By Christina Hermoso Church-run Radio Veritas is inviting the public to venerate and pray before the relic of the True Cross, the cross on which Jesus was believed to have died during His crucifixion, at the Veritas Chapel in Quezon City until Easter Sunday, April 16. Credit: veritas846.ph / MANILA BULLETIN According to Christian tradition, the cross disappeared after Jesus’crucifixion, but was found again about three centuries later during a search in Jerusalem. Israel. Historians said, it was discovered in Jerusalem in the year 326 AD by Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. The empress was said to have found three different crosses - a discovery directly relating to Biblical accounts that said that Jesus was crucified along with two criminals. The True Cross was identified by its miraculous healing power. According to the historian Rufinus, the test to identify which cross was Jesus’ was performed on a dying woman,who was immediately restored to health when touched by the True Cross. Its healing power was said to be a result of its physical contact with the body of Christ and stained with His blood, sweat, and tears. The relic is owned by Ambassador to the Holy See Mercy Tuazon under the custody of Leandro Jose C. Tesorero and Bro. Lynch Kristopher B. Flores of the Work of the Saints Apostolate, a group of young lay faithful whose mission is to promote holiness through devotion to the saints and their relics. Meanwhile, devotees may also venerate the first class relic (from his blood) of Saint Pope John Paul II until Easter Sunday, April 16 also at the Veritas Chapel.