Pope expresses gratitude for
exposition of the Shroud of Turin
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| The image of Christ on the Shroud of Turin |
Pope Francis writes to the Archbishop of Turin thanking him
for the decision to display the Shroud of Turin during a livestreamed prayer
service on Holy Saturday, as people remain under lockdown because of the
Covid-19 pandemic.
By Vatican News
The Shroud of Turin is believed by many to be the burial
cloth of Jesus.
The 14-foot long linen cloth is imprinted with the
photonegative image of a man bearing signs of wounds that correspond to the
Gospel accounts of Jesus’ passion and death.
Online exposition of the Shroud
With people forced to stay home during Holy Week because of
the coronavirus pandemic, the Archbishop of Turn, Cesare Nosiglia, has planned
a special online exposition of the Shroud.
As Christians contemplate Jesus in the tomb on Holy
Saturday, the Archbishop will lead prayers before the Shroud, starting at 5pm
(local time). The liturgy will be livestreamed on the official Shroud website
– www.sindone.org – and on
the Facebook page of the
archdiocese of Turin.
A response during the pandemic
In a letter to Archbishop Nosiglia, dated 9 April, Pope
Francis expresses his “warm appreciation for this gesture, which comes in
response to the request of God's faithful people, harshly tried by the
coronavirus pandemic”.
Contemplating the “Man of the Shroud”
“I too join your prayer, turning my gaze to the Man of the
Shroud”, writes the Pope. In His face “we also see the faces of many sick
brothers and sisters, especially those more alone and less well cared for. But
also all the victims of wars and violence, slavery and persecution”.
As Christians, and in the light of the Scriptures, continues
Pope Francis, “we contemplate in this Cloth the icon of the Lord Jesus
crucified, dead and risen. We entrust ourselves to Him”. “Jesus gives us the
strength to face every trial with faith, hope and love, in the certainty that
the Father always listens to His children who cry out to Him”, writes the Pope.
Pope Francis concludes his letter to the Archbishop of Turin
inviting all those “who will participate through the media in prayer before the
Holy Shroud”, to “live these days in intimate union with the Passion of Christ,
and to experience the grace and joy of His Resurrection”.
The Shroud in Turin
According to tradition, it was following an outbreak of the
plague in Milan in 1576, that the Archbishop, St. Charles Borromeo, wanted to
go on pilgrimage to the Shroud, which was then in France. Concerned for the
Archbishop’s ill health, the Duke of Savoy, who owned the Shroud, had it
brought to Turin – where it is kept to this day.
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