A Meaningful Piece Of Gold Catholic Jewelry

The writer of the following article once had an excellent opportunity to purchase some gold Catholic jewelry. On one day in December of 2004 she toured the Cathedral mentioned in the following article. Those who like to wear jewelry might wonder why the writer did not purchase any gold Catholic jewelry, after taking her tour. The writer had earlier lived in New Mexico for two years. During that time, she bought only one piece of Native American jewelry for herself. The writer prefers pins over bracelets, necklaces or earrings. Only at the Grand Canyon did she find any Native American pins.

At the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, in Los Angeles, CA, one can find many small alcoves. Each of those alcoves has a miniature altar. Those tiny altars are not meant for performance of idol worship. So, what purpose do those alcoves serve? One can catch a hint of their purpose by examining one particular piece of gold Catholic jewelry.

This one piece of gold Catholic jewelry has two different names. Some Catholics call it a "4-way medal". Others refer to it as a "cruciform". Emergency aid workers might have arrived at yet another name for this same piece of jewelry, but the reason for that will be presented later in this article.



Jewelers have fashioned this one piece of gold Catholic jewelry into the shape of a cross. Each arm of the cross bears a different symbol, a sacred symbol... That is one reason why that golden cross is called a "4-way medal". The reference to "medal" points to the manner in which the four symbols on the cross mirror four different medals.



The symbol at the top of the cross is that of the sacred heart. The symbol at the bottom is the "miraculous medal". The symbol on one arm of the cross is the St. Christopher medal; the other arm has the St. Joseph medal.

The saints hold great importance to members of the Catholic Church. People from certain regions of the world have grown-up hearing stories about saints who lived in their own native country. When those same Catholics move to another location, such as Los Angeles, they do not forget the stories they learned earlier.



That is why the Cathedral in Los Angeles has so many alcoves. There are many different days on which various saints are honored. Those who want to say special prayers to a favored saint on a particular day can do so in one of the Cathedral’s tiny alcoves.

As the Catholics of Los Angeles come to that City's Cathedral, some of them must certainly wear a piece of gold jewelry. Perhaps some of them wear a cruciform. Each cruciform has a special phrase printed on the back of the cross. That phrase is meant for the eyes of an emergency aid worker.

What is that phrase? It is this: "I am a Catholic. Please call a priest"

The Catholic wearing the cruciform has sought to guarantee performance of the last rights, at the time of his or her death. If that Catholic were to be the victim in an accident, then an emergency aid worker would need to see that cruciform. Hence, emergency aid workers know to keep an eye out for accident victims who wear a piece of gold Catholic jewelry.