Kissing the Crown of Thorns (almost)

While we were passing Notre Dame, we saw that the first Friday of every month, they brought out the Crown of Thorns to be venerated. Mom and I looked at each other and said, "We can't miss that." However, Friday was move-in day at my dorm (more on that later...) So we left my semi-mandatory guided tour of the neighborhood to bust up to the cathedral before 3:00.

Allegedly the Crown of Thorns was owned by some Byzantine emperor in 1200, but he ran out of money so he pawned it (along with a piece of the True Cross and a nail from the Crucifixion). St. Louis, the King of France, bought them and brought them to France in 1206. He built a church as a reliquary--Sainte Chapelle (the one with the gorgeous windows).  Eventually they were moved to Notre Dame where you can pay three euros to see them in the Treasury.

For me, the cool part about these relics is not that they are real (I mean, who really knows?) but that they were brought to Notre Dame in 1200, and that for almost 900 years people have thought they were real. That's pretty neat.

Now the Crown of Thorns is in a gold see-through circle. It just looks like a ring of wood because all the thorns were sent out to various kings throughout Europe. The first Friday of every month they hold a big procession of nuns and monks, and the Archbishop carries in the Crown, still guarded by the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (what a nifty name).

So I was all set to stand in line and kiss the Crown of Thorns when my turn came (Mom was too chicken). But apparently, post Vatican Council II, you don't get to kiss it--you just get to kneel, bow, or whatever. So, I got within three feet and genuflected. It was still a pretty powerful experience.

A priest holding the Crown of Thorns in the front

The Archbishop carrying it out