The beginning of April witnessed the opening of the Holy Year and the proclamation of the extraordinary jubilee. The Redemption is the chief event in history, not only for Catholics, but for everyone for whom Christ is not merely a name, but a living reality. It is out of the Redemption that ‘has come this civilisation in which we rejoice and on which we pride ourselves.’ This event carries with it ‘a wonderful succession of divine gesta,’ above all ‘the institution at the Last Supper of the Holy Eucharist, entrusted to the Apostles, who saw themselves elevated to the priestly order by these words: Do this in memory of Me; the Passion of Jesus Christ, His Crucifixion and His death for the salvation of men; the Virgin Mary, constituted, at the foot of the Cross of Her Son, Mother of all men; then the wonderful Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the sign and assurance of our own; presently the dispensation to the Apostles of the power of forgiving sins; the true primacy of jurisdiction given and confirmed to Peter and his successors; and, lastly, the Ascension of Our Lord, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and forthwith the prodigious and triumphant teaching of the Apostles.’

In his Christmas broadcast, the Pope had said that although 1933 is regarded as the centenary year in the common opinion of the faithful, and that in this they have scientific support, scholars have not yet fixed the date of the Crucifixion with absolute certitude. As some controversy has lately arisen on this point, it may be well to review briefly the grounds on which the date has been traditionally established.