Pope Francis to Make Pilgrimage to the Holy Shroud of Turin in 2015

VATICAN CITY — When the Holy Shroud of Turin goes on display in the city’s cathedral next spring – only the sixth time in nearly a century – it will have an illustrious visitor: Pope Francis.

The Shroud, believed to be the burial cloth that swathed the body of Jesus, is normally kept in a special case in Turin’s cathedral. But next year, the Shroud will be displayed in the cathedral in a public exhibition known as “ostentation.” The viewing starts April 19 and ends June 24.

• The 14-foot linen cloth has been in Turin, Italy, for more than 400 years and bears the faint front and back image of a 5-foot, 10-inch bearded, crucified man with apparent wounds and bloodstains that match the crucifixion account recorded in the Bible.
• In 1981, a team of 24 scientists concluded it was not the work of an artist because they found no visible trace of paint, pigment, dye or other artistic substances on the cloth. Blood found on the cloth is AB positive with human DNA.
• New chemical and mechanical tests published in 2013 by Italian scientists with Padua University indicate a date range of first century with a 250-year margin of error.

On Wednesday, Pope Francis announced that he would visit the Shroud next June. “I am pleased to announce, that God willing, on June 21 of next year, I will go on a pilgrimage to venerate the Holy Shroud,” Pope Francis told thousands of faithful at St. Peter’s Square during Wednesday’s general audience.

The last time the Holy Shroud, which measures 4.41 meters (14.5 feet) by 1.13 and which is kept in a special case in Turin’s Cathedral, was shown to the public was in 2010. Pope Benedict XVI visited it then. The first ostentation took place in 1933 and after that there were another four, in addition to two displays for television specials. Last year, Pope Francis recorded a video message for one of the television displays of the Holy Shroud. The only other time ostentation was shown by TV was in 1973.

The Savoy family, the royal family that united Italy in the 19th century and ruled until shortly after World War II, took possession of the shroud in 1453 and brought it to Turin in 1578. King Umberto II of Savoy bequeathed the shroud to the Holy See in 1984.

The shroud shows the faint image of a man with signs of wounds that correspond to those deriving from a crucifixion, but the question of whether it was Christ’s burial cloth has long sparked heated debate. The cloth has undergone extensive scientific tests to determine its place and date of origin, but the tests have yet to be conclusive. Skeptics claim it is a Medieval forgery, but the faithful venerate the cloth.

“Millions of pilgrims recognize it as a sign of the mystery of the passion…and resurrection of the Lord,” said Cesare Nosiglia, archbishop of Turin and papal custodian of the Holy Shroud. “All those signs in the shroud are in line with how the Gospel describes Christ’s tortured body [after he was crucified],” said Archbishop Nosiglia.

Church officials said they don’t plan any new scientific tests on the occasion of next year’s display, but don’t rule it out future tests using fresh technology.

“The Vatican has always been open to all scientific tests seeking to determine the mystery of the shroud,” said Archbishop Nosiglia.”But as long as there is this uncertainty, for us [Catholics] there is the certainty of our faith.”

Reservations for display open Thursday for the millions likely to come to Turin during the two-month event. Visiting hours are expected to start from 0730 a.m., following a Mass, and last 12 hours every day, including Sunday, guaranteeing daily access to up to about 60,000 people. If demand is strong the hours could be extended into the evening.

Mayor Pietro Fassino of Turin, a city of about 900,000 inhabitants, said visitors are likely to at least match the 2.5 million who came for the 2010 ostentation. The city expects large numbers of visitors from neighboring France, and expects to draw on the millions of visitors expected for next year’s Universal Exposition in nearby Milan.

There is no charge for the public visit of 2015 but online reservations are compulsory on www.sindone.org.

Church organizers said that all donations by pilgrims over the two-month event won’t go to the local diocese but will be used to build a hospice for the terminally ill.