WASHINGTON — Joseph Vitale does just what St. Paul said to do. He preaches Christ — crucified.

Months ago, that meant organizing a showing of The Passion of the Christ for Catholics. Now, it means showing people the real deal.

During Holy Week, an exhibit of relics and artifacts related to the Passion will visit Washington on the way to a show in St. Louis.

Vitale will be there. “The relics are another way for Catholics to connect themselves to the reality of the crucifixion,” he said. “Relics are a reminder of the reality of our faith. And, for us, the cross was not simply an instrument o torture, but also the pathway to the greatest triumph of all.”

Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis also sees the relics as an opportunity to follow up the success of the movie.

“Even as Mel Gibson's movie has helped us to focus on the violent nature of Christ's death,” he said, “these relics that are reproductions of the Passion or actual relics of the Passion help us to focus on the historical reality of the redemption.”

Archbishop Burke acknowledged that venerating relics is largely outside the experience of American Catholics.

“There's always been in the Church the tradition of having relics of saints. We always place some relics of the saints in the altar,” he said. “I think in recent years, that's been put on the side a little bit.”

But Archbishop Burke thinks that's starting to change. While serving as bishop of La Crosse, Wis., he hosted a portion of the tilma from St. Juan Diego that was transformed by Our Lady of Guadalupe outside Mexico City in the 16th century.

“I find that people are really interested in a spiritual way reverencing a relic of the true cross,” Archbishop Burke said. “When we had the relic in La Crosse there was quite a turnout of people. People were really pleased to have that opportunity.”

The Crucifixion relics are being brought to the archdiocese by the Los Angeles-based Apostolate for Holy Relics, which also took the tilma relic on tour. The apostolate sees its mission as reacquainting American Catholics with the history of the Church through relic tours.

“Last year when we did the tilma tour, more than 140,000 people in 21 dioceses came to view and venerate the relic,” said Tom Serafin, president of the Apostolate for Holy Relics. “The response was outstanding. We had 25,000 people show up in San Antonio. The line was several hours long.”

Planned Before Film

While he said plans for the current tour began long before the theatrical release of The Passion of the Christ, Serafin said that the movie would likely spark additional interest in the tour.

“There's currently a lot of interest in Christ's passion, and that's a good thing,” he said.

For those who were moved by watching the movie, Serafin suggests they go a step further and see the actual instruments used in the death of Christ.

The tour will display a small piece of wood from the cross. Also on display will be reproductions of the nails made with some shavings of the originals believed to be the ones used on Jesus, as well as relics from the column of flagellation, the Holy Sepulcher and other places and people associated with Christ's final days on Earth.

Msgr. Father Francis Weber serves as archivist for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and has written numerous books on Church history. He sees the relic tour as an important tool to help Catholics grow in their faith.

“They're not sacraments, but they are a means of intensifying our faith,” Msgr. Weber said. “The saints can really be defined in the Church as heroes. They are exemplars. Pieces of their bodies are very dear to us because they encourage in us a deeper devotion.”

And relics relating to Jesus, he said, are clearly of greater importance.

“The Passion was just awful,” he said. “When we think and pray about it, we have a deeper understanding of his suffering.”

Serafin said that throughout history the saints have counseled keeping an image of the crucified Lord for meditative purposes. It is a reminder of the extent of his sacrifice, he said. That is why Serafin sees such an importance in representations of the crucified Christ in artwork and statuary, including Christ on the crosses people wear.

Not Museum Pieces

When the relics come to the John Paul II Cultural Center in northeast

Washington, D.C., they won't be displayed in an exhibit hall but installed in the center's chapel.

“These aren't museum pieces,” said Dan Callahan, director of publications and programs at the center, “as much as they are devotional items.”

Having relics from the Crucifixion helps remind people of our religion's history, Callahan said.

“We are the only religion where God became tangible,” he said. “It's what, who, why and how God became one of us.”

Some people will likely be skeptical this wood sliver or a portion of a nail came from the actual death scene 2,000 years ago. But Andrew Walther, vice president of the Apostolate for Holy Relics, is ready to answer any such questions.

“Most of these were brought back by St. Helen in the fourth century,” said Walther, who is also a Register correspondent. “According to long-standing tradition, she brought back the true cross and several other pieces. Several experts in history in ancient texts have investigated the inscription from the cross, which is kept at a basilica in Rome, and have found it likely that it is a first-century artifact from Palestine.”

Such work has been documented in at least two books and has even been shown on the Discovery Channel.

“If that sort of relic can be ascertained with the best of modern methods, then why not believe it?” Walther added.

But “what matters most is the faith of the individual,” he said.

Walther, who has two degrees in classics from the University of Southern California, said such rampant skepticism rarely arises when speaking of secular artifacts, like when a vase from ancient Greece is discovered.

He suggested people who refuse to believe it's possible that a portion of the cross could be preserved refuse to accept the facts.

“There are some people,” Walther said, “who think we didn't land on the moon.”

Joshua Mercer writes from Washington, D.C.