The decurion at the crucifixion
Without a doubt the centurion Cornelius of the Acts of the Apostles.[1]
He is the one, and not a centurion, who utters at the foot of the cross the phrase "Truly this man was the Son of God".[2]
He takes Jesus back to Bethoron. Camillus, one of his soldiers, breaks his leg. He can neither leave him to the hostile inhabitants nor transport him. He goes to look for Jesus whom he knows of by reputation: he does not reject the Romans for whom he has already performed miracles.
On the way the Roman questions:- They say you are God. Is that true?Upon leaving him, Jesus predicts that they will meet "on another mount" and confides to Maria Valtorta "that from this encounter he (the decurion) began his steady walk toward the Light".[4]He looks at Jesus from under the shadow of his helmet and seems almost afraid.
- I am.
- By Jupiter! Is it then true that the gods come down to converse with men? Having gone around the world hunting signs, and to come here, already old, to find a God!
- The God Unique. Not a god," corrects Jesus.[3]
He is on guard at Golgotha. Jesus is dead. Gamaliel the Doctor of Israel, finally understanding the true nature of Jesus, rushes to the foot of the cross to confess his Blindness.
The decurion brusquely pushes him aside with his spear and says:"Stand up and be silent. Useless! You should have thought about it before. He is dead. And I, a pagan, tell you: The one you crucified was truly the Son of God!"[5]This spear is perhaps the one taken by Longinus, the centurion at Calvary, to pierce the Heart of Jesus.[6]
Longinus and the decurion present themselves to Mary on Easter day: A common impulse brought them together. They want to be taught because they know little about Jesus, "except that he was the Saint of God and that they no longer want to Belong to Error". The decurion testifies: an inner voice told him: "If you believe me Saint, believe in Me."[7]
His name
Cornelius comes from Cornelius, a rather common Roman name.
Where is he mentioned in the work?
Learn more about this character
Excerpts from the Dictionary of the Characters of the Gospel, Salton Maria Valtorta (Mgr René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Editions Salvator, 2012):
Abbé Maistre and Mgr Gaume, based on an ancient tradition reported by Flavius Dexter, attribute to the centurion of Caesarea[8], whom they name Oppius Caius Cornelius, the evangelical words: "This one was the son of God[9]". In this hypothesis, the anonymous decurion of Maria Valtorta would be the future centurion Cornelius of Caesarea, baptized by Peter.
Notes and references
- ↑ See Acts 10.
- ↑ See Matthew 27:54 - Mark 15:39.
- ↑ EMV 514
- ↑ EMV 515
- ↑ Tome 9, chapter 29
- ↑ see John 19:34.
- ↑ Tome 10, chapter 12
- ↑ See Acts 10.
- ↑ Maistre, Les Hommes illustres de la primitive Church, 1874, Volume 1, pages 241-255 and Mgr Gaume Évangélique Biographies, volume 1, pages 566-582.