Pass The Crucifix During Easter?

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Voice_Of_Reason

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I was looking up doctrine of St. Pius X (his Cathecism), and I found a strange photo. It looks like the faithful are “passing around” a Crucifix during Easter service. I’ve never seen this before. Can this be common(?!), some native tradition, or something out of the rubrics of Mass? I’ve personally never seen or heard about it anywhere other than that photo - so I’d appreciate all replies.

saintpiusx.org/gallery/jscrowdsurf.html
 
Well, what you have found is a picture posted on the St Pius X parish website located in Chula Vista, CA (outside of San Diego).

What they are doing, I have no idea. Looking at the other pictures on the website, I gather that this is a very liberal parish. One can only imagine what they were doing.

(It is interesting that all of the pictures were taken in 1999-2000.)
 
During the Good Friday services, there is the Veneration of the Cross, where everyone honors the cross by touching or kissing the feet of Jesus on the crucifix. In my parish now, we use one large Crucifix and all of the people come up, in the same fashion as for Communion, to venerate the Crucifix.

When I was much younger, I remember attending the Good Friday service where a small Crucifix was passed along the Communion rail (this was pre Vatican II) and each person offered their personal veneration to the crucifix. I am not sure if this practice is still done in some places, or if the larger crucifix is used, but this might be an explanation for the picture you saw.
 
It is the pious custom in the Eastern Churchs when approaching the priest for festal ointing of holy oil, and a piece of blessed bread following the Divine Liturgy, the faithful que up as for Holy Communion. The priest holds a hand cross in his hand (it is a crucifix with a handle on the end for him to hold it easier.) They kiss this cross. Some also kiss his hand at this time.
 
Looking at the pic, by the way the people are dressed, I doubt that it is an Easter service. I realize that many do not dress appropriatly for mass, but on Easter and Christmas, most are usually dressed a little better than those in that pic. Was there anything else, other than the pic, that made you think it was easter or even at a mass, and not some other thing, like a conference or something?
 
Go to saintpiusx.org//pages/gallery_welcome.html and click Easter Season 2001. Look at the file names - some (where it looks like a rock concert, not a Catholic Mass) have ev-2001 as part of the file name. Ev probably meaning, Easter Vigil. While the others, with the Crucifix going around the ‘church’ has as part of the file name - jscrowdsurf. Jesus Crowd Surf. Unbelievable.
 
Poking around the archives, and going by the color of vestments, I’m going to hazard a guess that this was actually from Good Friday, and is some rather bizarre variant of venerating the Cross. At least, I hope that is the intent.
 
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