Most Catholic Crucifixes include a sign at the top of the Cross which serves as a powerful symbol of who Jesus is and the reason that He was executed.
The practice of the ancient Romans was to write the name of the criminal, along with the crime that they were being crucified for, and attach it to the cross above their head as an insult and a warning.
When Jesus was condemned to die on a Cross, Pontius Pilate ordered that a sign be placed above his head that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”.
The inscription on Jesus’ Cross, known as the Titulus Crucis, was written in Latin, Greek, and Aramaic, the three main languages that were spoken in Jerusalem during Jesus’ lifetime.
Depicted in art, the letters I.N.R.I are initials for the inscription in Latin, “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum”. Since there was no letter J in Latin, the letter I was used, pronounced like the letter Y.
While Pilate did not believe that Jesus was the King of the Jews and only ordered the sign to justify the Crucifixion, the inscription ironically affirms that Jesus is the King of the Jews.
A fragment of the Titulus Crucis is kept in the Vatican’s Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem in Rome where it is venerated as a relic by Catholics.
Most Roman Catholic Crosses include the letters I.N.R.I.:
I.N.R.I. abbreviates a Latin phrase:
They cried out, “Take Him away, take Him away! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the Cross Himself He went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the Cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
John 19: 15-22
What was meant to mock Jesus was actually true:
Pontius Pilate had no intention of paying homage to Christ:
A charge that confirmed Jesus’ identity:
Jesus accepted Peter’s profession of faith, which acknowledged Him to be the Messiah, by announcing the imminent Passion of the Son of Man. He unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship both in the transcendent identity of the Son of Man “Who came down from Heaven”, and in his redemptive mission as the suffering Servant: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Hence the true meaning of his kingship is revealed only when He is raised high on the Cross. Only after his Resurrection will Peter be able to proclaim Jesus’ messianic kingship to the People of God: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus Whom you crucified.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church 440
Jesus did not claim political power of a king:
We must begin from the central event: the Cross. Here Christ manifests his unique Kingship. On Calvary two opposite attitudes confront each other. Some figures at the foot of the Cross as well as one of the two thieves address the Crucified One contemptuously: If you are the Christ, the Messiah King, they say, save Yourself by coming down from the cross. Jesus reveals instead his own glory by remaining there on the Cross as the immolated Lamb. The other thief unexpectedly sides with Him, and he implicitly confesses the royalty of the innocent, just One and implores: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingly power”. St Cyril of Alexandria comments: “You see Him crucified and you call Him King. You believe that He who bears scoffing and suffering will reach divine glory”. According to the Evangelist John, the divine glory is already present, although hidden by the disfiguration of the Cross. But also in the language of Luke, the future is anticipated in the present when Jesus promises the good thief: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise”. St Ambrose observes: “He prayed that the Lord would remember him when He reached his Kingdom, but the Lord responded: Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. Life is being with Christ, because where Christ is, there is his Kingdom”. The accusation: “This is the King of the Jews”, written on a tablet nailed above Jesus’ head thus becomes the proclamation of the truth. St Ambrose further notes: “The writing is correctly placed above the Cross, because even though the Lord Jesus was on the Cross, yet his royal majesty shone from the height of the Cross”.
Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, 25 November 2007
A fragment of the inscription exists today:
The Titulus Crucis is a genuine relic:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Offering unceasing praise of God, prayer, and sacrifice:
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