Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Early in the fourth century, Saint Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places that mark the life of Jesus Christ. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior’s tomb. Constantine built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses, and, according to legend, the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman. The cross immediately became an object of veneration. 

The Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher was dedicated on September 14.