(c.255-c.330) Mother of the Emperor Constantine. In 326 visited Palestine where she founded churches on sites linked with key biblical events. According to later tradition, discovered the True CrossTrue Cross The Cross on which Christ died, said to have been discovered by St Helena (c.255-c.330), mother of the Emperor Constantine, in 326 during a visit to Jerusalem. (i.e. the crossCross Instrument of torture and execution used in the Roman Empire. The means by which Christ was put to death and therefore the primary symbol of the Christian faith, representing the means by which he is believed to have won forgiveness for humankind. The Cross may be represented as Tau-shaped (like a capital T); with a shorter cross-bar or with a circle enclosing the upper intersection (Celtic). In medieval art a cross made of living branches signifies the Tree of Life. St Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, is said to have discovered the True Cross (i.e. the Cross in Jerusalem on which Christ died) in 326. on which Christ had been crucified)