We headed down the street to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme where a wedding was just wrapping up. The church itself is pretty, but it’s whats in the Chapel of the Holy Relics that’s the main attraction. It has quite the treasure trove of relics including a piece of the good thief’s cross, three fragments of the true cross, doubting Tom’s finger, pieces of the scourging pillar and Christ’s tomb, one of the nails that Jesus was crucified with, two thorns from the crown of thorns and the INRI King of the Jews sign, and a fragment of the scourging instrument used to beat Jesus. Plus, in another room is displayed an official copy of the Shroud of Turin. These relics didn’t move my soul the way others had and God only knows if they are truly what they claim to be, but it was really helpful in reminding me that Jesus was a real person. Sometimes, I feel kind of removed from Jesus by all the time that has passed. It becomes easy to regard him as this kind of mythical figure or a story in a book. The relics though, bring home that he was a real person, with a real life, who suffered…a lot. So seeing the relics was pretty interesting. Of course there were no pics allowed. So you’ll just have to see it for yourself. . . .