Europe

The Holy Tunic of Christ on display in Argenteuil, France, in 2016. / Credit: Simon de l’Ouest, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Paris, France, Apr 24, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

A rare exhibit of the Holy Tunic of Christ — believed to be the garment worn by Jesus during his passion — is drawing unprecedented crowds to the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Argenteuil, a suburb of Paris. 

Open to the public from April 18 to May 11, the exhibit is galvanizing Catholic faithful across Europe. More than 400,000 pilgrims are expected during the 23-day event — more than double the attendance of the previous exhibit in 2016. 

Argenteuil, a city that has seen significant Muslim immigration in recent decades, now finds itself at the heart of a surprising spiritual resurgence. 

To accommodate the historic influx of visitors, the Diocese of Pontoise — which oversees the basilica — has launched a large-scale logistical effort. The monument will remain open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., with overnight access on the three Saturdays following Easter. 

An educational and spiritual path accompanies pilgrims as they venerate the Holy Tunic, with several hundred trained volunteers assisting to guide the faithful and maintain a smooth flow of visitors. 

The exhibit of the Holy Tunic opened on Good Friday, April 18, with a solemn Mass celebrated by Bishop Benoît Bertrand of Pontoise, followed by a public Stations of the Cross procession through the streets of Argenteuil. Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin was originally scheduled to preside over the closing Mass on May 11, but the recent death of Pope Francis on April 21 and the upcoming conclave may alter the Vatican delegation’s presence.  

The Holy Tunic has only been publicly displayed twice in the 20th century — in 1934 and 1984 — drawing approximately 80,000 visitors each time. 

In a statement, the Diocese of Pontoise emphasized that the purpose of the exhibit is to offer believers “an opportunity to meditate on the passion of Christ and the profound meaning of his sacrifice.” 

Speaking to the Catholic weekly Famille Chrétienne, Father Guy-Emmanuel Cariot, rector of the basilica, underlined the spiritual dimension of the event. “Our task is to organize the encounter between people and the Holy Tunic — then the Lord does what he has to do,” he said.

For Cariot, the relic is “an open book of the Passion,” capable of moving modern hearts. “More than the relic itself, it is Jesus who draws people in,” he added, inviting every pilgrim to contemplate the mystery of redemption. 

The Holy Tunic of Argenteuil is considered one of the most precious relics in Christendom. According to tradition, it was discovered in Jaffa in the fourth century by St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, and later gifted by Empress Irene of Constantinople to Charlemagne in the year 800. It was then entrusted to the Benedictine nuns of the Argenteuil abbey. After disappearing during the French Revolution, it was rediscovered in the 19th century and has since undergone several restorations. 

While scholars continue to debate its authenticity, the air of mystery surrounding the tunic has only deepened its veneration. For the faithful, it represents far more than a historical artifact: It is a tangible link to Christ’s passion — a sacred object that connects believers today with the redemptive suffering of Jesus. 

Historian Jean-Christian Petitfils, author of  “La sainte tunique d’Argenteuil: Authentique relique de la Passion du Christ” (“The Holy Tunic of Argenteuil: An Authentic Relic of Christ’s Passion”), argues that both scientific testing and historical indicators support the relic’s authenticity. Nonetheless, he acknowledges that gaps in documentation — and periods when the tunic vanished from the historical record — leave parts of its story shrouded in uncertainty. 

This year’s exhibit takes place in a city that has experienced profound socio-religious shifts in recent decades. Argenteuil, home to nearly 110,000 residents — around a third of whom have at least one parent of immigrant origin — has witnessed a sharp and steady decline in Catholic practice, even as Islam has become more visibly present in the public sphere. 

Against this backdrop, the display of the Holy Tunic carries significant symbolic weight. It represents a revival of Christian memory and a reaffirmation of the Church’s enduring presence in a society undergoing deep cultural and spiritual transformation. For many, it is a moment of awakening — a testament that the Catholic faith continues to resonate, even in a secularized and religiously diverse environment. 

The pastoral programming reflects this ambition. Daily solemn Masses are celebrated by different Church leaders, including Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, patriarch of the Chaldeans in Iraq, and Cardinal Juan José Omella, archbishop of Barcelona. Special days are devoted to children, along with scouting vigils and catechesis sessions for families, youth, and spiritual seekers. 

In the lead-up to the exhibit, the Holy Tunic toured several French cathedrals between 2024 and March 2025, preparing the public and cultivating a spirit of curiosity and reverence. 

This display also coincides with the broader revitalization of the Basilica of Saint-Denis — a spiritual and historical landmark of the Île-de-France region and traditional burial place of French royalty. A major restoration project is underway to reconstruct its north tower and spire, dismantled in the 19th century after a storm.  

Since 2022, archaeological excavations have unearthed Merovingian tombs and rare Romanesque elements, paving the way for a full restoration of the west façade, launched in 2023 and scheduled for completion in 2029. The initiative is not only architectural but also educational, featuring a craft village and immersive displays.  

Like the exhibit in Argenteuil, it bears witness to a shared drive to revive France’s Christian roots through the transmission and enhancement of its sacred heritage.

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According to Stephen de Silva, St. Albans Cathedral’s longest-serving guide of more than 45 years, religious brothers who lived in the cathedral’s abbey in the 14th century invented the original hot cross bun for both charitable and catechetical reasons. / Credit: Photo courtesy of St. Alban’s Cathedral

Rome Newsroom, Apr 18, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Good Friday more than 660 years ago, the hot cross bun became part of English culture as well as Catholic history.

The origins of the beloved baked treat traditionally made with currants, spices, flour, and eggs is closely linked to a cathedral dedicated to St. Alban, England’s first saint and martyr.

Located north of London in England’s Hertfordshire county, St. Albans Cathedral stands where the fourth-century protomartyr was executed and buried around A.D. 300. His 1,700-year-old shrine, housed within the cathedral, is believed to be the oldest continuous site of Christian pilgrimage in Great Britain.

According to Stephen de Silva, St. Albans Cathedral’s longest-serving guide of more than 45 years, religious brothers who lived in the cathedral’s abbey in the 14th century invented the original hot cross bun for both charitable and catechetical reasons. The bun was originally called the “Alban bun.”

Oral and written historical accounts suggest Brother Thomas Rodcliffe first baked and distributed the special spiced buns to the poor on Good Friday in 1361 to mark the close of the liturgical season of Lent and the beginning of Easter.

Deliberately baked with the “sign of the cross” to associate it “with Good Friday and Jesus’ death,” de Silva said the popularity of the medieval buns evolved from a local Catholic custom to a British baking tradition that even spread to other countries.

The fact that the hot cross bun has become a recognizable symbol of English culture and a staple of British bakeries all year round is particularly impressive considering its 664-year-old history.

Under the English Reformation, ruling monarchs tried to stamp out Catholic religious practice in the country, including the baking and selling of the spiced medieval buns “seen as a practice from the Catholic traditional past,” de Silva said.

Soon after King Henry VIII cut ties with the Roman Catholic Church and enforced the 1534 Act of Supremacy to declare himself the head of the Church of England, he proceeded with the dissolution of monasteries between 1536 and 1541.

“The dissolution of the monasteries had a huge impact on food for the poor both in St. Albans and elsewhere,” de Silva told CNA. “In the medieval era, St. Albans Abbey owned much of the surrounding land and properties.”

“In 1539, the Abbey lands, including the mill, were seized by Henry VIII, parceled up, and either sold or gifted away,” he said. “The king gave Redbournbury Mill and its income to his daughter, later Queen Elizabeth I.”

Protestant Queen Elizabeth I followed in her father’s footsteps and continued the widespread persecution of Catholics, specifically targeting the Lenten bun that was being baked more frequently and in more places around England.

“There was a Religion Act of 1592 which was enacted to control the behavior and public worship of Catholics,” de Silva told CNA. “We do know that in her reign, there was an attempt to reign in the baking and the selling of these spice buns.”

In the spirit of the times, de Silva said the London clerk of markets issued the edict that allowed the spiced buns — “which would possibly be seen as a practice from the Catholic traditional past” — only to be sold at burials, Christmas, or on Good Friday.

In spite of government-imposed restrictions, local bakers helped carry on the tradition of the hot cross buns. In 1851, nearly 500 years after the story of the Lenten buns was passed down through oral history, the first documented account was written by a baker who said he wanted to follow the Good Friday tradition of Rodcliffe.

As the buns’ popularity continued to rise, an 1862 Herts Advertiser newspaper article tried to highlight the bread’s religious significance.

“The time-honored custom has therefore been observed over the centuries and will undoubtedly continue into posterity, bearing with it the religious remembrance it is intended to convey,” the local newspaper reported.

“Bread is always a food staple, and a special bread associated with Good Friday just has that extra meaning,” de Silva told CNA.

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