Crucifix: Meaning, Difference from the Cross and Its Place in the Home

Above the door, on the rosary, on every altar of the Traditional Latin Mass: Catholics meet the crucifix everywhere, and yet many ask what actually distinguishes it from a cross. The answer is simple, and it has consequences. A crucifix shows not only the sign but the Crucified Himself. This guide explains the meaning of the crucifix, the inscription INRI, the rule of the 1962 Roman Missal for the altar and how to hang a crucifix worthily in your own home.

What is a crucifix?

A crucifix is a cross on which the figure of the crucified Jesus Christ is represented. This figure is called the corpus, from the Latin word for body. The crucifix therefore shows not only the instrument of the Redemption but the Redeemer Himself in His suffering on Good Friday.

The word comes from Latin: crucifixus means “the Crucified”. In the Vulgate it stands in the verse that could serve as a motto over every crucifix: nos autem praedicamus Christum crucifixum. The Douay-Rheims Bible renders it: “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness” (1 Cor 1:23).

A crucifix may hang on the wall, stand on a base, stand on the altar or lie as a small cross at the end of a rosary. That is also where the prayer begins: on the cross you make the Sign of the Cross and pray the Creed, as our Rosary prayer companion shows step by step.

What is the difference between a cross and a crucifix?

The difference between a cross and a crucifix lies in the corpus. A cross consists only of the crossed beams and is the sign of the Redemption. A crucifix also bears the figure of the crucified Saviour. Every crucifix is therefore a cross, but not every cross is a crucifix.

The Catholic Encyclopedia describes the development as follows. The first Christians hardly displayed the cross openly and used veiled signs such as the anchor. In the 5th century the cross appeared on public monuments, the figure of the Crucified only a century later. An early depiction is found in the Rabbula Gospels of 586, where Christ still hangs on the cross clothed. The image of the suffering Saviour crowned with thorns spread in the 13th century, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia probably under the influence of the Franciscans.

What does the crucifix mean for Catholics?

For Catholics the crucifix signifies the sacrifice by which Jesus Christ redeemed the world. It recalls His death on Good Friday and the love with which He took it upon Himself. Whoever prays before a crucifix directs his reverence to Christ Himself, not to the wood.

On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which the 1962 calendar keeps on 14 September, Holy Mass opens with the Introit: Nos autem gloriari oportet in Cruce Domini nostri Iesu Christi: in quo est salus, vita et resurrectio nostra …, “But it behoves us to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection …”. St Thomas Aquinas explains why this is no idolatry. To the image of Christ considered as a mere thing, “for instance, a piece of carved or painted wood”, no reverence is due. It is venerated only in so far as it is an image, and then with the same reverence as Christ Himself (S. th. III, q. 25, a. 3).

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gal 6:14, Douay-Rheims Bible

What does INRI above the crucifix mean?

INRI stands for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. According to the Gospel of St John, Pontius Pilate had this inscription fixed above the cross. On many crucifixes it appears as a tablet above the Saviour’s head.

In the Vulgate the passage reads: Scripsit autem et titulum Pilatus, et posuit super crucem. Erat autem scriptum: Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judaeorum (Jn 19:19). According to the same chapter, Pilate wrote the tablet in three languages, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. The four letters are the Latin version in abbreviated form. For the faithful the tablet tells the truth: the Crucified is King. On our Deus Vult rosaries INRI stands at the top of the cross, with Alpha and Omega to the left and right.

Why is there a crucifix on every altar?

There is a crucifix on every altar because the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross. The 1962 Missale Romanum therefore prescribes that at every Mass a sufficiently large cross with the Crucified stands in the middle of the altar, between the candlesticks.

The wording of the rubric: Super altare adsit in medio Crux satis magna cum Crucifixo, et candelabra (Rubricae generales Missalis Romani, no. 527). The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1907 gives the reason: the crucifix is to remind priest and people that the sacrifice on the altar is the same as that on the Cross. On 16 July 1746 Benedict XIV insisted that it must stand on the altar at every Mass. When the priest approaches the altar, he bows profoundly “to the altar or to the image of the Crucified placed above it” (Ritus servandus II, 2).

In Passiontide, according to the Missal, the crosses are veiled on the Saturday before the first Sunday of the Passion. They remain veiled until the adoration of the Cross on Good Friday, when the priest unveils the cross in three stages and sings: Ecce lignum Crucis, “Behold the wood of the Cross”.

Where should you hang a crucifix in the home?

In the home a crucifix is hung in a place where you see it every day and can pray before it: in the living room, above the bed, in the hallway or above the home altar. There is no Church regulation on the location. What matters is a worthy place, not among everyday clutter.

A cross on the wall is not decoration. It shows whose house you are entering. Smaller crucifixes of around 35 cm suit the bedroom, hallway and children’s room well, larger ones of 45 to 55 cm the living room, the prayer corner (Herrgottswinkel) or the space above the home altar. If you would rather have a cross that stands, for example on a desk or at a small prayer place, you will find one among our standing crosses.

Before a crucifix many of the faithful pray the following prayer. The 1962 Missal records an indulgence of ten years for it. It grants a plenary indulgence to all who say the prayer after Holy Mass before an image of the Crucified and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (Pius XI, 2 February 1934). Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law, anyone wishing to gain an indulgence must be baptised and not excommunicated, be in the state of grace at least at the completion of the prescribed works, have the intention of gaining it and perform the works as the grant requires (can. 925).

En ego, o bone et dulcissime Iesu, ante conspectum tuum genibus me provolvo, ac maximo animi ardore te oro atque obtestor, ut meum in cor vividos fidei, spei et caritatis sensus, atque veram peccatorum meorum paenitentiam, eaque emendandi firmissimam voluntatem velis imprimere; dum magno animi affectu et dolore tua quinque vulnera mecum ipse considero ac mente contemplor, illud prae oculis habens, quod iam in ore ponebat tuo David propheta de te, o bone Iesu: Foderunt manus meas et pedes meos: dinumeraverunt omnia ossa mea.

Behold, O good and most sweet Jesus, I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech Thee that Thou wouldst impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true repentance for my sins and a most firm purpose of amendment; while with deep affection and grief of soul I consider within myself and contemplate in my mind Thy five wounds, having before my eyes that which David the prophet long ago put into Thy mouth concerning Thee, O good Jesus: They have pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones.

Oratio ad D. N. I. C. Crucifixum, Missale Romanum 1962, Gratiarum actio post Missam; Ps 21:17. Our translation from the Latin

Does a crucifix have to be blessed?

A crucifix need not be blessed to be a worthy devotional image. Even the altar cross requires no blessing according to traditional practice. Blessed, it becomes a sacramental, through which the Church obtains spiritual effects by virtue of her intercession, not through the object itself.

The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1907 states that the altar cross need not be blessed but may be blessed by any priest with the formula of blessing for images. This agrees with the 1917 Code of Canon Law: any priest may impart blessings, except those that are reserved (can. 1147 § 2), and they are valid only with the formula prescribed by the Church (can. 1148 § 2).

The Code defines sacramentals as things or actions through which the Church obtains, “by virtue of her intercession”, chiefly spiritual effects (can. 1144). Consecrated things, or things set apart by a constitutive blessing, are to be treated with reverence and not put to profane use, even if they are privately owned (can. 1150). After Holy Mass, ask the priest whether he will bless your cross.

What material should a crucifix be made of?

A crucifix may be made of any worthy material: wood, stone, metal or painted resin. For veneration the material is indifferent, because veneration is given to the image of Christ. For everyday use what counts is durability, size and a carefully worked figure on which the eye can rest during prayer.

St Thomas Aquinas expressly mentions the image of the cross “in any other material whatever, for instance of stone or wood, silver or gold”, and says it is venerated as an image of Christ (S. th. III, q. 25, a. 4). On the wall, carved wood looks warm and calm, and the grain makes every piece different. With a resin corpus the detail can extend to the features of the face. On the rosary the cross is usually metal, because it passes through the fingers every day. Our wall crosses show both lines side by side.

Mentioned in this article Siena Baroque wall cross, 45 cm Carved by hand in Italy from limewood and painted in colour in the Siena style, 45 by 20 cm. View the wall cross Mentioned in this article Siena standing cross, 47 cm Hand-carved from limewood, painted in colour, with a sturdy base for a desk or home altar. View the standing cross

Frequently asked questions about the crucifix