Three of Christendom's Sacred Artifacts are stored in the basement of the Notre Dame Cathederal, a piece of wood from Jesus's cross, one of the nails that affixed Jesus to the cross, and THE CROWN OF THORNS THAT THE ROMAN SOLDIERS PLACED UPON HIS HEAD.  These artifacts have been recognized by the Vatican as 3 (of 12) artifacts that can be traced directly to Jesus Christ.

The French, in their infinite wisdom and effort to exert dominance over everything in their country, have managed to conceal and supress the existence of these artifacts in every guide book and website about Paris, France, or Notre Dame Cathederal.  

You will not find any information predominantly displayed on the website for Notre Dame Cathederal.  But in the side bar, there is a schedule of the masses & services.  Buried in that schedule is a service entitled "Veneration of the Crown of Thorns."  THAT'S IT!

The church Sainte Chapelle, that was originally built to house these artifacts.  Saint Chapelle is on the island with Notre Dame in now in a courtyard, that now houses the Justice Ministry.  It is worth the visit to relish the beautiful stained glass windows of the upper chapel, where they were housed prior to the Cathederal's Treasury.

We had visited the church & viewed the golden reliquaties that Napolean's I & II had donated for preserving & housing the Crown of Thorns.  However, we never ever saw anything that made mention of the actual existence of the Crown of Thorns, until a young priest told us about it during one of our many visits to Notre Dame.

If you get there early and are seated in one of the front rows, you are invited up to the alter to pay homage to the crown and are allowed to kiss the glass area at the bottom of the crown (they wipe it with alcohol between each person).

Here is the current link to the Cathederal's Website (11/2009), once they realize that it's out, they'll probably change it!

http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/Venera...

A copy of their webpage is below -

Veneration of the Crown of Thorns

First Friday of the month and every Friday during Lent at 3 pm, on Good Friday from 10 am to 5 pm.

The relics of the Passion presented at Notre-Dame de Paris include a piece of the Cross, which had been kept in Rome and delivered by Saint Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, a nail of the Passion and the Holy Crown of Thorns.

Of these relics, the Crown of Thorns is without a doubt the most precious and the most revered. Despite numerous studies and historical and scientific research efforts, its authenticity cannot be certified. It has been the object of more than sixteen centuries of fervent Christian prayer.

Saint John tells that, in the night between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, Roman soldiers mocked Christ and his Sovereignty by placing a thorny crown on his head (John 19:12).

 The crown housed in the Paris cathedral is a circle of canes bundled together and held by gold threads. The thorns were attached to this braided circle, which measures 21 centimetres in diameter. The thorns were divided up over the centuries by the Byzantine emperors and the Kings of France. There are seventy, all of the same type, which have been confirmed as the original thorns.

The accounts of 4th century pilgrims to Jerusalem allude to the Crown of Thorns and the instruments of the Passion of Christ. In 409, Saint Paulinus of Nola mentions is as being one of the relics kept in the basilica on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. In 570, Anthony the Martyr found it exhibited for veneration in the Basilica of Zion. Around 575, Cassiodorus, in his Exposition on the 75th Psalm, exclaimed, Jerusalem has the Column, here, there is the Crown of Thorns! In 870, once again in Jerusalem, Bernard the Monk noted it as well.

Between the 7th and the 10th centuries, the relics were moved progressively to the Byzantine emperors’ chapel in Constantinople, mainly to keep them safe from pillaging, like that suffered by the Holy Sepulchre during the Persian invasions. In 1238, Byzantium was governed by Latin Emperor Baldwin of Constantinople. As he was in great financial difficulty, he decided to pawn the relics in a Venetian bank to get credit.

Saint Louis, the king of France, took over and paid back the Venetians. On 10 August 1239, the king, followed by a brilliant procession, welcomed twenty-nine relics in Villeneuve-l’Archevêque. On 19 August 1239, the procession arrived in Paris; the king took off his royal garments. Wearing only a simple tunic and with bare feet, assisted by his brother, took the Crown of Thorns to Notre-Dame de Paris before placing the relics in the palace chapel. He built a reliquary worthy of housing these relics, Sainte Chapelle.

During the French revolution, the relics were stored in the National Library. After the Concordat in 1801, they were given back to the archbishop of Paris who placed them in the Cathedral treasury on 10 August 1806. They are still housed there today.