
It rests near relics of both the True Cross and the Holy Nail.
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848 years ago, on November 25, 1177, one of the most unlikely victories in Christian history took place.
A sick king and a few Crusader knights faced, and defeated, Saladin's giant army - Outnumbered 20 to 1
The Battle of Montgisard - a🧵✝️
The great protagonist of this battle is Baldwin IV, the "Leper King."
Diagnosed still in his youth, he already suffered from the numbness of his hands and legs, but his strength of spirit was indomitable.
No disease took from him the duty to protect Jerusalem.
With what many believed to be the end of campaign season, many of Baldwin’s barons had already ridden north.
But when word reached Jerusalem of Saladin’s approach, Baldwin, the young leper King, did not hesitate.
War was once again upon them and they were to fight, or die.
Saladin launched a new offensive against the Kingdom of Jerusalem with about 26,000 men, relying on surprise and the apparent weakness of the Crusader forces.
Christians are supposed to be pacifists? Just say you know nothing about Christianity
The saints and doctors of the Church taught that war is sometimes not only permitted, but a duty
Let’s talk about Just and Holy War - a🧵✝️
Let’s begin with a myth: “Christianity means absolute pacifism. War is always evil.”
This is FALSE.
From the early Church Fathers to the great Doctors like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, the Church has always taught that some wars are just, even holy.
War is an evil, but sometimes necessary to restore just peace and avoid greater evils.
The Church does not glorify violence.
But she teaches that peace is the fruit of justice, not cowardice - Is 32,17
If tyrants threaten the innocent. If evil crushes the weak.
Then Christian men may, and sometimes must, take up arms in defense of the good.
The tilma of Guadalupe still hasn’t decayed after 500 years.
Its colors can’t be reproduced.
And in her eye? A reflection of witnesses, 1/100th of a millimeter.
This is the image that shouldn’t exist , but it does - a 🧵✝️
The year was 1531. A poor indigenous man named Juan Diego sees a woman “brighter than the sun” on a hill near Mexico City.
She speaks to him in his native tongue.
She says: "Am I not your mother?"
What happened next changed the Americas forever.
To prove the apparition was real, Our Lady tells Juan Diego to gather roses in December.
He finds them blooming out of season.
He carries them in his tilma, a rough cactus-fiber cloak. When he opens it before the bishop, the roses fall and an image appears.
You’ve probably prayed novenas before.
But have you ever heard of a 12-year novena that if prayed daily Jesus will defend you at judgment?
Plus no purgatory, protection for 4 generations, and even foreknowledge of death?
The 12-Year Prayer of St. Bridget of Sweden – a 🧵
From Eden to Calvary, salvation has always been written in Blood.
When Adam and Eve fell, God clothed them with garments of animal skin, the first blood sacrifice to cover sin. (Gen 3:21)
But these sacrifices only pointed forward.
The Israelites shed the blood of lambs, goats, and bulls.
Yet none of these could heal the wound of sin.
It took the Blameless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, whose Precious Blood was poured out at Calvary, once for all, for our redemption.