Holy Stairs or The Scala Sancta
Holy Stairs or The Scala Sancta ,are the stairs that Jesus Christ
climbed in Jerusalem during his trial. The 28 marble stairs, now
protected by wood, can only be ascended on the knees, a practice popular
to many pilgrims. For others, the steps are flanked by four other
staircases, which are open to the public. It is said that the Holy
Stairs were moved from Jerusalem in the year 326 A.D., by St. Helena,
mother of Constantine the Great. Pope Sixtus V relocated the steps to
their present location in front of the Sancta Sactorum in 1589. The
Scala Sancta are located just across from St John's Lateran (San
Giovanni Laterano), which is quite a distance from the Vatican.
