Good Friday was ending. In those days a day began at sundown and the day followed the night. Saturday was the Sabbath of the Old Covenant and the Sabbath would begin when the sun set on Good Friday. Because of their laws regarding the observance of the Sabbath, it was necessary that Our Lord and the two thieves had to be taken down from the cross before sundown on Friday.

Therefore, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two thieves who were crucified next to Jesus, in order to hasten their death. But when they came to Jesus, He appeared to be dead already. One of them, a centurion in fact, was commanded to make sure that Christ was dead. So he took a spear and pierced Our Lord’s Side and out poured His precious Blood and Water.

This centurion had witnessed a great earthquake and darkness, along with everything else that accompanied Jesus’ Death. Through all this, He came to believe in Christ. But what truly won him over to the Faith, was what happened when he pierced Jesus’ Heart. As we know from the Holy Gospels, Blood and water immediately came out of Christ’s wounded side. But some of the precious Blood fell into the centurion’s eyes. Due to illness and age, the centurion had become almost totally blind. But when the Saving Blood of Christ touched his eyes, he was immediately cured. And so was his soul.

After this conversion, the centurion left the military and spent the next twenty-eight years of his life in a monastic way. Because of his holy example and inspiring words, many people were won over to God’s One True Faith. He ended his life as a martyr for the Catholic religion, when he was beheaded after having refused to worship the false gods of pagan religions. This former centurion is recognized by the Church as a martyr and a Saint, whose feastday was always celebrated on March 15th. The man who pierced the Heart of Christ is known as St. Longinus.