February 17, 2010. The city of Turin is getting ready to display the Holy Shroud, a piece of cloth believed to have covered the body of Jesus Christ. For the first time since he was declared pope, Benedict XVI will see the shroud after it’s latest restoration in an public exhibition.



The Holy Shroud, has always been shrouded in mystery and questions that science has failed to respond.

Msgr. Giuseppe Ghiberti
President, Diocesan Synod of Turin
“The problem of natural science practically comes down to two main principals: the date of the shroud with the image and how it’s the image has taken shape.”

Some scientists believed questions raised by the Shroud were answered carbon-14 testing was conducted on a piece of the cloth. The analysis concluded the canvas dated back to the fourteenth century. However, other scientists noted that the material was too impaired to draw any reliable conclusions and that the fragment analyzed was composed of several fabrics.

So the Shroud’s mystery is still up for debate and the church has repeatedly indicated that scientists have the last word on the veracity of the material. Something echoed by during John Paul II first encounter with the Shroud in 1998. The late pontiff said the Shroud helps people get an idea of Jesus suffering before and during the Crucifixion.

Msgr. Giuseppe Ghiberti
President, Diocesan Synod of Turin
“The Synod isn’t a motive to study Jesus, because this image needs to be studied for what it is. An image may be a claim and the sign of a fact. That fact is what appeals to us.”

The exhibition runs from April 10th to May 23rd at the diocese of Turin in Italy. Meanwhile other public and private institutions have organized various initiatives like an exhibit on the image of Jesus Christ, another on the Shroud and conferences.

A unique experience that hasn’t taken place for nearly a decade and there’s no telling when or if it ever will in the future.

PVB/MC
DC
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