Now this is pretty cool. After having been to Israel and Jerusalem twice, the Bible comes alive as you walk the footsteps of Jesus. These steps having been brought to Rome in the 4th century make it very compelling.
Holy Stairs 'Jesus climbed before crucifixion' unveiled in Rome...
By Phoebe Natanson ROME — Apr 12, 2019 3:33 AM
After more than a year of restoration, the 28 steps that make up the "
Scala Sancta," or Holy Stairs, of the Pontifical Shrine in Rome were unveiled on Thursday, just in time for the thousands of people who will
flock to Rome and the Vatican for
Easter.
The steps were believed to be part of Pontius Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem and are the same steps Jesus climbed before being tried by the Roman governor and sentenced to crucifixion.
It is believed that Emperor Constantine's mother, St. Helena, brought the steps from Jerusalem to Rome in the fourth century once Christianity became the Roman Empire's main religion. They are now housed in a building that contains part of the old papal Lateran Palace, across from the Basilica of St. John the Lateran in Rome.
Since the Middle Ages, when pilgrims started flocking to Rome to pray in churches and venerate relics, millions of faithful have made the traditional penitential ascent up the stairs on their knees as they pray and meditate on Christ’s passion.
The stairs had not been seen without their wooden protection in almost 300 years.
"The newly restored frescoes help the faithful connect with the Holy history," Father Francesco Guerra said.
For the next two months, until Pentecost, pilgrims will be able to ascend the bare marble Holy Stairs on their knees -- since 1723, they had been
encased in walnut wood for protection.
Before Thursday's unveiling ceremony, the Vatican Museum restorers described how moving it was to uncover the original stairs, which contain three small bronze crosses embedded in the marble and spots believed to be stained by Jesus’ blood.
The restorers also found large furrows running along each step, which they deduced were caused by the toes of pilgrims’ shoes as they knelt and rose to move up to the next step over the course of centuries.
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