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 Beth-Horon. 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 that You are God. Is that true?» The soldier is very… worried in saying so. He looks at Jesus from under the shade of his helmet, and he almost looks frightened.
«I am.»
«By Jove! So it is true that the gods descend to converse with men? After travelling all over the world following the banners, I have come here, an old man, to find a god!»
«The God. The Only One. Not a god» says Jesus correcting him."[3]
Upon leaving him, Jesus predicts that they will meet "on a different mountain"[4] and confides to Maria Valtorta that "from that moment he [the decurion] will begin his safe journey towards the Light."[5]
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:
"Get up and be silent. It’s of no use! You should have thought of that previously. He is dead. And I, a heathen, am telling you: this Man, Whom you have crucified, was really the Son of God!"[6]
This spear is perhaps the one taken by Longinus, the centurion at Calvary, to pierce the heart of Jesus.[7]
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, "apart that He was the Saint of God and that they no longer want to belong to the Error."[8] The decurion testifies: an inner voice told him: "If you think that I am Holy, believe in Me".[9]
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, According to Maria Valtorta (Msgr. René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Editions Salvator, 2012):
Abbé Maistre and Msgr. Gaume, based on an ancient tradition reported by Flavius Dexter, attribute to the centurion of Caesarea,[10] whom they name Oppius Caius Cornelius, the evangelical words: "This one was the son of God[11]". In this hypothesis, the anonymous decurion of Maria Valtorta would be the future centurion Cornelius of Caesarea, baptized by Peter.
Notes and references
Note: Quotations from the work of Maria Valtorta on this page currently use machine-translated text and will gradually be replaced by the official English translation. Until then, the official translation may be consulted through the reference link provided with each quotation.
- ↑ See Acts 10.
- ↑ See Matthew 27:54 - Mark 15:39.
- ↑ GRM 514.7.
- ↑ GRM 514.9.
- ↑ GRM 515.6.
- ↑ GRM 609.30.
- ↑ see John 19:34.
- ↑ GRM 626.3.
- ↑ GRM 626.4.
- ↑ See Acts 10.
- ↑ Maistre, Les Hommes illustres de la primitive Church, 1874, Volume 1, pages 241-255 and Msgr. Gaume Évangélique Biographies, volume 1, pages 566-582.