Simon of Cyrene

"And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him."

"Simon of Cyrene is forced by Roman soldiers to help Jesus carry the cross to Golgotha. Mark appears to be well informed about him and names his sons who must have been known to Roman readers: Alexander and Rufus. Rufus, son of Simon, is probably the same one whom Paul greets in the letter to the Romans. It is possible that Rufus occupied an important place in the Christian community of Rome, since the Apostle calls him «chosen in the Lord». Canal S. Bovo is a small Alpine village, the capital of the Vanoi Valley. In 1829 a terrible flood destroyed the village and dragged the rubble down the valley. The young bricklayer Domenico Micheli stole the large Crucifix from the rubble of the church and, overcoming a distance of about ten kilometers, carried it on his shoulders to Imèr, where he established his home. During natural disasters, one puts one's treasures in safety. So for that young bricklayer the Crucifix was his treasure! Domenico Micheli with the Crucifix on his shoulders recalls the Cyrenian."