September 23, 2025 // Perspective

At the Center of It All, the Crucifix

Father Mark Hellinger

Recently, as I was training altar servers, one asked an insightful question: “Father, why is there a crucifix on the altar.” It was a very good question. In fact, the issue of placing crucifixes on the altar caused a bit of an uproar (as I am sure at least a few folks remember) not that long ago. Pope Benedict XVI asked for it and modeled it in papal liturgies, and it began to be done throughout the whole Church as a response. I have no interest in litigating the liturgical arguments here, but the question from my server allowed me to do a little contextualization and catechesis – which, in light of the recent feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, made me compelled to share it here.

Catholic altars have had altar crosses for a long time – it is hard to pinpoint exact timelines, so I won’t, but suffice to say, it is an ancient practice. And while we can be tempted to focus on the value of the presence of the crucifix in the liturgy, there is a more obvious symbolic connection going on that is worth reflection.

The “solemn” altar setting, described in the missal, is six altar candles and a crucifix. And solemn Masses at which a bishop presides within his diocese, the ceremonial prescribes that there be seven candles. This is not a random determination or choice. It is deeply rooted in the Temple practice and ancient worldview. Exodus 25 describes God’s instructions for the creation of several objects for the Tabernacle (which later translates into the Temple). One of those objects is the Menorah – the seven-lamp stand made of gold. This menorah is tied to the Tabernacle and burned oil in seven flames.

The exact use and placement is an issue for scholarly debate, but what is clear is that it associated with Temple worship – even showing up on the synagogue stone recently found in Magdala that was used to represent the Temple.

Thus, when we see the six candles and crucifix on the altar, we are decidedly put into the sacramental space of Temple worship. It is fitting, then, in the Christian practice, that the seventh candle becomes the crucifix. It is the fulfilment of all that was promised to God’s people – the consummation of an eternal wedding of humanity and divinity, which we are invited to celebrate every time we go to Mass.

Thus, rather than reducing the presence of a crucifix on the altar to a matter of theological/liturgical debate or (even worse) merely an expression of personal piety, we can see that the symbolic connection is charged with meaning. Add onto this a discussion of the number seven for the ancient mind as the number of perfection (being three [the heavens] and four [the earth], thus, all of creation) and we see that the symbol draws us into a contemplation about the meaning of the Church liturgy and what exactly we are doing around the altar.

Though it is true that sometimes the arrangement and style of the altar cross can block the mere sight of the physical realities of the sacred rites, even if they stand in the way of a clear vision of the material, we can see that they are always an invitation into the deeper vision of the cosmos through the sacramental vision of the world. Using the eyes of faith, we see deeper into the mystery of what God has been doing in salvation history since the creation of the world and His seventh-day rest, which reveals our fulfillment in worshiping Him.

The crucifix truly stands at the center of the cosmic drama, and how appropriate that the Church would invite us to be reminded of how deeply that truth speaks about the fabric of reality every time we gather around the altar – uniting our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls to the true tabernacle in heaven. As the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us (9:11-14): “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands – that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Father Mark Hellinger is pastor of St. Jude Catholic Church in South Bend.