The Impressions of Louis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on The Veil of Manoppello

Patricia Enk, the editor of the Illumina Domine blog https://illuminadomine.com/ has posted the video of a part of an interview by Antonio Bini with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.  The Cardinal of Manila is quite eloquent in his description of the spiritual and religious significance of the Holy Face of Manoppello.  The interview was conducted on May 20, 2017 during the days of celebration of the annual feast of the Holy Face held in May each year in Manoppello.  Thanks are due to Sr. Petra-Maria Steiner for providing the video and to Patricia Enk for not only posting the video but also for the english subtitles for the interview which was conducted in Italian.

"It is the Lord"

photo by Paul Badde/EWTN

this article originally appeared at http://de.catholicnewsagency.com/story/es-ist-der-herr-paul-badde-uber-den-manoppello-besuch-von-kardinal-luis-tagle-1916


"It is the Lord!"

Paul Badde on Cardinal Luis Tagle's visit to Manoppello

No word of the Gospel describes the sudarium of Christ in Manoppello better than the touching story of John, where Jesus at dawn is on the shore of Lake Genezareth and asks his disciples: "Son, have you nothing to eat?" They reply: "No." Then He said to them, "Cast your net from the other side of the boat and you will find it." They cast the net and could no longer pull it up for the great amount of fish. " Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"  DOMINUS EST  is also the motto on the coat of arms of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of the megalopolis of Manila and Primate of the Philippines, who visited last Saturday and Sunday the town in Abruzzi from which comes a small thin veil which for years has moved the hearts of millions of his faithful in distant Asia.

Urbi et Orbi: Manoppello and the world

Rain had been predicted.  In Rome there was a terrible deluge that flooded the basements, yet in Manoppello not even a drop fell. Already on Saturday pilgrims from Moscow, the Philippines, all over Italy and Europe surrounded the holy sudarium which was brought down from the high altar to await  the annual procession. Prior to the Mass of 7.30am, the cardinal, 59 years old, smiling and youthful, had blessed Urbi et Orbi with the Face of God, though in this case we should say rather: Manoppello and the world.

photo by Antonio Bini

For the solemn mass of 9.30am not even a needle could get into the small basilica, while bursts of fireworks in the valleys around Manoppello announced the great feast of the Holy Face,  celebrated here every year since 1712 on the third Sunday of May . Right here, in this corner of the earth - Cardinal Tagle explained at the beginning of his homily - the pastor one day followed his flock when he spoke of the "lively, dynamic and widespread devotion of the Holy Face" in the Philippines and Manila , where in January 2015, during the visit of Pope Francis, he could greet six million participants (!) at the final gathering in Rizal Park. The Philippines is the most Catholic nation in Asia.

The Face of Truth

In his passionate homily the Cardinal first mentioned John's word in the gospel of this Sunday:
"Still a little while, and the world will never see me again; You will see me because I live and you will live. "

"This word is fulfilled today, in this assembly," he continued categorically. "Now we see the face of Jesus. Let's see why He lives now in our midst. We see it and we do not die, unlike the ancient men, who thought they would be dead if they had seen God. On the contrary: if we look at the Face of Jesus, we receive life and strength from Him.We see Jesus and we live! We see Jesus and we live! "

Already after his arrival on the previous night he had called the face on the veil of  marine byssus the Face of Truth, that veil which until 1527 had long been revered in Rome as "Veil of Veronica".  This would have been his first impression when he saw the living image for the first time, which he had previously known only through the copies he had been given. He had "felt embraced and welcomed by this gaze full of tenderness in a face which speaks, that is alive and does not incur any fear. It's the Face of Truth. "

"But how is it possible for us to see Jesus?" he asks again. "As sinners we have neither merit nor the right to see His face. But we see it and we live. How is it possible?"

photo by Paul Badde/EWTN

Cast the nets - and take on loads of fish

Also John's Gospel responds to this according to the Cardinal. "Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father and I will love him and I will show myself to him." "In strict logic we would not see the face of Jesus, we should say more precisely that He shows us His face, He shows His Face and looks at us, so we see. It is pure grace, pure unconditional love, but from Him. He manifests his face, his true self. And there is no other reason, except the love that He has for us. "

"This face however is not only to be seen, but also to be heard.  Because Jesus' face is the human face of the word of God and of his commandments. And his commandments show us the way for peace, freedom, forgiveness. In the face of Jesus we see the One who has fully realized the commandment of the love of God and neighbor. In Him are visible the commandments of the one who said to us: 'Come to Me all of you who are weary and heavy laden.'

Yet what we have seen and heard and what we see and hear in this place, we have to share it with others. Jesus is our hope of hope. "His love for us and his triumph over death is the reason for our hope!

We see the face of Jesus because He manifests himself here.  It is the face of God who loves who has spoken to us. "

The shepherd and fisherman's homily lasts fifteen minutes and thirty seconds, up to the last "Amen". Then Cardinal Tagle goes to the new bishop's chair at the right side of the chancel, which now seems to have been placed especially here for him in the basilica, and takes his pastoral staff in his hand. When he finally goes to the altar to preside over the Eucharistic celebration, there is no longer any doubt that this charismatic fisherman from now on will "throw the net again from the right side of the boat" and pull it on "full of fish."

From the Tarigni hill to the church of San Nicola

First, however, on the same Sunday, after having celebrated solemn Mass, he led, together with Father Carmine Cucinelli and the other Capuchins of the Basilica, the procession, with hymns and prayers, of the sudarium of Christ from the Basilica of the Holy Face down the Tarigni Hill to the church of St. Nicholas in the town of Manoppello, followed by a long line of pilgrims. Though perhaps it was just two miles down the road, but Cardinal Tagle of Manila this morning has turned them into a milestone on the long road of the return of the true image of God into the world.

photo by Antonio Bini

Taking into account all the possibilities and weighing each of them, there is no reasonable alternative to the hypothesis that the holy veil of Manoppello is identified with that "sudarium" (in Greek: soudarion) that evangelist John discovered for the first time in the empty tomb of Christ in Jersualem on Easter morning and cites in his Easter Gospel (see Jn 20: 7).

Theses days no sermon, no matter how intense, can reinforce more faithfully  the weak faith of Christianity in the resurrection of Christ from the dead than this sudarium of Christ. In Jesus, God has shown His face, there is to be no further manifestation. Even though we do not know WHAT we expect after death, we know WHO is waiting for us. "It is the Lord!"

There is little more to say about the face of Christ on his sudarium than: DOMINUS EST.

photo by Paul Badde/EWTN

Cardinal Tagle Message from Manoppello to Friends of the Holy Face 2017

 Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manil who presided during the feast of the Holy Face in Manoppello this past weekend,  sends a message of encouragement from Manoppello on May 20, 2017, the feast of the Holy Face, to Daisy Neves and all those who promote the Holy Face throughout the world in the Philippines, the USA, Canada and everywhere

Cardinal Tagle Sets the Standard for Devotion to the Holy Face

photo by Paul Badde

"We see the face of Jesus because He reveals His face to us, the face of the loving God. His is the face of God turned towards us and not centered on himself. His is the face of the One who fulfilled the commandment of love. As we see and hear His face may our faces be transformed into his holy face. Through the testimony of our faces, may the suffering people of the world know that Jesus sees them, listens to them, cares for them and loves them. Amen."

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Manoppello, Feast of the Holy Face, May 21 2017 

The Face of Truth

photo by Antonio Bini

THE FACE OF TRUTH

The spread of the Holy Face devotion in the Philippines and among Catholics of other Asian countries in the testimony of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle

by Antonio Bini

Only a few years ago, the centuries-old May feast of the Holy Face in Manoppello saw the exclusive participation of devotees from the town and from some of the region's localities who, until the nineteen sixties, walked to the sanctuary, organized into pilgrim companies, which carried before them a crucifix or the sign of the Holy Face, which in the remaining days of the year was kept in their respective churches.

This year the celebration saw the extraordinary participation of the cardinal from Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle, who presided over the celebration of the Mass and then participated in the procession leading the sacred image from the Shrine to the parish church of St. Nicholas, in the historic center of Manoppello, that is, to the place where a mysterious pilgrim had brought it in the sixteenth century.

photo by Antonio Bini

In continuity with the popular devotion of the past, this year there came the pilgrim companies of Vacri and Contrada Santa Giusta in Lanciano, while there were many other pilgrims who reached the sanctuary from all over Italy and abroad.  Among these were also a group of Russian Orthodox.  All together, sharing the desire to participate in a ritual that has very suggestive and absolutely unique aspects. A sign of how much the Holy Face, which for centuries had been hidden from the world, has now been opened to the world.

In his introduction to the Mass, the Rector of the Shrine thanked the Cardinal for accepting the invitation, despite his many international commitments, being also responsible for Caritas International.  Fr. Carmine Cucinelli wanted to remember how in August 2015, just prior to  the second international mission of the Holy Face in the Philippines, Canada and the USA, the cardinal of Manila had wanted to address a greeting to the bishops, religious and devotees of the Philippines and to Fr. Carmine, for his presence at the anniversary of the enthronement of the Holy Face at Nampicuan, in the church now the first sanctuary of the Holy Face in Asia. 

The cardinal, welcomed by a spontaneous and prolonged applause, wished to become a personal interpreter and witness to the growing worship of the Holy Face in the Philippines and, consequently, also among the Catholics of other Asian countries, bringing  "his greetings and wishes for peace from the Philippines, where devotion to the Holy Face is alive, vibrant and widespread."

Beginning his homily, he said that "he was joyfully attending the Feast of the Holy Face". In developing theological reflections on Christ's human face, Tagle - in front of the sacred image - stated that it represents "a great blessing given to us all."  

photo by Antonio Bini

video of beginning of Holy Face procession with statue of Saint Pancratius May 2011

The procession began as always following the traditional ritual. At the end of Mass, there arrived at the shrine the patron saint of Manoppello, Saint Pancratius, who came "to take" the Holy Face, stopping in wait in front of the church door.  (see video above taken in 2011)  An example which has been followed in the past by several neighboring towns, with entire communities in procession to the Holy Face together with their holy patrons, in witness to the importance that popular devotion attributes to the image of Christ even before studies and research in recent years revealed its uniqueness and authenticity, finally recognizing in it the legendary Veronica (vera-ikon) for years enveloped and perhaps protected by oblivion.

Then the chorus of the basilica, directed by Maestro Nicola Costantini, followed by the band, a double row of children dressed in angels and then the cardinal, along with Fr. Carmine Cucinelli, Fr. Paolo Palombarini, and other religious, including Don Bonifacio (Ted) Lopez, a Filipino priest of the Diocese of Rome, who preceded the Holy Face, followed by the mayor of Manoppello along with other mayors of neighboring municipalities wearing the tricolor band and then by a long crowd of participants. During the journey are visible the posters of greeting and welcome that the Commune has hung on the walls of the town.   

"Cardinal Tagle,  Manoppello Welcomes You!"  photo by Antonio Bini

At the end of the descent the bearers of the Holy Face stop, rotating the throne on which is set the monstrance for blessing, the blessing which once was directed to the surrounding populations and territories, but which today Cardinal Tagle imparts to the world.

The procession then slowly takes up its course once again, including songs, prayers, pauses for meditation, and the sound of the band.  Approaching the town vibrant and prolonged fireworks begin -- the so-called "Greetings to the Holy Face." The procession reaches the old town between two rows of the crowd, while from the balconies upon which handmade blankets are hung,  flowers petals rain upon the passage of the Holy Face. 

                                  video of Holy Face Procession entering walls of Manoppello May 2011

photo by Antonio Bini

At the beginning of the main course, the procession stops at the beginning of Via Santarelli,  to allow the return of the statue of Saint Pancratiu to the church of the same name, saluted by the applause of all present. The Holy Face resumes the journey, reaching the church of St. Nicholas, where a vigil will be kept all night, and then return to the shrine the next morning.

Meeting so many people, including writer Paul Badde, German scholars.Sr. Blandina Paschalis Scloemer and Sr. Petra-Maria Stainer. I stop to greet Sr. Laura. When the elderly nun see me she is quite moved and begins to cry.  She was and is very close to the Holy Face and has returned to Manoppello for the feast, after her convent of the Alcantarine Sisters, adjacent to the church of St. Nicholas, was closed last December, after more than a century of life.

The Mayor, Giorgio De Luca, invites the cardinal to the headquarters of the Commune, a short distance away, for a formal greeting in the presence of other councilors.   Many people follow him.

In the course of an interview, responding to the question of what his first impressions were when he first encountered the Holy Face, Cardinal Tagle confessed to having a reproduction of the image received as a gift from the Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See, Mercedes A. Tuason. He then added that upon entering the church and stopping to  pray in the front pew near the altar, he "felt embraced, welcomed by a gaze of tenderness from that face that speaks, who lives and does not instill fear. A face of Truth. " His testimony leads us to reflect on the words of John Paul II "Christianity is not a form of culture, or an ideology,or a system of lofty principles of values. Christianity
is a Face: Jesus Christ” (June 4, 2004)

Turning to the knowledge and worship of the Holy Face, the Cardinal has not forgotten to recall the role played by Daisy Neves, a devout American of Filipino origins, who for some years has been committed with extraordinary generosity and tireless dedication to the devulgation of the sacred image by means of numerous initiatives in various countries, including the Philippines, Canada, the United States, Italy, and Lebanon. 

While leafing through the pages of the volume "The Holy Face, from Manoppello to the World," published by me last year - Tagle wanted to thank, from the Shrine of the Holy Face, Madam Neves and the growing network of friends and religious spread across various countries of the world, along with all those who are engaged in sharing the knowledge of the Holy Face. The Cardinal returned to elaborate on some specific aspects of the theology of the Holy Face during an interview with Vittoria Biancardi of TV2000.

Before leaving Manoppello, the cardinal thanked the Capuchins for their fraternal and warm welcome, affirming that for him it was a grace to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Face in the presence of so many pilgrims, finally inviting them to pray - from Manoppello - for peace in Syria and Venezuela and for the populations in Africa suffering from hunger.

Finally a little curiosity. In recent years, there have been many cardinals visiting the Holy Face before and after Benedict XVI's arrival at the shrine in 2006 yet Luis Antonio Tagle is the first cardinal to attend the feast of the Holy Face, leading and participating in the entire course of the procession, which measures more than two kilometers. To record the presence of a cardinal at the feast of the Holy Face, it is necessary to go back in time, to May 18, 1947, when Cardinal Benedetto Aloisi Masella arrived in Manoppello in  to bless the new precious reliquary that the population and the emigrants wanted to create in thanksgiving to the Holy Face for their having been spared from the destruction of the war.  On that occasion the cardinal took part in the procession, but only on the final part, traveling only about a hundred meters.

Homily of Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, in Manoppello for the Feast of the Holy Face May 21 2017

photo courtesy of Paul Badde/EWTN

(translated from the original Italian text)

Homily, Solemn Eucharistic Celebration

Basilica of the Holy Face, Manoppello

21 May 2017

Sixth Sunday of Easter [Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; I Peter 3:15-18, John 14:15-21]

+ Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We thank our God who, always filled with love and benevolence towards us, has gathered us as one family of faith for this solemn celebration of the Holy Face of Manoppello. I bring you warm greetings and wishes of peace from the Philippines, where the devotion to the Holy Face is alive, vibrant and widespread. Celebrating the Eucharist with you on this sixth Sunday of Easter gives me great joy.

In the Gospel that we just listened to, Jesus told his disciples, “In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.” These words are fulfilled now in our assembly, in our hearing. We see Jesus´ face now. We can see him because he is alive, he is in our midst now. And seeing his face, we do not die, contrary to the fear of the people of old that seeing the face of God would mean death for them. On the contrary, seeing Jesus´s holy face we draw the life and energy which comes from him. This is a profound blessing granted to us, now.  This gives us a foretaste of eternal life, where we hope to behold the face of God in eternal contemplation and adoration. Seeing Jesus, we live!  Seeing Jesus, we live!

photo courtesy of Paul Badde/EWTN

How could it be possible for us to see Jesus? As sinners, we do not have the merit nor the right to see his face. But we see him and we live! How could this happen? The answer comes from Jesus in the Gospel of today, “Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” Strictly speaking, we do not see the face of Jesus. It is more accurate to say that he reveals his face to us. He shows his face, and so we see. This is pure grace. This is pure and total love on the part of Jesus. He manifests his face, his true self, for no other reason than for the love he has for us. Allow me to share with you three points useful for reflection.

First, when Jesus shows his face to us, he does not look at his own face. He looks at us. Even in our daily experience, when we show our face to other people, we look at them, not at ourselves. This is love: in showing my face I become someone who sees others, who hears others, who understands others, who feels for others. Showing one´s face means that I spend less time looking at my own face, my activities, my needs, my comfort or well-being, my interests and instead that I devote more time to looking at the face of others, of those who suffer. This is the love that the holy face of Jesus shows us. He is interested in us, he is for us, he looks at us more than he looks at himself. The devotees of the Holy Face must be like him. Is our gaze directed only at ourselves, our immediate group, those closest to us or are we learning from Jesus who penetrates the hearts of others with his loving gaze?

photo courtesy of Paul Badde/EWTN

Second, the face of Jesus, a loving and other-centered face is also a face that speaks. Even when our lips do not utter “audible” words, our face can speak “visible” words. He said in the Gospel, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” His face is not only seen but heard. Jesus´ face is the human face of the Word of God, now heard and seen especially in his commandments. In our time, people look at rules as something negative. But the commandments of the Lord are not burdens to make our life more difficult, not tools to destroy our freedom, not mechanisms of condemnation of our weak and fragile persona. His commandments are paths to peace, liberty and forgiveness. In Jesus´ face we see the person who fulfilled the commandment to love God above all and one’s neighbor as oneself. His commandments are visible in him who told us, “Come to me...Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  My yoke, in face, is easy and my burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30). The devotees of the Holy Face are called to listen attentively to Jesus who is the visible word of peace, of freedom, of forgiveness and of love.

Finally, what we have seen and heard, we must share with others. In the first reading, Philip proclaimed in Samaria the Jesus that he had seen and heard. His preaching was accompanied by visible signs of healing and liberation. The face of Jesus was seen and heard in Philip´s testimony. In the second reading, Peter tells those who are undergoing trials and persecution to be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in them. The answer is simple: Jesus! He is our sure hope. His love for us and triumph over death is the reason why we have hope. But Peter reminds us to proclaim our hope with gentleness and respect, with a clear conscience and integrity of life, with readiness to suffer for doing good rather than for doing evil. In other words, we best proclaim Jesus if others see and hear Jesus in us.

photo courtesy of Paul Badde/EWTN

We see the face of Jesus because He reveals His face to us, the face of the loving God. His is the face of God turned towards us and not centered on himself. His is the face of the One who fulfilled the commandment of love. As we see and hear His face may our faces be transformed into his holy face. Through the testimony of our faces, may the suffering people of the world know that Jesus sees them, listens to them, cares for them and loves them. Amen. 

photo courtesy of Paul Badde/EWTN

photo courtesy of Paul Badde/EWTN

Concluding Words of Pope Francis' Homily at Fatima Today during Mass for the Canonization of St. Francisco and St. Jacinta

photo by Paul Badde

 "With Mary’s protection,” Pope Francis concluded, praying, “may we be for our world sentinels of the dawn, contemplating the true face of Jesus the Savior, resplendent at Easter."

photo by Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Video on the Life of Padre Domenico da Cese, Apostle of the Holy Face

This video by Paul Badde for EWTN on the life of Padre Domenico da Cese, the Apostle of the Holy Face, wonderfully illustrates the spirit and soul of this great Capuchin Franciscan saint of the twentieth century, .