Holy Face of Manoppello: The "Holy Face" of Christ Unites

History and Devotion in the Twinning Between Chiusa Sclafani (Sicily) and Manoppello (Abruzzo)

by Antonio Bini

(except as noted photos by Antonio Bini)

An unprecedented twinning took place between the Holy Face kept in the church of San Nicola di Chiusa Sclafani and that of the Holy Face of Manoppello, after a journey that developed during 2024, which began with a visit to Manoppello by a group of members of the Confraternity of the Holy Face, during the rite of Omnis Terra, celebrated on January 28. This was followed by the participation of the rector of the Shrine, Fr. Antonio Gentili, invited in connection with the feast of the Holy Face, which is celebrated annually in the Sicilian town on the first Sunday of May. On that occasion, the twinning charter was signed by Mons. Gualtiero Isacchi, archbishop of Monreale, by the archpriest of the church of San Nicola di Bari don Bernardo Giglio, by the aforementioned Fr. Antonio Gentili and by Manuele Ruvolo, president of the Confraternity of the Holy Face of Chiusa Sclafani. The act was later also signed by Mons. Bruno Forte, archbishop of the Diocese of Chieti-Vasto.

The document summarizes the historical origins of the Holy Face venerated in the Sicilian town, which is located halfway between Palermo and Agrigento, then manifests "the desire to strengthen the root of reparation expressing the desire to look upon the Holy Face of Manoppello" or veil of Veronica. On August 6, on the occasion of the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, celebrated in Manoppello, numerous faithful arrived belonging to the Confraternity of the Holy Face of Chiusa Sclafani, founded in 1900 and led by the active and passionate work of President Manuele Ruvolo.

At sunset, after the celebration of the afternoon Mass, presided over by Fr. Simone Calvare, provincial minister of the Capuchins of Abruzzo, Lazio and Umbria, the short procession took place, from the Basilica to Fonte Leone, preceded by Fr. Bernardo Giglio who carried in his arms the Holy Face of Chiusa Sclafani, followed by the large banner of the Confraternity and the numerous members, arranged in two rows, who all wore the characteristic habit (or scapular).

It was a devout and at the same time joyful participation of people who had traveled over a thousand kilometers to reach Abruzzo as well as an engaging testimony of a twinning deeply felt by the Sicilian community, which mingled among the many local faithful and those also from abroad to attend the solemn rite. Faith is certainly something personal, but at the same time communal. Also present was Father Anatoly Grytskiv, representing the Orthodox Church.

The procession is a cause for reflection, with aspects that go far beyond the religious event.

It is appropriate to briefly explain the presence of the Holy Face in the Sicilian town, which is due to the venerable friar Innocenzo Caldarera (1557-1631). The friar had received the image as a gift in 1623 from Gregory XV of whom he was a trusted advisor. The pope, out of gratitude, in the final phase of his life, proposed to Brother Innocent that he choose for himself one of the objects in his apartment. The friar turned his attention to the copy of the Holy Face, which in turn he donated to the convent of the reformed Friars Minor of the convent of San Vito in Chiusa Sclafani, his hometown, with a notarial deed dated September 21, 1623. The copy was made by Canon Pietro Strozzi in the year 1617 and bears the Latin inscription "the holiness of Our Lord Paul V pronounced anathema against those who dared, without the permission to be granted by himself or his successors, to make a copy from this image", and portrays the face of the dead Christ. The work, which corresponds to the copy made by Strozzi himself in 1616 and intended for Constance, Queen of Poland, reveals the evident transformation of the iconography of Veronica (True Icon), which previously appeared with its eyes open.

The presence of the Holy Face immediately generated local devotion and also in the neighboring villages.

Of particular historical interest is the documentation that came after the papal brief of Urban VIII of 29 May 1628 which, in reiterating the prohibition of reproduction of the image of Veronica, already ordered by Paul V, ordered the return of existing copies, under penalty of excommunication. The provision, as was explained by the pope himself, did not concern the reproduction of any image of Christ - which would have paradoxical effects for the Church - but only those that "portray the true Holy Image of the Holy Face that is beheld here in St. Peter's Basilica with stains and bruises of blood, sweat and blows."

The collection of these documents, patiently transcribed, constitutes the appendix to the work by Antonio Giuseppe Marchese, "Christ in Chiusa Sclafani", a privately published edition of 2009, distributed by the Confraternity of the Holy Face of Chiusa Sclafani.

It can be seen that on July 11, 1628, Mons. Francesco Traina, bishop of Girgenti (Agrigento), in whose diocese Chiusa Sclafani was then included, ordered the guardian of the Friars Minor to deliver the copy of the Holy Face within eight days, with the threat of papal excommunication. On July 13, Lorenzo Gioeni Gardona, Marquis of Giuliana and Count of Chiusa, intervened in defense of keeping the icon in the village, pointing out that the copy was kept in the church under papal authority and not by private individuals, referring to the donation of Gregory XV.

In the meantime, Fra Innocenzo Caldarera was informed in Rome so that he could act accordingly, in support of Chiusa's reasons. The good friar evidently succeeded as evidenced by a letter sent from Rome on August 23, 1628, signed by Cardinal Mellini, addressed to the Count of Chiusa, in which he recalls his gratitude to Fr. Innocent, finally clarifying that the obligation to surrender "does not include the prohibition of those images that have been obtained with the authority of this Holy See." The copy could therefore remain in Chiusa Sclafani. But it must evidently have been an interpretation that departed from the order imposed by Urban VIII, so much so that in the same note the cardinal recommends "that the image be kept secret as much as possible, so that other use of this example would not be the cause of the enactment of some new order to cast any doubt upon the grace already obtained, because His Holiness is very strict in this matter." In essence, the return of the Holy Face and its destruction is avoided, but on the other hand the secrecy of the image and silence regarding it is imposed.

The logic of these provisions seems incomprehensible, especially since in these years the trace of the "pictores veronicarum", which since the Middle Ages had reproduced the face of Christ at the request of pilgrims, had been erased.

The Vatican attitude helps to understand the fears of the Capuchins of Manoppello to protect the Holy Face. It is no coincidence that they had avoided any form of worship and dissemination of the sacred image, which had remained walled up for a long time. A well-preserved silence, considering that no intimation is present in the archives of the Convent.

With the death of Urban VIII, which took place on July 29, 1644, his long pontificate, which lasted 21 years, came to an end, and the grip on copies of the Veronica began to loosen, even if his provisions would not be annulled. Although during his pontificate he did not fail to grant a Sicilian nobleman, coinciding with the Jubilee of 1625, a copy of the Veronica ("true image of the Holy Sudarium"), painted on a copper plate, which is venerated in the church of San Nicolò in Venetico Superiore, in the province of Messina. The work, also executed by Strozzi, with the usual prohibition of reproduction, differs from the copy of Chiusa Sclafani, but in any case having its eyes closed.

A complex and very tangled story, with contradictory attitudes and with many mysterious aspects, in a tormented period that put Veronica itself at risk.

When, during the Great Jubilee of 2000, John Paul II – who knew the evolution of studies on the Holy Face of Manoppello due to his frequent interactions with Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini (president of the International Institute for Research on the Face of Christ) – asked forgiveness for the sins of the Church in a striking act, arguing: "we cannot fail to recognize the infidelity to the Gospel into which some of our brothers and sisters have fallen, especially during the second millennium" (point 4 – homily delivered in St. Peter's on 12 March 2000)*, he almost certainly also referred to the silence perpetrated by his predecessors regarding Veronica, regarding which only in 2011, during the papacy of Benedict XVI, was its disappearance during the Sack of Rome in 1527 admitted.

It is worth mentioning that a reflection on the artistic and historical level was expounded by Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer, at the invitation of then archbishop of Monreale, Mons. Cataldo Naro, to participate in a conference organized in Chiusa Sclafani on November 6, 2004, with inevitable comparisons to Veronica (a true icon), studied for many years.

At the left, Mons. Cataldo Naro, with Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer at the right
(photo courtesy of Manuele Ruvolo)

Fr. Pfeiffer articulated at the event an in-depth analysis of the Face of Chiusa, published in the Ecclesiastical Bulletin of the Archdiocese of Monreale, July-December 2004. By extension also the person of Fr. Pfeiffer is to be considered part of the twinning process, recalling that the cardinals of Palermo, Salvatore Pappalardo and Salvatore De Giorgi in recent years, at different times, were among the first pilgrims to Manoppello, as soon as the German Jesuit's studies on Veronica were disseminated.

In the prayer written by Benedict XVI a year after his visit to Manoppello, the pope spoke of "the human face of God who entered history to reveal the horizons of eternity." And on these horizons the paths of faith move freely and spontaneously, converging on the person of Christ and his face.