A unique rite takes place in St. Peter’s Basilica on the Saturday of the First Week of Lent: the exposition of the Holy Lance of St. Longinus.
St. Peter’s is the Station Church for this day in Lent. The Pontifical Academy Cultorum Martyrum Romanum is responsible for maintaining these traditions honoring the martyrs throughout Rome.
Luigi Sartor, Member of the Pontifical Academy “Cultorum Martyrum Romanum” explains, “From the name itself, we can understand that our focus is to honor and study the martyrs, and this is the reason why in the period of Lent, significantly for Rome, which is founded on the martyrs, we find that this 40-day Lenten journey which leads us to Easter is precisely a journey from church to church and, every day, encountering, focusing our attention on the martyrs.”
Jacob Stein, Founder of Crux Stationalis: The Roman Station Church Blog, highlights the Gospel Reading of this day’s liturgy:
“On this day in Lent, we have the Gospel reading of the Transfiguration, where we have Peter, James, and John standing before Christ in glory, Moses and Elijah at the side showing that Christ is fulfilling the Old Law, He is the New Law Himself. Peter, James, and John, St. John Chrysostom tells us that this scene for them was a strengthening in their belief in Christ’s Divinity, so that they could go through the days of the Passion that were coming, with strength and with belief. And so, today also we hear something very interesting, we hear the words of St. Peter, alone; he is the only one who speaks. He says, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here.’”
The millions of pilgrims who pass through the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica each year come across a powerful 5-meter statue carved by Gian Lorenzo Bernini of a man holding a long lance, a lance that popular and mystic culture names as the Spear of Destiny. This man is immediately identifiable as the soldier who pierced Christ’s side, recounted by St. John’s eyewitness testimony.
“Many pilgrims come into St. Peter’s and walk around, not knowing that inside a hidden little chapel is this special relic, which is the tip of the spear which pierced the side of Christ, which we call the relic of St. Longinus, the soldier who pierced the side of Christ,” explains Stein. “And so, on this day, in this special rite, it’s brought out for veneration by the faithful, by the priests present, to begin again these days of Lent, in a way to orient us to the Passion of Christ and to His Resurrection.”
This very relic, safeguarded in St. Peter’s Basilica since 1492, takes center stage during a liturgical ceremony at the start of the Lenten penitential season at the heart of the Church.
Sartor adds, “It is a traditional rite with oftentimes the use of the first Eucharistic prayer or Roman Canon and therefore with the invocation of the most significant martyr saints. In this case, for St. Peter — we move towards the canopy of St. Longinus where the designated canons proceed to the blessing with the significant relic which is the tip of the lance.”
“And with this rite, the blessing is accompanied by a distinctive hymn—the Vexilla Regis, an ancient yet profoundly stirring chant, rich with emotion.”
In a special way, in St. Peter’s, the faithful are guided to meditate upon the moment in which St. Longinus pierced the side of Christ.
“We, too,” Stein notes, “as pilgrims on this day, come to the tomb of St. Peter, and are able to say, “St. Peter, you are here, we come and visit this lance of St. Longinus, which pierced the side of Christ,” and we are already preparing ourselves for the Holy Triduum, for Good Friday, because this liturgy puts us already at the foot of the Cross, in anticipation. And we get to say with St. Peter, “It’s good for us to be here.”
