NEWS
 
  • Father Jorge LORINGThe Jesuit Father Jorge Loring died in the early hours of yesterday afternoon at the El Ángel clinic in the capital aged 92, as confirmed by the Jesuit community of Malaga.

Father Loring, expert of analysis and the study of the Shroud, was in nursing school of St. Stanislaus Kostka (where he attended high school) until, last Monday, a worsening of his health forced him to move to the El Ángel clinic where he passed away yesterday, after suffering a stroke.

Although born in Barcelona in 1921, Father Loring has always been closely linked to Malaga, added the Jesuit community. (SUR-Diario de Malaga website, December 25, 2013)

  • Next Exposition: 2015 – As announced by the Custodian, Mons. Cesare Nosiglia

With a lot of hope, and also with a little trepidation, I am happy to announce that a special exhibition of the Holy Shroud will be held in the Cathedral of Turin in 2015. In fact, I have recently received by the Secretary of State of the Holy See the communication of assent by the Holy Father, in such a public exhibition as part of the celebrations for the bicentenary of the birth of St. John Bosco, Father and Teacher of young people, whose fruitful charism is now more relevant and alive than ever, even in the works initiated by him and in the service that his sons and daughters of the Salesian congregation hold in favor of the universal Church.

The exhibition will be held in a period of about 45 days between the Easter season (from mid-April 2015) and the closing celebrations of the bicentenary (August 16th, 2015). We are confident that on this occasion Pope Francis may come to pray before the sacred Linen and to honor St. John Bosco, sealing an extraordinary year for our ecclesial and civil communities.

The opening of the exhibition in the Easter refers to the death and resurrection of the Lord, and with it the beginning of the Church's mission. The Shroud, Veil of death, for believers becomes a proof which recalls, with a great evocative effectiveness, the victory of the Lord of life. Yes, because the Shroud leads us into the darkness of the tomb of Christ, but it also leaves a glimpse of the light of his resurrection. It shows us the deep wounds caused to the Lord by his passion and death on the cross, announcing at the same time the victory of grace over sin, of forgiveness over hatred and violence, of trust in God over despair. The darkest mystery of faith that the Holy Saturday reminds us, is at the same time the brightest sign of a hope that goes beyond the death.

This is how Pope Francis invited us in his message on the occasion of the recent television exhibition of the Shroud: “The face in the Shroud reveals a restrained but powerful energy within it shine through, as if to say: have faith, do not lose hope; the power of the love of God, the power of the Risen One overcomes all things”.

If devastating is the sin that leads us away from him and deeper the sufferings which oppress us or the trial that we have to deal with, much bigger and more fruitful of joy and hope is the Easter victory that is given to us.

The Shroud in this time of crisis, therefore, can give strength and hope to so many persons, families and communities, to anyone who knows how to contemplate and worship it with faith and love and is committed in living it.

This exhibition is truly extraordinary, close in time to the last of 2010 because it connects to a special circumstance as the Salesian Jubilee: an anniversary full of meaning for Turin and its surroundings, because here are the roots of holiness and experience of the Don Bosco sons; and because here the Salesians, in all their components, offer also today a valuable service in many sectors, from education to sport and animation of the parish community, to the world of mass media. The exhibition of the Shroud is an event and an experience distinct from the Salesian celebrations, even if in the context of what will be held in 2015. I believe, however, that we can proceed in a climate of mutual and fraternal collaboration with the Salesian family.

I spoke of hope and concern. Hope because the exhibition is always a great occasion of pilgrimage and meditation that reaches the hearts of people and produces spiritual fruits also unexpected and unhoped for. Concern, trepidation because I know well, as my collaborators remember me and having followed the previous exhibitions, what it means to organize such a big event, which involves the city and the whole Region. Even for that I trust on from the collaboration with the people, communities and organizations that have actively and effectively collaborated in the organization of previous exhibitions and the active service of the media to help spread all the necessary information. In the coming weeks the organisms and the management that already worked on the previous exhibitions will be defined; of course the news of all these acts, such as the progress of work, will be promptly communicated.

I believe that the very difficult situation that we are experiencing requires the involvement of all the qualified parties in Turin and in Piedmont: first of all the parishes and ecclesial realities and each of the faithful, the local authorities like the State institutions, the bank foundations, the world of business and work. We also ask our brothers and sisters of other christian denominations to join our prayer so that this event can promote a common understanding of the faith in the christian kerygma of the death and resurrection of the Lord that all we profess. We respectfully invite the faithful of other religions to accompany us with their friendship and goodwill during the time of the Shroud exhibition. With all of them we want to start a real dialogue to find out what resources we can put together for the success of an event which, I know, has a clear ecclesial nature but has also became an important opportunity to promote and offer everyone the great values of welcoming, respect, solidarity and love that Turin and its surroundings have as foundation of their religious and social life experience.

I would like the Shroud exhibition of 2015 to excel also in terms of sobriety and simplicity. The exhibition of the Shroud is not the answer to the economic, social, ethical and cultural crisis we are fighting against. However, it shows that we want to get out of the crisis by using all our resources. The exhibition is therefore an opportunity that is given to us to prove - to ourselves first of all - that we are able to work together, on a concrete project that even on the level of resources provides an example of the poverty recalled by Pope Francis. The poor, the sick, the disabled, people in need, the elderly and families will be the most important for us.

There is another important word I want to say, and it is "welcome". We want the pilgrims and visitors to find a city that is "waiting for them", that wants to meet them. The Christian communities have experienced various forms of exchange and mutual understanding during the previous exhibitions using the great resource of volunteers. In all exhibitions of the postwar period, the volunteers proved to be the true wealth of these pilgrimages: the purple jackets of the Shroud, but also all those who belong to other organizations that have provided medical assistance and health care, that have attended the groups, and the endless service systems that must be activated on occasions like this. Not forgetting the many partners who have contributed with offers and services.

Prayer and faith, welcome, involvement, sober and essential organization of the resources are the keywords to organize together the exhibition of the Shroud, each one with its own role and its own powers and responsibilities.

 

Mgr. Cesare NOSIGLIA

Archbishop of Turin

Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud

(Diocese of Turin website, December 4, 2013) 

  • Frederick ZUGIBE Dr. Frederick Zugibe, the medical examiner who modernized forensic pathology, died Friday night, Sept. 6. He was 85. Zugibe obtained his medical degree from West Virginia University in 1968 and became board certified in anatomic and forensic pathology. He earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in anatomy and histochemistry from the University of Chicago. He served 33 years as Rockland medical examiner, creating the office that handled 264 cases during his first year and more than 8,000 by the time he retired in 2002. When he retired, Zugibe estimated that the office had done more than 10,000 autopsies over 34 years. Zugibe also gained international renown for his work on the Shroud of Turin and did scientific research on the cause of Jesus’ death. He wrote the book “The Crucifixion of Jesus, a Forensic Inquiry”. (Steve Lieberman,  The Journal News, Sep. 7, 2013)

  • A great friend of the Shroud has left us: Ilona Farkas.Ilona FARKAS

Born in Budapest (Hungary), she was the only daughter of Baron Farkas, a physicist who introduced the radiotherapy in the oncological hospital in Budapest. In this hospital she worked as a scientific photographer. She graduated at the Academy of Music in Budapest, she has been an opera singer. After the murder of her boyfriend, Count Brunswick, by the Nazis, Ilona has never married. The family villa was destroyed by bombing during the Second World War and the Communists deported her, with her parents in a concentration camp for two years. After the failed uprising of 1956, drowned in blood by the Soviets, Ilona managed to get a permit to come and study in Italy. When she arrived, she asked for political asylum. In Italy she worked as a journalist for Radio Europa Libera and as an administrator for the Center of Sindonology of Rome. Then she worked for the Publishing House Giovinezza, which published the magazine Collegamento pro Fidelitate. She realized also, for the same publishing house, the newspaper founded by her, Collegamento pro Sindone. In 2000 she decided to close the paper magazine, whose construction had become too burdensome, and to post articles exclusively on the Internet. In 2003, on her 80th birthday, Ilona realized that her strength was decreasing and could not continue to work. She retired from active life therefore. Intelligent woman and very private, she has kept until the end her lucidity and her love for the Holy Shroud and for music. She was interested in all the news on the studies and research relating to the precious relic and loved to follow the concerts, operas and ballets on TV. She died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 90 years old June 21, 2013.

 

 

 

We entrust Ilona to the Lord, accompanying her with our prayers. We will remember her with great nostalgia.

 

Emanuela and Maurizio Marinelli

(June 25, 2013)

  • Statement of the Archbishop of Turin on the new project of "clean room" for the Shroud - Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at Palazzo Chiablese, Turin

I am happy to tell you – as you already know – the occurred decision, which is shared by the Superintendency and the Diocesan Commission for the Shroud, as well as the Holy See appropriately informed and involved, of proceeding with the removal of the current building called "New Sacristy". This is an intervention often requested by dr. Turetta and responding to both the very temporariness of the structure, and to its gradual deterioration in progress and to the needs to give back to the square its original architectural setting. 

The decision follows a precise agreement signed authoritatively by the Diocese and by the Superintendency and confirmed gradually in the past years in which we committed ourselves to carry out such a removal after completing the 2010 Exhibition. Since pacta sunt servanda, I did not shirk that commitment, influencing however, its implementation only when the works of the Guarini chapel were resumed. Now, since this condition has come true, there were no more reasons not to respect this commitment. 

These years, however, were not in vain, because they allowed us to deal with constructive spirit, intense dialogue and cooperation between the Diocese and the Superintendency a requirement related to the Shroud, which was about the demolition of the sacristy. The problem that we had to face – and was reversed in my opinion very well, with the satisfaction of both the parties involved – was that for which it was built the so-called sacristy. That is to ensure the possibility to the Shroud of being subjected to those interventions planned for its preservation and to possible photographs or new research. 

The solution found in the Royal Palace will guarantee to respond to these needs in a much more functional and positive way than it is now: it will be possible to carry the Shroud with a linear route much shorter and adjacent to the current chapel of the Holy Shroud; it will be a Clean room used exclusively for the Shroud; that will ensure privacy and not visibility from outside; it will be equipped with modern sophisticated technological means, which will ensure the safety and a suitable environment for the possible presence of the Shroud for all those needs already experimented, based on the experience of the  past years. 

Other opportune services, for which the sacristy was responsible during the Exhibitions, can easily be carried out by taking advantage of the room below the chapel of Guarini, that, once the work is finished, can be fully used. Other hypothesis of transformation of the sacristy in according the necessities of the Cathedral have never been raised during the two years of reflection and dialogue between the Commission Diocesan and the Superintendency, so they are just hypothesis not much feasible and, however, that lie outside the Shroud problem and require far additional testing and widening. 

In this regard, I would like to recall all those who care about the Shroud and its custody – I say all, and therefore also the same journalists and media operators – to keep a sober style, respectful of the delicacy with which every action on the Shroud must be managed and also attentive to the shades, in accordance with the highest truth and professionalism. Giving credit to rumours that trigger arguments or media clouds of dust based on low-profile banalities or fanciful and untrue news, to feed diatribes or curiosity in the audience, means reducing the discourse on the Shroud to a degrading gossip disrespectful neither of the dignity of the Shroud itself or of the Custody, which concerns not only the Custodian but everyone and the whole city in its various components.

Before giving the floor to Dr. Turetta and to some members of the Diocesan Commission to illustrate other aspects of the occurred decision, I sincerely thank all who have worked to achieve this result and the Compagnia di San Paolo for their contribution to the realization of the project.

Mgr. Cesare NOSIGLIA

Archbishop of Turin

(Diocese of Turin website, April 9, 2013) 

  • Video message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the Ostension of the Holy Shroud - Holy Saturday, 30 March 2013   

    Dear brothers and sisters,

    I join all of you gathered before the Holy Shroud, and I thank the Lord who, through modern technology, offers us this possibility.

    Even if it takes place in this way, we do not merely “look”, but rather we venerate by a prayerful gaze.  I would go further: we are in fact looked upon upon ourselves.  This face has eyes that are closed, it is the face of one who is dead, and yet mysteriously he is watching us, and in silence he speaks to us. How is this possible? How is it that the faithful, like you, pause before this icon of a man scourged and crucified?  It is because the Man of the Shroud invites us to contemplate Jesus of Nazareth.  This image, impressed upon the cloth, speaks to our heart and moves us to climb the hill of Calvary, to look upon the wood of the Cross, and to immerse ourselves in the eloquent silence of love.

Pope Francis

Let us therefore allow ourselves to be reached by this look, which is directed not to our eyes but to our heart.  In silence, let us listen to what he has to say to us from beyond death itself.  By means of the Holy Shroud, the unique and supreme Word of God comes to us: Love made man, incarnate in our history; the merciful love of God who has taken upon himself all the evil of the world to free us from its power.  This disfigured face resembles all those faces of men and women marred by a life which does not respect their dignity, by war and violence which afflict the weakest… And yet, at the same time, the face in the Shroud conveys a great peace; this tortured body expresses a sovereign majesty.  It is as if it let a restrained but powerful energy within it shine through, as if to say: have faith, do not lose hope; the power of the love of God, the power of the Risen One overcomes all things.

So, looking upon the Man of the Shroud, I make my own the prayer which Saint Francis of Assisi prayed before the Crucifix:

Most High, glorious God,

enlighten the shadows of my heart,

and grant me a right faith, a certain hope and perfect charity,

sense and understanding, Lord,

so that I may accomplish your holy and true command. Amen.

(Vatican website, March 30, 2013)

  • Homily of the Archbishop of Turin Cesare Nosiglia at the TV Exhibition of the Shroud - Holy Saturday, March 30, 2013

Dear brothers and sisters,

in this Holy Saturday, when the whole Church stands in front of the tomb of the Lord in an attitude of silence, prayer, meditation on the mystery of his death on the cross, we contemplated the Holy Shroud and we focused on the face marked by a deep suffering, on the hands and the wrists pierced with nails, on the chest lacerated by the centurion's spear, of that crucified man who speaks to us in a so dramatic, intense and real way, about the suffering of Jesus.

As Pope Francis reminds us, in his message that we will hear shortly, “ours was not a simple watching, but a worshiping, a look of faith, a letting us look”.
Yes, because the Shroud recalls the darkness of the tomb of Christ, but it also lets us catch a glimpse of the light of His resurrection, it shows us the deep suffering caused to the Lord by His passion and death on the cross, but it announces at one time the victory of grace over sin , of forgiveness over hatred and violence, of hope over despair. The darkest mystery of faith that the Holy Saturday reminds us is at the same time the most luminous sign of a hope that has no limits.

For this reason the Holy Shroud is truly the icon of Holy Saturday that reveals the infinite love of Jesus for His and for all mankind, his trust in the Father that supports Him and accompanies Him until the end. Here is the absolute greatness of the Shroud. That face of the Man of sorrows, His sufferings, and His death, which reflects the suffering and abandonment of so many men and women subject to violence, injustice and oppression, wars, hunger and poverty, reveal to us how powerful is God's love and His mercy. Who can contemplate it with faith receives strength to overcome all evil and difficulties that torment his or her existence: the blood that can still be seen so clearly engraved in the cloth, is the bearer of life because it is through the blood of Christ the Lord that we all receive salvation.

We must therefore listen to the voice of the Holy Shroud, we must dive into his eloquent silence, we have to fill the heart with the faith that can turn its contemplation in a song of joy and Easter hallelujah. The Exhibition of this Holy Saturday aims to help those who love the Shroud or however those who welcome and respect its mystery, to place themselves in this attitude of meditation, to welcome with faith the message of the resurrection of the Lord, that this night will be announced in each church. 

The message of the Shroud is aimed primarily at you, dear sick, disabled and suffering people that are the ones who more than any other, can understand and live the true and deep meaning that brings to the heart so much serenity and courage. You, in fact, participate in person to the mystery of pain that lived in union with Christ crucified and risen, produces abundant fruits of grace for you, your loved ones, your communities, the Church and all mankind. Therefore, live with joy and confidence this moment in which you can contemplate the Shroud and be reflected in that body and that face full of wounds, from which come the light and the overwhelming force of love that redeems and saves.

And you too young friends, do not be afraid of the cross of Christ and of what it reveals, the mystery of his suffering, from which arises the life for everyone. The Shroud tells you that loving means suffering with the knowledge that the God of life overcomes evil with good, and He also transforms the pain in way of redemption and salvation. There is no love without loss of self in the free gift which makes you to know true joy, for which the depth of your heart yearns.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us accept the invitation that Pope Francis says in his message: “the Face of the Shroud reveals a contained energy, yet powerful, as if it says: have faith, do not lose hope, the strength of the love of God, the power of the Risen Christ conquers everything.” Therefore Let us raise to God the hymn of praise and gratitude because if devastating is the sin that separates us from him and deeper are the sufferings that oppress us or our challenges, much bigger and more fruitful of joy and hope is His Easter victory that is given us. Let us pray so that we can bring the image of the Shroud in the eyes and in the heart to guide our uncertain steps towards a faith in the risen Christ stronger and more persevering, a charity more open to the free gift of self, a hope in Him more reliable and safer.

Blessed Mary the Sorrowful Mother who welcomed on her knees the mortal body of her divine Son, may support our journey from sin to grace, from darkness to light, now and forever. Amen.

(Diocese of Turin website, March 30, 2013)

  • Shroud, the battle of the finds. But Fanti has good ones...

In view of the TV Exhibition scheduled for Saturday afternoon, the debate continues on the studies on the sacred linen. The note by Mgr. Nosiglia

Fanti and Gaeta's new book on the Shroud is in the library from a few days. Prof. Fanti, University of Padua, presents the results of the experiments on fragments of the Shroud in his possession. From this it follows that the Shroud is compatible with the time when Jesus Christ was crucified. Another refutation to questionable, and discussed, the results of the examinations C14, spoiled by errors in calculations, and that dated the cloth to the Middle Ages.

Yesterday a note International Centre for Sindonology and from the Archbishop of Turin, Mgr. Cesare Nosiglia, from Turin, put stakes in the work of Fanti. It can not be attributed to ''any serious value'' to the results of the research on the Shroud reported in the book, said to the ANSA the Papal Custodian of the Shroud Archbishop of Turin Cesare Nosiglia. ''Since there is no degree of safety on belonging of the materials on which these experiments were carried out on the cloth of the Shroud - reads a note by Mgr Nosiglia - the Property and the Custody declare that they can not recognize any serious value to the results of these alleged experiments''.

The archbishop of Turin thus confirms the statements issued previously on the occasion of similar attempts done in the past on alleged samples of Shroud material by his predecessors, Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini and Cardinal Severino Poletto. ''Perhaps it would be useful and necessary to resume the research - said Mgr Nosiglia - but at the moment there will be no activities in this sense. We will evaluate with the Holy See what we will need to do''.

A little later arrived Giulio Fanti’s clarification, according to which the samples upon which new research on the Shroud are based  “come exactly from those that Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini excluded from his statement because they were 'material taken with the explicit permission of the Custodian during the exams of October 1978'”. According to the International Centre of Sindonology (CIS) the materials examined are not "traceable" with certainty and so this would thwart the reliability of the research. But for professor Fanti the finds examined by him are absolutely "traceable" and come, as evidenced by documents in his possession, by withdrawals preceding 1978. "The results of the published research - also states Fanti - may be confirmed by parallel tests conducted by the CIS". In his note the scholar declares himself  "available to give his know-how for this purpose".

And this last sentence certainly assumes a meaning of challenge. But the story of sampling of material from the Shroud, which has been a nightmare for those Turinese people in charge, is varied and complex. And we must say that prof. Fanti had access to the original material.

In short, there have been drawings of material of the Shroud in both 1978 and 1988. In both cases, they were approved by the Custodian of the Shroud, Archbishop (later Cardinal) Anastasio Ballestrero, with the consent of the owner, Umberto II of Savoy in 1978, and Pope John Paul II in 1988. According to rumors in sindonologists environments for a long time, prof. Fanti would have received some fibers taken from the Shroud in 1978 by prof. Ray Rogers, one of the American scientists of the STURP.

But in 1988 John Riggi of Numana, the expert who cut the Shroud for the examination under C14, with the agreement of Cardinal Ballestrero would have kept some of the fibers of the Shroud, collected some fragments of blood and aspirated dust samples present in between the linen and the Holland cloth. The conditional is obligatory; it was not drawn up any record of the sampling for the C14, just think for a semi-official sampling like that. But it is very likely that after Riggi’s death, in 2008, some of the material preserved by a special foundation has come to Fanti. After the death of Ballestrero card. Saldarini issued a statement, asking that any free Shroud material had to be returned. But it seems that no one has complied with the request.

All of this to conclude: prof. Fanti carried out the research on the certain and authentic Shroud material, even if outside the control the International Centre of Sindonology. And besides, at 25 years after the C14 examination, whose credibility the results of Fanti further contribute to crumble, perhaps we might begin to assume a continuation of the research program at that time created by the STURP, the Shroud of Turin Research Project, the international group of scientists who in 1978 produced an incredible wealth of reliable scientific findings, tested on the Shroud.

On the subject intervened the current Archbishop of Turin with a note. With reference to the news of the publication, from the publisher Rizzoli, of the volume “Il mistero della Sindone” by Giulio Fanti and Saverio Gaeta, in which are described research carried out on material which is supposed to come from the Shroud, the Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud confirms what is contained about it in the official statements on “experiments and analysis on the Holy Shroud” already released – in the occasion of other similar attempts done in the past about alleged samples of material of the Shroud – from its predecessors: by Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini in September 1995 and by Cardinal Severino Poletto on May 4, 2009.

In particular, he reiterates that since there is no degree of safety on belonging of the materials on which these experiments were carried out on the cloth of the Shroud, Property and Custody declare that they can not recognize any serious value to the results of these alleged experiments. (Marco Tosatti, Vatican Insider, March 28, 2013)

  • The reserves of the International Centre for Sindonology on the volume Fanti-Gaeta

Turin, March 27, 2013

 

With reference to the news of the publication from the publisher Rizzoli of the book “Il mistero della Sindone” by Giulio Fanti and Saverio Gaeta, in which are described research carried out on material which is supposed to come from the Shroud, the International Centre for Sindonology of Turin expresses their reservations in front of an approach to the subject that would be based on factors such as the analysis of tissue samples whose belonging to the Shroud results at least questionable and not provable, because it is free of any traceability.

In this regard the CIS refers to the official statements on “esperimenti e analisi riguardanti la Sacra Sindone”(“experiments and analysis on the Holy Shroud”) already released – in the occasion of other similar attempts done in the past about alleged samples of material of the Shroud – by Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini in September 1995 and by Cardinal Severino Poletto on May 4, 2009, as “Papal Custodians of the Holy Shroud” and therefore also on behalf of the Holy See, the owner of the Shroud.

«More and more reports of experiments carried out on samples of material of the Shroud circulate in order to verify the results of the analysis carried out with the method of Carbon 14 in the summer of 1988. As far as the target can be legitimate and the Church recognizes the right for every scientist to do the research that he considers appropriate within its science, in this case it is necessary to clarify that:

a) no new sampling of material occurred on the Holy Shroud after April 21, 1988 and both the Property and the Custody of the Holy Shroud are not aware that there may be residual material from the collection in the hands of third parties;

b) if this material exists, the Custodian points out that the Property did not give anyone the permission to keep it and make any use and pleases the persons concerned to put it back in the hands of the same;

c) since there is no level of security on belonging of the materials on which these experiments on the cloth of the Shroud were carried out, Property and Custody declare that they can not recognize any serious value to the results of the alleged experiments;

d) this does not apply of course to the research started with the material taken with the explicit permission of the Custodian during exams of October 1978;

e) in a climate of mutual trust with the scientific world, the Holy See and the Archbishop of Turin invite the scientists to wait until the time has come for the realization of a clear program of research organically concerted».

Turin, September 1995

Giovanni Card. SALDARINI

Archbishop of Turin

Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud

«In the mass media have appeared in recent times, news about research carried out on alleged material of the Shroud, serving various objectives. On them the Papal Custodian of the Shroud feels obliged to take a position on the line of the statements already released in 1995 by his predecessor, Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini.

It is undisputed for the Church that every scientist has the right to do the research necessary in the field of the Shroud within its competence, in accordance with the sensibilities of the faithful and the rights of Property of the Shroud. It is necessary, however, to make some clarifications regarding the use of alleged material of the Shroud:

- No new sampling of material for the purpose of research has occurred on the Holy Shroud after April 21, 1988 and both the Property and the Custody of the Holy Shroud are not aware that there may be residual material to that collection in the hands of third parties. What has been achieved in the intervention of restoration of 2002 was immediately inventoried and placed under seal, in the sole and entire disposition and discretion of the Holy See.

- As there is no degree of safety on belonging to the Shroud of materials on which the experiments in question would be carried out, the Property and the Custody declare that they can not recognize any serious value to the results of such experiments.

- In the climate of mutual trust with the scientific world, the Holy See and the Archbishop of Turin invite the scientists to wait until the opportune time has come for the realization of a clear and serious research program organically concerted. In this respect, we inform you that the research program is still suspended until the end of next Exhibition, as we hope to start a realization in the following period».

Turin, May 4, 2009

 Severino Card. POLETTO

Archbishop of Turin

Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud

(Centro Internazionale di Sindonologia website, March 27, 2013)

  • Declaration of the Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud, Mgr Cesare Nosiglia

With reference to the news of the publication, from the publisher Rizzoli, of the book “Il mistero della Sindone” by Giulio Fanti and Saverio Gaeta, in which are described research carried out on material which is supposed to come from the Shroud, the Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud confirms what is contained about it in the official statements on “experiments and analysis on the Holy Shroud” already released – in the occasion of other similar attempts done in the past about alleged samples of material of the Shroud – from its predecessors: by Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini in September 1995 and by Cardinal Severino Poletto on May 4, 2009.

In particular, he reiterates that since there is no degree of safety on belonging of the materials on which these experiments were carried out on the cloth of the Shroud, Property and Custody declare that they can not recognize any serious value to the results of these alleged experiments.

Turin, March 27, 2013

Mgr. Cesare NOSIGLIA

Archbishop of Turin

Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud

(Diocese of Turin website, March 27, 2013) 

  • A video message from Pope Francis for the TV Exhibition of the Shroud

Archbishop Nosiglia’s announcement: «It will be an action of intense spiritual thickness, which will help not to lose hope»

Pope Francis will attend with a videotaped message of Holy Saturday the TV Exhibition that RAI Uno will air worldwide. This was announced this morning by the Archbishop of Turin, Mgr Cesare Nosiglia. «This is a message of intense spiritual thickness - said the papal custodian of the Shroud -, that will accompany the several sick and suffering people that will be in the cathedral or in their homes and in hospitals, and many others that will contemplate the Shroud, not to lose hope in the love of God which is accomplished in the death and resurrection of the Lord». Nosiglia pointed out that that of the Pope is “a gesture of goodwill towards the Turin diocese, which houses the Shroud” and called Francis «a sign of Easter resurrection that the living Lord raised in his Church to give strength and courage of hope to his people and to all mankind». The archbishop explained that «the Exhibition in such a special day as the Holy Saturday, wants to mean that the Shroud, although it is not a matter of faith, is a very important testimony of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord». And he added: «It's a little challenge, this Exhibition, because to the logics of the show we preferred those of the content: we hope that television will help the audience to enter into the mystery of Easter». (Maria Teresa Martinengo, La Stampa, March 27, 2013)

  • This is the RAI TV programming concerning the appointments on the Shroud for Good Friday and Holy Saturday:

    • Friday, March 29 2:10 p.m. Italian time (1.10 p.m. GMT) RAI Uno A sua immagine”, Good Friday special: L'uomo della Sindone (The Man of the Shroud)

    • Friday, March 29 – 8:30 p.m. Italian time (7:30 p.m. GMT) – RAI Uno – “Porta a Porta”, Good Friday special: Sindone, mistero svelato? (The Shroud, mystery revealed?)

    • Saturday, March 30 11:10 a.m Italian time (10:10 a.m. GMT) RAI Uno – “A sua immagine”, Shroud Special: L'attesa dell'Ostensione (Waiting for the Exhibition)

    • Saturday, March 30 – 5:15 p.m. Italian time (4:15 p.m. GMT) – RAI Uno – “A sua immagine” - Sindone: i segni della Passione (Shroud: The Signs of the Passion)

      (The broadcast will be available in streaming connecting to the website: http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/dirette_tv.html)

  • Special TV Exhibition of the Shroud of 'A Sua Immagine' on March 30, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. Italian time (10:30 a.m. GMT)

On the occasion of the extraordinary Exhibition of the Shroud, the transmission will follow the event live worldwide on RAI Uno on Saturday March 30, 2013 at 11.30 a.m. Italian time (10:30 a.m. GMT).

After the 2010 Exhibition, which saw the participation of 2 million pilgrims from all over the world, and 40 years after the first TV Exhibition, broadcast live on November 23, 1973, the Shroud, through the cameras of A Sua Immagine will be seen all over the world.

Rosario Carello, with guests in the studio, will reconstruct the history and the deep spiritual meaning of the Holy Cloth, called by Benedict XVI "Icon of Holy Saturday."

We will show images of the unveiling of the Shroud, taken from the shrine in which it is placed and positioned for the Exhibition. We will relive the moments of the past Exhibitions. We will go into the mysterious origin of this image, in order to document the impressive correspondence with the story of the Passion of Christ in the Gospels: the sores, the blood, the wounds of the crown of thorns, the hits of the scourges. (RAI - A Sua Immagine website, 25 Marzo 2013)

  • The Man of the Shroud - Special Good Friday episode of 'A Sua Immagine' on March 29, 2013 at 2:10 p.m. Italian time (1:10 p.m. GMT)

It will be the Man of the Shroud the center of the usual Good Friday episode of ‘A Sua Immagine. Rosario Carello, with studio guests, will draw a journey to discover the figure of Jesus. Waiting for the TV Exhibition of the Shroud, scheduled for Saturday, March 30, during the broadcast of Friday we will rebuild the identikit of the man Jesus, starting from the linen that wrapped Him in the Sepulchre. How tall was Jesus? How was His body? What did His face look like? We will try to reconstruct the image of Christ from the marks on the Shroud.

On Good Friday, the day full of greatness and mystery, the traces of the precious relic will lead us into the secret of the Passion of Christ. Francesca Fialdini will lead us in the Museum of the Shroud of Turin, to show us the rebuilding of some objects, symbol of the Passion: the crown, the nails, the cross. We will see how in the Shroud we can see not only the darkness of death, but the light of the Resurrection. During the episode we will go in search of experiences that tell the importance of the Shroud for the spirituality and the faith of contemporary believers. (RAI - A Sua Immagine website, March 25, 2013)

  • The Archbishop of Turin, Mgr Cesare Nosiglia, confirms that he will make the request to Pope Francis to receive a video message that will be transmitted on the occasion of the extraordinary TV Exhibition of the Shroud, on Holy Saturday. He excludes instead the hypothesis, spread on social media, that the Pope can attend in person to the Exhibition.

The declaration was released to the microphones of Prima Radio on March 14, 2013. Below is the text of that declaration:

It is impossible to come [to Turin], it is something absolutely inconceivable, because it is on Holy Saturday, it is a day in which the Pope has the celebration at St. Peter's church, almost at that time or right after, so it would be something really impossible. The speech was different; it concerned a TV message, also recorded, if necessary (if not that day, because they are very intense days), of a few minutes, about the fact that he could be present during this Exhibition. The thing, I think, was quite possible, even indicatively examined with Benedict XVI, then, obviously, happened what has happened, now we will try to reach him too, having regard also this, let's say 'warning', that he has towards his own Piedmontese land. I hope that we can find an answer, but I do not know, because the days are very intense, very hectic, I think, for him too, so we do not expect nothing, absolutely. But I think that we will try to make the request, and then we will see also if it can be accepted. (Diocese of Turin website, March 17, 2013)

  • Exhibition on March 30 is only on television

Access to the Cathedral limited to a small group of young people and sick people. For everyone live broadcast around the world on RAI Uno on March 30. Diocesan Convention on Saturday March 16.

The Exhibition of the Shroud, on Holy Saturday March 30, 2013, will only be on TV: there is no access to the Cathedral except for a small group of sick people and their carers, and young people who have begun the journey of the Synod. Mgr. Nosiglia, presenting the initiative last Friday to reporters,  explained the meaning and the terms of this extraordinary "event": to offer to television viewers all over the world images of the Shroud, in the context of their prayer of Holy Saturday, as a chance to reflect on the suffering and death of Christ, and the pain in the contemporary world.

So this is a TV show, not a "pilgrimage to the Shroud" as the latest Exhibitions were. The broadcast will air on the afternoon of 30 March on RAI Uno (the exact time will be specified by RAI). the public will not be able to access in any way to the Duomo; the same Piazza San Giovanni will not be fully accessible, since it will receive, first of all, transit and parking of vehicles transporting the sick people.

The information will be disseminated not only on the diocesan website, but also on the Voce del Popolo (Turin Diocese’s weekly magazine) and on the website www.sindone.org and www.diocesi.torino.it.

The Web-TV missionidonbosco.tv will try to make the visitors participate in the event. The time of the Exhibition is being developed and it will be communicated as soon as possible. (Diocese of Turin website, March 8, 2013)

  • Diocesan convention on the ‘Shroud and the life of faith

The relationship between the veneration of the Shroud and the life of faith is at the core of the Diocesan Convention of Saturday, March 16th at 9:30 am at the Congress Center Santo Volto, via Val della Torre 3 - Turin. Are planned the interventions of Mgr. Cesare Nosiglia, Enzo Bianchi, Don Roberto Gottardo, Don Giuseppe Ghiberti, Marco Bonatti. The meeting is open to all the faithful of the Diocese of Turin, with particular attention to the volunteers of the Shroud.

It will be an opportunity to reflect on the Shroud issues from a pastoral point of view, and to clarify some details on TV Exhibition, its meaning, issues related to the reproduction of the image imprinted on the Shroud. (Diocese of Turin website, March 8, 2013)

  • Shroud broadcast worldwide but an APP is coming too

Not only on television, but also on the smartphone or on the tablet. In the Year of Faith organized by now "emeritus pope" Benedict XVI, the Shroud open to new media. And in time for the television Exhibition that will be broadcast worldwide on RAI Uno on the next March 30, in the virtual stores will come an application that will let you see the Shroud in high definition on your mobile device. A "Sindone 2.0", initially only available for Apple. The APP will match the television Exhibition, the second in history after the one of November 23, 1973, announced by Pope Ratzinger before leaving the throne of Peter, as a last gift for Turin. The day, Easter Eve, has been proposed by papal custodian of the Shroud, Mgr Cesare Nosiglia, remembering just the words spoken by Benedict XVI during his visit to the 2010 Exhibition: «The Shroud is the icon of Holy Saturday». The archbishop started to think about the Exhibition this summer. Yesterday the announcement, after obtaining the consent of the Holy See. «We were hoping for a video message from Benedict XVI, but then things went differently. We will try again with the new pope», the archbishop announced. The worldwide connection will be from inside the Cathedral of Turin. Nosiglia will lead the Liturgy of the Word, because the Holy Saturday is a "day of silence" in which the Church does not celebrate the Eucharist. Three hundred people will be able to attend. They will be «chosen from among those who carry in their bodies and souls the Passion of suffering Christ», the archbishop clarified. Patients, disabled, people who have lost their homes or jobs. The Shroud will not be moved from the chapel where it is kept since 2000, after the fire in 1998. Shortly before the live broadcast, it will be taken out of the shrine, and its "bed", where it is kept lying, will be lifted in vertical position. «The optimal conditions of temperature, humidity and atmosphere inside of the shrine - ensures the Deputy Director the International Centre of Sindonology, Gian Maria Zaccone - will be extended to the whole chapel». People downloading the app to the study of society HAL9000, that in 2008 filmed the Cloth at very high resolution, can interact virtually on the Shroud with four paths: a free one, which will allow the vision of the image with the deepening of its biblical significance. The other fee-paying, which will add three more widenings, dedicated to the details of the Sheet, to the "Man of the Shroud", to scientific surveys. (Gabriele Guccione, La Repubblica, March 2, 2013)

  • Extraordinary Exhibition of the Holy Shroud on Holy Saturday

Friday, March 1 press conference with Mgr. Nosiglia. RAI Uno live around the world on March 30 for the Year of Faith

Friday 1st March at the Metropolitan Seminary (via XX Settembre, 83 - Turin), during a press conference, the papal custodian Mgr Cesare Nosiglia explained the meaning and the reasons for the next extraordinary TV Exhibition 'Sindone 2.0', as part of 'Year of Faith and also in relation to the situation of the complex times in which we live. You can download the intervention of Mgr Nosiglia during the press conference and his message to the Diocese and the City for the TV Exhibition. More information and details on the official website www.sindone.org.

Images of the Shroud will be taken by the cameras of RAI Uno and broadcast around the world, just for one day, Saturday, March 30, Easter Eve. (Press conference of extraordinary TV Exhibition presentation 'Sindone 2.0', March 1, 2013)

  • The Shroud on television - The first Exhibition in Digital Era

Saturday, March 30, 2013, in the afternoon (Italian time) on RAI Uno television network, the liturgy presided by the papal custodian Mgr. Cesare Nosiglia in the transmission "A sua immagine" - A proposal for prayer and reflection for Holy Saturday, in the Year of Faith.

Holy Saturday and the Shroud: a special prayer from the Cathedral of Turin, to give the  whole world the opportunity to contemplate the Shroud. The initiative of the Archbishop and Papal Custodian Mgr. Cesare Nosiglia, in agreement with the Holy See, is proposed to be an important stage in the journey of "new evangelization" wanted by John Paul II and continued by Benedict XVI through the proclamation of the Year of Faith.

The television exhibition will be held in the Cathedral of Turin, where the Shroud is kept for more than three centuries: the liturgy will be an invitation to reflect on the image that recalls the Passion of the Lord. But in the Cathedral to venerate the Shroud, there will be above all the sick people, witnessing every day in their lives the union with the Passion and Cross of Christ through those sufferings which the Shroud is an image, and that recall the Gospel witness of the Passion of Jesus. (Sindone.org website, March 1, 2013)

  • I would like to give you in advance an important piece of news. On March 30th (Holy Saturday) in the late afternoon (Italian time) in the Turin Cathedral there will be a TV exposition of the Holy Shroud. The exposition will be broadcast by the RAI Uno television network. This event, connected with the "Year of Faith," will happen 40 years after the first and unique TV exposition of the Shroud on November 23rd, 1973. The Shroud will remain in its room in the Cathedral and the length of the exposition will be around one hour. On March 1st in Turin at 11 am a press conference will be held regarding this special exposition. (Bruno Barberis, Shroud of Turin website, February 27, 2013)

  • Shroud, the first technological Exhibition, Benedict XVI’s last gift

After the first survey, commissioned in 1973 by Cardinal Pellegrino, next  March 30, on Easter Eve, the new great appointment. Friday March 1st at 11 am, at the Metropolitan Seminary (Via XX Settembre, 83 - Turin), during a press conference, the Archbishop of Turin, Mgr. Cesare Nosiglia, papal Custodian of the Shroud, will present the television Exhibition to be held on March 30, Easter Eve. Benedict XVI in the Turin Cathedral on May 2, 2010A series of multimedia products made on the occasion of the Exhibition will also be introduced and updates on some specific aspectsof scientific research on the Shroud will be offered. After the 2010 Exhibition, during which 2 million pilgrims from all over the world went in front of the Sheet, in the Cathedral of Turin, and 40 years after the first television Exhibition, that was broadcast live on November 23, 1973 by the Swiss Hall of Royal Palace, where the Sheet was showed vertically (not horizontally as is habit), once again the Shroud, can be seen all over the world through the cameras of RAI Uno: the broadcast will be in fact transmitted internationally. The Exhibition will be in the Easter Eve, recalling the significance attributed to the Sheet by Benedict XVI during his visit in Turin on May 2, 2010, when he called it "Icon of Holy Saturday". The initiative of television Exhibition is part of the Year of Faith willed by Benedict XVI. (Vatican Insider, La Stampa, February 27, 2013)

Exhibition 23.11.1973

  • The Turin Archbishop's message for the preparation time for Easter 2013

    Dear priests, deacons, religious and lay people of Turin Diocese,

    the Lent of this Year of Faith will see us engaged in several significant moments of celebration in the Cathedral to profess together the unity of the faith that makes us the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians: « Try to keep, by the peace that binds you, that unity which comes from the Spirit: there is only one Body, only one Spirit, as only one hope, only one Lord, only one faith, only one baptism. There is only one God and Father of all, above all, that in all is present and acts » (4,3-6).

    In the Pastoral Letter on Baptism ‘Devi nascere di nuovo’ (You must be born again), I remember that the profession of baptismal faith runs on a series of "no" and "yes" that affect the whole existence of the believer and that qualify their testimony.

Card. Cesare NOSIGLIA

So now we want to express our faith also publicly, professing it to live it with the most consistent love and hope. The Cathedral is the mother church where communion and unity of God's people, around the Bishop, takes place in the most important moments of the liturgical year. It is therefore the place with the most symbolic and concrete unity of faith and charity which unites us and makes us the Church that walks along time and here in our territory.

In this solemn and important occasion we also want to venerate the Holy Shroud, « icon of the Holy Saturday », as Benedict XVI said, with acuity and depth, on his visit during the Exhibition in 2010. Beneath the Cross (tells us the Gospel of Mark) the Roman centurion – pagan, therefore – seeing how Jesus had died, said: « Truly this was the Son of God » (Mc 15,39). It is therefore contemplating the Crucifix that we too can say the central act of our faith in Jesus buried, who died and rose again for the salvation of the world.

The Holy Shroud by showing us the tortured body of the Crucified and his suffering face, reminds us of the words of the Apostle John: « God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life » (Gv 3,16). Therefore the Shroud speaks to us not of defeat, but of victory; not of death, but of life; not of despair, but of hope; not of darkness, but of light emanating from the Holy Linen and sustains the faith of those who believe and live it in love.

Contemplating and praying before the Shroud, therefore we will address to the Lord our common prayer: Lord, increase our faith. Do not allow to be less in us the joy and enthusiasm to believe that You are here, in your Church, and operate wonderful things even amid the storms of a reality that seems more and more taking many people away from faith in You. Give us a heart open to the acceptance, courage in the search for who ignores you and wisdom to find ways for an effective new evangelization in our land.

To the Blessed Virgin Consulated, patroness of the diocese, we will rely our profession of faith and the will to make it a new life for us and for every person we meet in everyday of our lives.

So I shall expect you with joy and I hope that we can live together strong moments of prayer, communion and true fraternity.

Mgr. Cesare NOSIGLIA

bishop, father and friend

(Diocese of Turin website, February 2013)


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