Why Catholics Use Crucifixes
Walk into a Catholic church and look at the front.
You will almost always see a crucifix.
Not just a cross.
A cross with Jesus on it.
Arms stretched out.
Head bowed.
And some Christians find that hard to look at.
Wait… Isn’t Jesus Off the Cross?
A lot of Christians believe:
“Jesus is risen! He isn’t on the cross anymore. Protestant churches use an empty cross to show He conquered death. Why do Catholics keep Him up there?”
And at first that sounds right.
Jesus is risen.
Catholics celebrate the Resurrection every Sunday.
But then you read what St. Paul said, and you have to stop for a second.
“We Preach Christ Crucified”
“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness:”
— 1 Corinthians 1:23
Not “we preach an empty cross.”
Christ crucified.
And to the Galatians, Paul says Jesus Christ had been “set forth, crucified among you,” right before their eyes (Galatians 3:1).
Paul wanted people to see the crucified Christ.
That is exactly what a crucifix does.
Paul’s Only Boast
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.”
— Galatians 6:14
Paul was not embarrassed by the Cross.
He bragged about it.
Because it is where love won.
A Picture Jesus Pointed To
Remember the bronze serpent?
When the Israelites were dying from snake bites in the desert, God told Moses:
“Make a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck shall look on it, shall live.”
— Numbers 21:8
Jesus said this was a picture of Himself:
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up” (John 3:14).
God told His people to look at an image of what was killing them, lifted up on a pole, and live.
Catholics look at the image of what saves them, lifted up on a cross.
Isn’t the Resurrection the Point?
Of course.
But the Resurrection only means something because of the Cross.
And the risen Jesus still has His wounds.
He showed Thomas His hands and His side (John 20:27).
Revelation shows Him in heaven as “a Lamb standing as it were slain” (Revelation 5:6).
Even in glory, Jesus keeps the marks of His love.
Catholic churches show both.
The crucifix at the altar.
And the Easter candle, the risen Christ, and Sunday after Sunday of “He is risen.”
Why at the Altar?
There is another reason the crucifix stands at the altar.
Catholics believe the Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
So the Church places the image of that sacrifice right where it is offered.
(See Why Catholics Believe the Mass Is a Sacrifice.)
Why Catholics Need to See It
Think about what it means to keep a crucifix in your home.
On a bad day, you see how much you are loved.
When you are tempted, you see what sin costs.
When you are suffering, you see that God suffers with you.
When you are dying, you see that death is not the end.
That is why Catholics hand a crucifix to the dying.
Not as a sad image.
As a promise.
So What Is the Catholic Claim?
Here it is in simple terms.
Paul preached “Christ crucified” and set Him forth crucified before people’s eyes.
He gloried in the Cross.
God used the bronze serpent as an image of salvation, and Jesus said it pointed to Him.
The risen Christ still bears His wounds.
The crucifix stands at the altar because the Mass makes present His sacrifice.
So the real question is not:
“Why don’t Catholics take Jesus down from the Cross?”
The better question is:
“Why would we ever want to forget what He did there?”
Because the empty tomb is the victory.
But the Cross is the proof of His love.
Keep reading: Why Catholics Have Statues and Sacred Images, or browse more questions in Catholicism Explained.
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Catholic Sources
Scripture (Douay-Rheims): Numbers 21:4–9; John 3:14–15; John 20:27; 1 Corinthians 1:18–25; 1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 3:1; Galatians 6:14; Revelation 5:6.
Catechism of the Catholic Church: CCC 616–618 (the Cross); CCC 1364–1367 (the Mass and the Cross); CCC 2129–2132 (sacred images).
Church documents: General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 308 (the crucifix at the altar).
