The Sign of the Cross
Tracing a cross from forehead to chest and shoulder to shoulder while invoking the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
What the Sign of the Cross means
Catholics make the Sign of the Cross by touching the forehead, the chest, and the left and right shoulders with the right hand while saying, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." The gesture professes faith in redemption through Christ's cross, and the words profess faith in the Trinity. It is often made with holy water on entering a church.
The Catechism says the Christian begins the day, prayers and activities with it, dedicating the day to the glory of God, and that "the sign of the cross strengthens us in temptations and difficulties" (CCC 2157). At Baptism it marks the person who is about to belong to Christ (CCC 1235). A smaller form, traced with the thumb on the forehead, lips and breast, is made before the Gospel at Mass.
HistoryThe small cross on the forehead is the oldest form. Tertullian wrote that in all their comings and goings, at the bath, at table and at bedtime, Christians marked their foreheads with the sign of the cross, and in the fourth century St. Cyril of Jerusalem urged, "Be the cross our seal." The large cross over the body came later. Eastern Christians, and at first Western ones too, moved from the right shoulder to the left; the left-to-right form later became usual in the West.
