Many mysteries surround the cross, but all versions of events talk of its "mysterious" appearance in the castle of Caravaca in 1231. At that time Caravaca and the rest of Murcia were still under Moorish rule, and thousands of Christians were taken prisoner and imprisoned.
Among them was a priest named Ginés Pérez de Chirinos, who was forced by his captors to perform Mass but realized that he was unable to complete the ceremony without there being a crucifix present on the altar. Legend has it that at that moment two angels entered through an open window bearing a "lignum crucis", which was later found to have come from Jerusalem.
This led to the cross becoming known as the "True Cross", and it was subsequently incorporated into Caravaca's coat of arms.
