The Strange Crucifix of Rio de Janeiro: What did Francis really kiss? (Retraction & Clarification)

A clarification and retraction…

The Strange Crucifix of Rio de Janeiro:
What did Francis really kiss?

(image source: Instagram)

When ‘Pope’ Francis (Jorge Bergoglio) embarked on his very first trip outside of Italy, the destination was Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The occasion was World Youth Day (July 22-29, 2013).

In case you don’t recall anything about it, here are some aids to jog your memory: It was there, at the “Pope-acabana”, that Francis unleashed his order: ¡Hagan lío! (“Make a mess!”). It was there that Novus Ordo bishops danced a “flash mob for the Pope”. It was there that ‘Holy Communion’ was distributed from disposable plastic cups. Furthermore, it was on his return flight from Rio that this false pope gave his first of what would become a never-ending avalanche of interviews. It was during that interview that he pronounced his infamous, “Who am I to judge?”. And it was after that trip that he placed a beach ball on the high altar of Saint Mary Major Basilica in Rome.

Remember now? Ah, yes! Unhappy memories.

But there is something else you may not remember because it received relatively little media attention at the time. While in Rio, specifically on July 27, 2013, the false pope met with all the ‘Catholic bishops’ of Brazil, gathered at the residence of the ‘Archbishop’ there. Francis gave a lengthy address, as is his custom; but he also kissed a bizarre-looking crucifix that was being gifted to him. Here he is posing with it:

(Photo by LUCA ZENNARO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Yes, he really did kiss it, as can be seen here.

It wasn’t until a year later that we put up a blog post about this particular scene, entitled “Francis Kisses Strange Crucifix with Occult Symbolism”. In this post, dated July 30, 2014, we wrote:

A year ago in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Argentine papal pretender Jorge Bergoglio (“Francis”) posed with and kissed a “crucifix” that is not only hideous, grotesque, and Modernist, but also has clear occult-Satanic symbolism. In particular, besides the odd and abstract look, the “corpus” on this cross consists merely of a blob that is supposed to be Christ’s head and two sticks representing arms, and then it adds two diagonals from the arms down, converging at the bottom, so that it forms a concave quadrilateral, a shape found in the point-down pentagram used by Satanists, especially in the Sigil of Baphomet, the “official insignium of the Church of Satan” (source).

…

As can be clearly seen, the “crucifix” Francis is happily holding and kissing is sinister, twisted, and occultist. It certainly has nothing to do with the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which it seems to mock more than anything. (For comparison, you may view a Catholic crucifix here.)

That was our judgment then (July 30, 2014).

As the issue came up again in a recent broadcast on 10 Years of Jorge Bergoglio as ‘Pope Francis’, we decided to do some more digging on just what that crucifix really is and what its intended meaning is. It was not an easy task. Thankfully, a friend of Novus Ordo Watch from Brazil was able to find the needed information, after being unsuccessful at first.

We can now report the following facts regarding this piece of “art”:

The strange, ugly cross is the so-called “New Millennium Crucifix”. It was designed and created by plastic artist Luiz Bernardes of Blumenau, Brazil, who had been commissioned to make a special crucifix for the year 2000 to be given to ‘Pope’ John Paul II.

And so it happened. According to a letter to friends (seen partially in the title image above, taken from Instagram), John Paul II received his “New Millennium Crucifix” when he visited Rio de Janeiro in October of 1997. Benedict XVI also got one when visiting Brazil in 2007.

Here is a close-up of the hideous thing:

(image source: Facebook)

But, just what is this, what is it supposed to be? (Here is a full frontal view.)

Online at Saatchi Art, a huge life-size version of this “crucifix” can be purchased that measures almost 11 feet in height (over 3 meters). The description there explains that the item

is produced, signed and numbered in round and flat solid iron (representing the coldness of men), with a gray paint finish (the left side of life [?]), golden details (the true glory) and a transparent crystal head (infinite purity of spirit) and with blue beads (the Heavenly Father God).

See, that explains it all. Now it’s beautiful, eh?

The standard sizes of this work are 33 cm and 66 cm tall, respectively. This is allegedly based on the number of years our Blessed Lord lived on this earth.

In case you’re wondering just how this cross depicts a crucified Christ, it doesn’t really claim to. As Bernardes explains in a July 8, 2013 letter to ‘Pope’ Francis (visible in its entirety on Instagram), this artwork depicts: “Not a crucified Christ, but him resurrected on the cross” — can’t you tell? In any case, it’s a typical Novus Ordo fantasy, considering that Our Lord rose from the tomb, not from the Cross.

In any case, the INRI tablet is missing from Bernades’ cross because, so he outrageously asserts in the same letter, “it has been proven that he is not a king, but a Father and the Brother of all mankind”! What an incredible blasphemy!

Not only is our Blessed Lord “a king” (Jn 18:47), He is “the Blessed and only Mighty, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim 6:15) — “…and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Lk 1:32-33).

Assuming Francis received Bernardes’ letter before he arrived in Rio de Janeiro, he knew very well what he was kissing. In fact, he has an obligation to know what he kisses in public.

The New Millennium Crucifix, then, may not be occult or Satanic, but it is nevertheless blasphemous. And we know who the author of blasphemy ultimately is.

This is not the only time Francis has had a run-in with a blasphemous crucifix. We remember that long ago Bergoglio went on record stating that his favorite painting is the blasphemous White Crucifixion by Marc Chagall, a Jewish artist. In addition, Bergoglio cracks a joke about the Crucified Christ in one of his books. Oh, and remember the Marxist hammer-and-sickle abomination that was gifted to him by Bolivian president Evo Morales in 2015?

Instead of rebuking Morales for this intolerable affront, Francis said nothing at the time, and even clarified later that he was not offended by the gift. (Duh! What about God being offended?!)

Considering Bergoglio’s track record in terms of heresy, blasphemy, and impiety, the famous “benefit of the doubt” cannot reasonably be given anymore. Even so, it was wrong to call the crucifix occultist or as having occult symbolism, since this was not evident, and in fact does not appear to be true.

Therefore: We hereby retract the accusation that ‘Pope’ Francis kissed an occult crucifix, or a crucifix with “clear occult-Satanic symbolism”, and we apologize for the rash judgment committed in that regard.

Nonetheless, Bernardes’ New Millennium Crucifix is a blasphemous disgrace in its own right, and so it does not surprise that Francis was visibly delighted by it.