Although this year’s SeptemberFest celebration looked a bit different at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Fr. Cyprian Czop reminded parishioners of the true reason for the event.

“The feast itself commemorates three distinct historical events: the finding of the true Cross of Jesus by St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, in Jerusalem in 326 AD; the dedication of the church of the Holy Sepulchre built by Constantine in 335 AD; and the restoration of the true Cross to Jerusalem by emperor Heraklius in 629 AD, after it had fallen into the hands of the Persians,” Czop wrote in the church's Sept. 13 bulletin. 

He added that the Exaltation of the Holy Cross brings clarity and understanding of the power of Jesus Christ dying on the cross, when God offered humanity salvation. 

“Through the eyes of our crucified Saviour we see the world which he redeemed with his blood, desiring that those in whom he continues to suffer will know also the power of his resurrection” (Constitution 4),” Czop concluded.