The Crown of Thorns of Christ: History, Relic and Meaning

A wreath of thorny branches, such as soldiers plaited in a courtyard in Jerusalem to mock a prisoner as a king. The Crown of Thorns of Our Lord Jesus Christ appears in three Gospels, it is the third Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, and its relic has rested in Paris since the 13th century. This guide gathers what Holy Scripture reports, from which plant the thorns come according to tradition, how the crown came to St Louis the King and how the Church venerates it, especially in Lent.

What do the Gospels say about the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ?

Three Evangelists mention the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ: Matthew, Mark and John. After the scourging, the soldiers of Pilate plaited a crown of thorns, set it on Our Lord's head, put a purple cloak about Him and in mockery hailed Him as King of the Jews.

Matthew relates that the soldiers also put a reed in Our Lord's right hand and bowed the knee before Him. In John, Pilate leads Him out wearing the crown to the chief priests and their servants and says: “Behold the Man!” Luke reports how Herod had Our Lord clothed in a white garment in mockery (Lk 23:11); he does not mention the Crown of Thorns.

Why did the soldiers put a crown of thorns on Our Lord?

The soldiers crowned Our Lord with thorns to mock His claim to kingship. Crown, purple cloak and a reed for a sceptre were a king’s insignia in mockery and pain. The Office of the Crown of Thorns praises Him as King of eternal glory “who was crowned for us” (translated from the German).

St Thomas Aquinas counts the Crown of Thorns among the sufferings that Christ endured in the members of His body: Passus est enim Christus in capite pungentium spinarum coronam, in His head He suffered the crown of piercing thorns, in His hands and feet the nailing, in His face blows and spitting, and in His whole body the lashes of the scourge (Summa theologiae III, q. 46, a. 5). On Good Friday, in the Reproaches of the Adoration of the Cross, the Improperia, the Church lets Our Lord Himself speak:

“Ego dedi tibi sceptrum regale: et tu dedisti capiti meo spineam coronam.” I gave thee a royal sceptre: and thou hast given to my head a crown of thorns.

Improperia on Good Friday, Missale Romanum 1962

In the Rosary the Crowning with Thorns is the third Sorrowful Mystery. In the German-speaking custom, a clause is added after “Jesus” in every Hail Mary: “who was crowned with thorns for us”. How the decades are structured is shown in our Rosary prayer companion.

Which plant was the Crown of Thorns made from?

According to tradition and the surviving thorns, the Crown of Thorns was probably made from the branches of the Christ's thorn, botanically Ziziphus spina-christi. The shrub grows in great numbers by the wayside around Jerusalem and bears its thorns in pairs, one straight and one curved.

So Herbert Thurston describes it in the Catholic Encyclopedia in 1908. The thorns at Pisa, in the chapel della Spina, and at Trier are among the largest and show this peculiarity clearly, even though their early history, according to Thurston, is doubtful and obscure. The relic in Paris, by contrast, is only a circlet of rushes without a single thorn. According to Thurston, experts agree that the soldiers must have plaited a kind of helmet of thorns, which the circlet of rushes held together. The sixty or seventy thorns, according to de Mély, had probably already been separated from the circlet when it arrived in Paris and were apparently given away by St Louis and his successors.

Where is the Crown of Thorns of Christ today?

The Crown of Thorns of Christ is venerated in Paris. Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople offered it in 1238 to St Louis IX, who had the Sainte-Chapelle built for it. After the French Revolution the relic was taken in 1806 to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, where the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1908 places it.

The road there was long. In the 6th century the crown was shown in Jerusalem in the church on Mount Sion, and as late as 870 the monk Bernard saw it there. According to the French scholar de Mély, the whole crown came to Constantinople only around 1063. In 1238 the Latin Emperor Baldwin II, seeking help for his tottering empire, offered it to St Louis. At that time it was pledged to the Venetians for a large loan; it was redeemed and brought to Paris. The Sainte-Chapelle was completed in 1248.

During the Revolution the crown was kept for a time in the National Library until it was returned to the Church. In 1896 it received a new reliquary of rock crystal. St Louis, who brought the crown to Paris, died before Tunis in 1270; the 1962 calendar keeps his feast on 25 August.

Is there a feast of the Crown of Thorns?

A feast of the Holy Crown of Thorns was kept in certain dioceses on the Friday after Ash Wednesday. The German breviary edition by Ferdinand Janner, Regensburg 1890, lists it with its own Office in the appendix of feasts for particular dioceses.

After the hymn of First Vespers comes the versicle “V. They plaited a crown of thorns. R. And put it upon His head.” The Invitatory of Matins invites: “Christ the King, crowned with thorns, come, let us adore Him!” The hymn of First Vespers interprets the bloodied thorns as a sign of victory: “The thorn, made red with the Blood of Christ, now bears roses in place of its spikes” (all translated from the German). In the universal Missal of 1962 the Crown of Thorns is present above all in the Passion narrative and the Improperia of Good Friday. Whoever wishes to keep the old feast in spirit can meditate on it on the first Friday of Lent, for instance with our objects for meditation in Lent.

We beseech thee, almighty God, grant to us who on earth venerate the Crown of Thorns of our Lord Jesus Christ in memory of His Passion, that we may deserve to be crowned by Him with honour and glory in heaven. Who liveth and reigneth with thee.

Collect of the feast of the Holy Crown of Thorns, Janner, Das römische Brevier in deutscher Sprache (the Roman Breviary in German), winter part, Regensburg 1890, p. [255]; translated from the German

Is a crown of thorns for the home a relic?

A crown of thorns for the home is not a relic but a replica for meditation on the Passion of Christ. Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law genuine relics may not be sold. A replica crown of thorns is an object of devotion that a priest can bless according to the Rituale Romanum.

The 1917 Code is clear here: Sacras reliquias vendere nefas est, it is a sacrilege to sell sacred relics (can. 1289 § 1). The Catholic Encyclopedia already warns that not all of the more than 700 “holy thorns” handed down can be genuine; many were probably thorns that had merely touched the true crown. Honest, therefore, is only a replica that presents itself as such. A blessed crown of thorns is treated with reverence and not used for profane purposes (can. 1150). On the home altar, beside the crucifix or before a picture of the Saviour crowned with thorns, it recalls in Lent the price of our Redemption.

Mentioned in this article Crown of Thorns from the Holy Land Plaited from Ziziphus spina-christi, about 19 by 19 cm, with a hand-forged nail of 16 cm. View the crown of thorns

Frequently asked questions about the Crown of Thorns