In Spain, the Murcian town of Caravaca de la Cruz is especially known for its popular veneration of a Catholic symbol, the Cruz de Caravaca. The relic has been kept in the Basilica of the Real Alcázar de la Vera Cruz since the 13th century. This Murcian city is one of the five towns in the world that have the honor of celebrating a jubilee year in perpetuity.
La Vera Cruz de Caravaca is the official name of this Catholic symbol
This symbolic element is venerated for a singular reason, since it is considered that the cross includes splinters of the authentic cross on which Christ was crucified (in Catholic terminology this type of relic is known by the term Lignum Crucis, that is, the actual piece of wood on which Christ died). According to tradition, the Vera Cruz was found in the 4th century AD. C in Jerusalem by Santa Elena, 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, 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 theft of the reliquary in 1934 is still not solved
The splinters 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 theft was a strategy by the Catholic Church itself to protect the relic. Some research suggests that the theft was connected to Freemasonry.
Also, it is said that his disappearance was related to an international gang of art thieves or that it was the Nazis who promoted his theft.
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: the Caravaqueños carry the Cruz de Caravaca in their hearts.
Photo Fotolia: Philippe LG
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