The Caravaca cross
Cruz de Caravaca
- Known today as
- A patriarchal cross with two cross-arms, after the relic of the True Cross kept at Caravaca de la Cruz in Murcia, Spain.
- Kind
- Sacramental, in 1 older authority
- Earliest authority here
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914)
Revised October 1, 2026: An authority added from a text read in full. Version 1, first published September 28, 2026.
The Caravaca cross: what was it used for?
Worn and hung in houses in Spain and Latin America against storms, lightning, and every danger, and blessed with water in the town each year.
The Caravaca cross: what does modern science say?
The sanctuary holds a jubilee year every seven years.
The Caravaca cross: what lore surrounds it?
Legend says that in 1231 angels brought the cross to a captive priest who was about to celebrate Mass before a Moorish ruler, and the ruler was converted. The relic was stolen in 1934 and replaced by a fragment sent from Rome.
The Caravaca cross: what did the older authorities say?
- The Catholic Encyclopedia
- The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the cross with two bars has, outside its few bearers, “for the most part only a heraldic existence,” though “certain metropolitans (e.g. the Patriarch of Lisbon and the Archbishop of Armagh) are accustomed to wear a cross with two bars or transoms.” Pectoral crosses “seem originally to have been little more than costly ornaments upon which much artistic skill was lavished and which usually contained relics,” such as the jewel of Queen Theodelinda at Monza and the cross found in the tomb of St. Cuthbert.
Sources
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Cross and Crucifix in Liturgy.” newadvent.org/cathen/04533a.htm Standard reference work
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Sources
- 1 cited: 1 standard reference work.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 28, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026
- Chicago
“The Caravaca cross.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/caravaca-cross.
- MLA
“The Caravaca cross.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/caravaca-cross. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
The Caravaca cross. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/caravaca-cross
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See Also
Also in The Catholic Encyclopedia
Concealed shoes in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Breve in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Contact relics in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Blessed paper in The Catholic Encyclopedia · everything The Catholic Encyclopedia names →
Nearby in the alphabet
Caraway broth (Carum carvi) · Caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) · Cardamom · Cantharides (The dried blister beetle Lytta vesicatoria) · Carmelite water (with lemon peel, nutmeg, coriander, and angelica, distilled in spirit) · Camphor (The crystalline gum of Cinnamomum camphora) · Cassia wood (Cinnamomum aromaticum (long known as Cinnamomum cassia)) · Calamine (Zinc carbonate and zinc oxide)
Historical description, not medical advice.