SHROUD OF TURIN
Our fraternity assisted Monsignor Ricci’s Holy Shroud of Turin exhibit held in March'2006 at Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Church. The original Shroud reposes in Turin’s Cathedral and due to its fragile condition was not made available for the exhibit. Instead, there were several full length photographic and text panels that told the remarkable story of Christianity's most famous relic.
Due to the delicate nature of the Shroud it is only exhibited once every 25 years, most recently in 2000. The importance and special significance of the Shroud has prompted a team led by Monsignor Giullo Ricci, president of the Roman Center for the study of the Holy Shroud and the Eastman Kodak Corporation to mount an exhibition that includes the only life-sized replica of the Shroud in the world, accompanied by sixty six photographic and text panels.
The shroud's significance for the faithful who patiently await the findings of scientists commissioned by the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, merits inclusion into our fraternity's awareness efforts. As the Servant of God Pope John Paul II stated in his prepared address in the Cathedral of Turin in the presence of the shroud, "...Whoever approaches it is also aware that the Shroud does not hold people's hearts to itself, but turns them to him, at whose service the Father's loving providence has put it. Therefore, it is right to foster an awareness of the precious value of this image, which everyone sees and no one at present can explain."
The Shroud of Turin is a four and half piece of thin linen that has involved scholars, theologians, art historians, scientists, medical examiners, botanists and individuals in a continuing debate on it's authenticity. In question is this the only image of Christ, miraculously created for His faithful at the moment of His resurrection. To address this matter, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II in his address at the Cathedral of Turin in the presence of the shroud's exposition, stated that, "The mysterious fascination of the Shroud forces questions to be raised about the sacred Linen and the historical life of Jesus. Since it is not a matter of faith, the Church has no specific competence to pronounce on these questions. She entrusts to scientists the task of continuing to investigate, so that satisfactory answers may be found to the questions connected with this Sheet, which, according to tradition, wrapped the body of our Redeemer after he had been taken down from the cross. The Church urges that the Shroud be studied without pre-established positions that take for granted results that are not such; she invites them to act with interior freedom and attentive respect for both scientific methodology and the sensibilities of believers."
The Catholic Church now the owner of the original Shroud, has made no pronouncement on its position as scientists continue the task of investigating.