The Holy Shroud of Turin
The Holy Shroud of Turin, also called the Shroud of Turin, is a linen cloth showing the (faint) image, front and back, of a man bearing the stigmata of a crucifixion. Some details present on this shroud have been described in the Gospels of Saints Mark, Matthew, John, and Luke. The shroud is considered by the Catholic Church as an icon and by many faithful as a relic of Christ, thus called the "Holy Shroud." The Church, however, has not officially declared it to be, with certainty, the burial cloth of Christ.
What is the Holy Shroud of Turin?
The Shroud of Turin is a yellowed linen cloth (originally it was ivory-colored but oxidized over time), rectangular in shape, 4.42 meters long by 1.13 meters wide.
The shroud bears the image, in sepia yellow color, front and back, of a naked man with his hands crossed over the pubic area. The man has a beard and mid-length hair.
After being exposed to ultraviolet light, the shroud revealed traces of swellings and hematomas on this man's face and rivulets of blood on his forehead.
The left hand covers the right wrist. A reddish-pink mark can be seen on the left wrist.
Many dark red stains, probably blood, are present on the fabric, indicating various injuries:
On the left wrist: evoking a crucifixion
On the side: evoking a lance wound
On the hair and around the forehead: suggesting a crown of thorns, or helmet, deeply pressed onto the skull
Linear marks on the torso and legs: suggesting blows
On the back down to the calves: 120 marks evoking a flagellation
The Position of the Catholic Church on the Shroud of Turin
It was in 1983 that the Holy See became the official owner of the Holy Shroud, although it has been housed in the Cathedral of Turin since September 14, 1578. Remaining faithful to the doctrine defined during the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church is cautious about qualifying the shroud as a "relic." Since then, it has never officially recognized it as such. However, it permits a form of devotion and allows the faithful to form their own opinion. Indeed, the Vatican specifies that whether one considers the shroud to be a relic or not has no bearing on the content of the Bible nor on faith.
Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have considered the shroud an icon and refer to the image under the name "the Man of the Shroud."
Today, the Church refuses new scientific analyses (many have already been conducted) on the Shroud of Turin, particularly a new carbon-14 dating. Researcher, author, and archaeologist Jacques Évin explained why in the newspaper Le Monde on June 24, 2005: "The piece is deteriorating. What is fundamental now is its preservation. It is a work of art."
Where Can One Venerate the Holy Shroud?
Since 1578, the Shroud of Turin has been kept in the Guarini Chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin. It rests in a reliquary of black marble.
Having undergone many scientific studies, it has sometimes left Turin, but it is indeed to Turin that Christians can go to pray before the Holy Shroud.
Prayers to the Holy Shroud of Turin
Prayer of Pope Francis before the Holy Shroud
"O Christ, your gaze does not seek our eyes but our heart. Grant us to listen to what it wants to say to us, in silence, passing beyond death itself. Through the Holy Shroud reaches us the unique and ultimate word of God: love made man, incarnate in our history; the merciful love of God who took upon himself all the evil of the world to free us from its dominion. This disfigured face resembles so many faces of men and women wounded by a life that does not respect their dignity, by wars and violence that strike the weakest... Yet the face of the Holy Shroud communicates great peace; this tortured body expresses a sovereign majesty. It is as if it let a contained but powerful energy shine through, it is as if it said to us: have trust, do not lose hope; the strength of God's love, the strength of the Risen One conquers all. For this, contemplating the Man of the Shroud, I make my own the prayer that Saint Francis of Assisi recited before the crucified: 'Most High and glorious God, come enlighten the darkness of my heart; give me right faith, firm hope, and perfect charity; give me, Lord, to feel and know, so that I may carry out your holy and true will. Amen.'"
Pope Francis, March 30, 2013.
Prayer for the Veneration of the Shroud of Turin
"Most loving Father,
you who glorified your Son Jesus
when the hour of his blessed passion came,
you who constituted him Lord and Christ
by raising him from the dead,
grant us, and to all who venerate his image here,
the grace to contemplate him himself in the glory of heaven,
where he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
"
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