Today we celebrated Mass in the hall on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

This celebrates two historical events: the discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine,

and the dedication in 335 of the basilica and shrine built on Calvary by Constantine, which mark the site of the Crucifixion.

 

Unfortunately, this basilica and the shrine were destroyed by the Persians in 614 but the Crusaders built the The Church of the Holy Sepulchre on this site in 1149.