Turin Shroud Facts

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HOLY SHROUD The Holy Shroud is the winding sheet in which our Lord was enveloped when He was laid in the sepulchre. The synoptic Evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke expressly state that Joseph of Arimathea bought a pure linen sheet for Jesus' burial. St John informs us that both he and Peter saw it lying in the empty sepulcher after the resurrection. The whereabouts of the Shroud during the early days of the Church as yet remains a mystery. The first evidence of it appears in a brief account in one of the letters of the Bishop of Saragosa during the middle of the seventh century. More references to the Shroud are made by Bede the Venerable and St. John Damascene in the following century. However, we must wait until the year 1203 before we hear of again. Robert Di Clary, the author of a chronicle of the IV Crusade, writes: "The Shroud in which our Lord was enveloped was preserved in a monastery called St. Mary Blachernes in Constantinople, whither everyone directed his steps to view the impression of our Lord; no one knows what became of the Shroud after the city was captured." Nevertheless, there is reason to believe that the Shroud was brought to France after the sack of Constantinople as a spoil of war. In fact, it appears in Lirey toward the year 1352. Since then, it has never been lost sight of again. In 1452, it came as a gift into the possession of the House of Savoy by whom it was kept at Chambery until 1578. During that period, in 1532, a fire broke out in the chapel where the Shroud was kept in a silver reliquary. The heat of the fire caused one side of the reliquary to melt, and the molten silver fell upon one of the corners of the folded Shroud charring it somewhat. Fortunately, it was not irreparably damaged. The repair work was entrusted to the Poor Clare nuns in Chambery, who carefully removed the burnt portion and sewed new pieces of linen in their place. The result of this vicissitude has been that series of symmetrically spaced diamond shaped patches along the entire length of the cloth, which is so striking at first sight. St.Charles Borromeo, hearing of the Holy Shroud in Chamberry, vowed he would cross the Alps on foot to venerate it. In order to spare the

Saint the discomfort of so laborious a pilgrimage, Emmanuel Filliberto brought the Shroud to Turin, a city of his duchy, in 1578 where it has remained up to this day. The architect Guarini erected an artistic chapel for the Sacred Relic in which it is preserved in a precious silver case above the altar. DESCRIPTION OF THE HOLY SHROUD The Holy Shroud is a one-piece linen cloth 14ft. 3in. long by 3ft. 7in. wide, having a surface of roughly 52 square feet. The color of the cloth is a faded ivory with reddish outlines. This was not the original color, for it had to be a pure linen. Time, and the smoke and heat of the fire have given it a yellowish hue. Dr. Hynek, a Czechoslovakian doctor who has made a careful investigation of the Holy Shroud, tells us that on this large linen cloth we clearly see the frontal and dorsal imprints of a tall masculine corpse. The corpse had been placed on one half of the linen sheet upon which the contour of the head, neck, back and musculature of the pelvis and lower members are imprinted. The other half was drawn over the head and completely covered the frontal part of the corpse upon which the face, breast, crossed hands and lower members are imprinted. The figure is that of a majestic man who clearly bears the marks of the Passion of our Lord conformable to the accounts of the Evangelists. A simple examination clearly discloses the marks of the scourging and the bruises, the wounds in the hands, feet and side. That which is most striking is the face. A serene face, bordered by long hair, energetic nose slightly elongated; expressive eyebrows and high forehead; a short noble beard and mustache, and the firm curved lips of a well designed mouth; the face of an ascetic, a man of that determination with an expression of serene tranquility, of noble perfection, wholly spiritual. Dr. Hynek concludes: "We will never be able to imagine anything more impressing, more fascinating, than the profound spiritual fortitude that radiates from the impression of the mysterious Face of the Holy Shroud." There is no other face that can be compared with it. This truly can only be the Holy Face of The God-Man.

THE PASSION OF CHRIST REVEALED IN THE HOLY SHROUD You see the Holy Face emerge from its dark background and recognize in it unmistakably the portrait of Christ in death. Where did it come from? Unbelievably, this impressive image of Jesus appears on the negative when an ancient linen, the Holy Shroud of Turin, is photographed. The Shroud itself is stained with the faint front and back impressions of the unclad body of a man who died by crucifixion. The image on the Shroud is evidently a negative. It is only when photographed that the Shroud yields the incomparable portrait of Christ that has stirred millions of people. Is the Shroud really Christ's authentic burial cloth on which He left the imprints of His martyred Body? Recently scientists have delved once again into the "mystery" of the Turin Shroud, using the most modern scientific techniques. They are convinced the Shroud is authentic. But so are millions of people who need only look at the Face of the Man of the Shroud to know that no artist could have produced it. They know, too, that it is unlike anything iconography ever gave the world. Yet to them that Face is strangely familiar, overpowering, too, in the calm, serene majesty of death. It is no wonder that they stand in awe before it and whisper, It is the Lord!". Whatever the conclusion the reader will reach after viewing the photographs of the Shroud on these slides, he will likely agree that the Shroud of Turin is either the most awesome and instructive relic of Christ in existence -- showing us in its dark simplicity how He appeared to men -- or it is one of the most ingenious, most unbelievably clever products of the human mind and hand on record. It is one or the other; there is no middle ground. 1. The Burial of Jesus It was a hurried burial the bereaved disciples gave their beloved Master late in the afternoon of the first Good Friday. "The Sabbath was imminent" (Luke 33,54), St. Luke tells us in his gospel. And St. Mark adds: "Having bought a linen shroud, Joseph took him down, wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of rock (Mark 15,46). The painting shows how the body was wrapped in the shroud. 2. The Turin Shroud as seen when exposed for veneration The Cloth is 14 feet 3 inches long, and 3 feet 7 inches wide. It is variedly marked with stains, burns, patches and creases. Very striking are the two dark

streaks that run parallel to the sides of the Shroud. They are the traces left by a fire that nearly destroyed the Relic in 1532. Note the mended portions and patches on the Cloth. Other stains were caused by water at the time of the fire. Much fainter in the center of the Shroud are shadow-like imprints of a human body. To the left is the frontal image of the body, while the dorsal or back image extends to the right. These imprints appear somewhat blurred and formless, yet they carry the unmistakable marks that the man in the Shroud died by crucifixion, his hands and feet pierced, his body scourged, his head punctured by sharp objects, and his chest slashed with a knife-like instrument. 3. A magnified portion of the linen tissue of the Shroud The Shroud is made of linen, in a herringbone pattern. Is it possible it could have been preserved for almost two thousand years? Definitely. There are linens in museums known to be over four thousand years old which are still in excellent condition. Archeologists and textile experts are convinced the Turin Shroud may well date to the time of Christ. 4. The Shroud seen in its positive and negative version Photography revealed the Shroud to the world. While it was known and venerated through the centuries first in the Near East and later in Europe, people never quite understood the full meaning of the blurred, faint images on the Cloth, as seen on the left of the screen. When photographed for the first time in 1898, amazingly the negative revealed the true portrait of the Man of the Shroud (we see it on the right), exactly as he looked when laid in the tomb. This proved that the faint image on the Shroud (left) is actually a negative which, in turn, becomes positive (right) when photographed. Compare again the two images on the screen. On the left, you see the Savior's frontal image as it appears on the Shroud, negative. On the right, you see the same image turned positive on the negative plate or film. 5. The Face of the Man of the Shroud We now concentrate on the face of the Shroud's mysterious image. On the left, we see it as it is on the Cloth, somewhat meaningless in its negative version, like a stained mask. Let us now look at that same face, on the right, in its positive version, such as photography reveals it. Looking at it, we might almost think we have come face to face with Our Lord. Yet it is a terribly disfigured face. Note the swelling on the right cheek and the contusion on the socket of the right eye; the nose is swollen at the bridge, and excoriations may be seen on

several other parts of the face. Artists wonder and ask: how can a face be so disfigured and yet retain such an expression of calm, serene majesty? 6. The Crown of Thorns On the left, we see the dorsal or back imprint of the Savior's body as seen on the Shroud. Greatly enlarged on the right is a detail of this imprint showing the back of the head (circle). Note the numerous specks and trickles evidently of blood from the punctures caused by the crown of thorns, on the top and back of the head. It is clear that the crown of thorns was not just a circlet around the head, traditional in art, but a bushy cap which enveloped it completely. Further down, in the area of both shoulder blades, medical experts point to a mass of excoriations which they believe were caused by the weight and friction of the rough, heavy beam Jesus was made to carry across his shoulders part of the way to Calvary. 7. The marks left by the Scourging We are still examining details of the dorsal or back imprint of the body as seen on the Shroud. An enlarged section is shown here, from the neck down to the lower part of the body. The marks left by the scourging are very evident here. We know, of course, that the scourge left trace of its gruesome Further down, running across the back between the two patches, is a large stain believed to have been caused by blood that flowed from the gaping wound in the side while the body was removed from the cross. 8. The instrument used for the Scourging Note the shape of the tiny knobs, evidently of jagged metal or bone, with which the thongs or cords of the scourge were provided. They bit through the flesh which they stripped to the quick and left marks in the shape of double knobs, as shown in the circle. These marks, about 125, are generally distributed in twos and threes, at random, from the neck down to the feet over the entire body. 9. The arms and hands of the Man of the Shroud See how well defined are the arms and the hands as they cross in front of the body. The nail wound is clearly on the wrist with a dark trickle of blood issuing from it. Trickles of blood are visible also on the forearms, quite evidently blood from the pierced wrists, suggesting that the arms of the Crucified One were raised well above the head, supporting the weight of the body. Medical experts agree that crucifixion by the nailed wrists is the only one that can reasonably be

admitted, an incontrovertible proof of the Shroud's authenticity, since traditionally artists always represented the Crucified One with the nails in the palms. 10. The pierced Feet The feet appear strikingly visible on the dorsal image of the Shroud. It is reasonable to assume that this portion of the Cloth must have lain along the bloodstained soles. The imprint made by the right foot is particularly well defined. Of the left foot, only the part around the heel stained the Shroud. The footprints are turned inward, suggesting the position of the feet on the cross. Note, too, that the left leg appears shorter and somewhat bent at the knee, implying that the left foot was over the right one, one nail piercing both feet at once. 11. The Wound in the Side It is a large gash, marked on the Shroud by a dark stain of flowing blood, near the patch on the onlooker's right. As seen on the Cloth, this wound appears to be on the left side of the Man of the Shroud, the image being reversed on the Cloth. Actually it is on the right side of the chest. Doctors have established the exact location of the wound (between the fifth and sixth rib on the right side) as well as the thrust of the spear into the chest of the Man of the Shroud. They detect in the bloodstain below the wound signs of a serous fluid which flowed from the wound with the blood, and are convinced that John's statement in the Gospel, "and immediately there came out blood and water" (John 19,33) makes perfect sense physiologically. 12. It is the Lord! Once more, let us gaze reverently at this face. We see on it a reflection of the majesty of the Son of God, a calm, serene majesty, even though it is touched by sorrow and pain. In the words of Pope Paul VI, "It is a face of Christ so true and sublime, so human and divine that its equal cannot be found anywhere". It is a face with a message, if we but open our hearts to it. Thy Face, O Lord. I seek! I see in it the marks of mankind's sins, my sins, too. And I hear you say: "Forgive them, Father!". Thy Face, O Lord. I seek! I see in it the faces of all who suffer, who are despised and rejected. And I hear you say: "Comfort them and you comfort me!".

Thy Face, O Lord. I seek! I see in it the face of God, the face of Man, the face of Love. And I hear you say: "I have loved you with an everlasting love!". Dear Holy Face, so marred and so sublime! I see you now by death disfigured, and I hear you say: "Trust me! You will see me one day in the beauty and splendor of eternal life".

SUMMARY First photographed 1898 by Secundo Pia. The image on the cloth is a negative. The radiation that made the body image was up and down parallel to gravity, no side image. Image only appears on cloth where body surface is 3.5cm away or less. Darkness on cloth is inversely proportionate to this space. This results in the 3D nature of the image when seen with the VP-8. Image is X-ray-like as it shows bones in hands, face, etc. Pixels of uniform darkening make image similar to a random halftone; more pixels per area in darker areas. Each pixel on separate 15 to 20 micron fiber of linen of random length, 50 to 500 microns long. The sharply bounded pixels that make up body image cannot be duplicated by any known process today Image does not fluoresce like other burns in linen fiber No image under the blood; Blood stains are exactly correct as modern medicine would expect to see from a crucified victim. Scourge marks (approximately 120) have UV response around them, as blood serum would have. High bilirubin content in blood from torture Passover-time flower pollens from the Dead Sea area in the cloth, along with pollens from France & Turkey. Travertine aragenite dust, as found in Jerusalem vicinity, is found on the feet, knees, and nose. 1532 fire deposited excess heavy carbon only 3" from area sampled for carbon 14 dating. Microbiological growth found on linen fibers Linen cloth is mentioned in all four gospels