The Sack of Rome and the Arrival of the Holy Face in Abruzzo

 

by Antonio Bini

Editor's note: This article is a translation of one of the chapters in Bini's work "Heinrich Pfeiffer Lo studioso che identificò la Veronica nel Volto Santo" (Heinrich Pfeiffer, the Scholar who Recognized the Veronica in the Holy Face), Teaternum Edizioni, 2024

In a communiqué issued on July 14, 2011 by the Holy See Press Office (VIS-Vatican Information Service), in conjunction with the inauguration of a Vatican exhibition held in San Marino, the disappearance of the Veronica from St. Peter's Basilica during the Sack of Rome of 1527 was admitted. It was a low-profile choice to confirm the theses and historical reconstructions that various scholars had advanced over time about the disappearance of the important relic, once venerated by millions of pilgrims and then accompanied by centuries-old silence, while the expansion of the new basilica of St. Peter’s was underway. In this regard, the authoritative thought of Arsenio Frugoni must be considered compelling. In the context of a detailed historical reconstruction in which the absence of the Veronica is argued, Frugoni asserts that there was "a smothering of interest around this image" on the part of the Church (footnote 1). As was mentioned, the Veronica had been missing for a long time. The copy exhibited at Easter in 1581 appeared to Michael de Montaigne as "a pulpy face, of a somber and dark color." (footnote 2)The French traveler actually saw nothing. The True Icon must have appeared quite different before, producing "an impact comparable to that which would have been garnered by Christ in person” (footnote 3). 

But who brought it to Abruzzo? Who could be the mysterious pilgrim who gave it to Dr. Leonelli? The starting point for the research stems from a reference by Fr. Filippo da Tussio, in his Memoirs, in which he stated that the Relatione Historica of Father Donato da Bomba, substantially kept secret from the Capuchins, was instead made available to the bishop of Venosa, Pietro Antonio Corsignani (Celano, 1686-1751). Why was that? An answer comes from the voluminous historical work "Reggia Marsicana" (footnote 4), published in two volumes by Corsignani, in which there is a description of previous visits to the Shrine of Manoppello which the author himself points out "although outside the Marsi", recalled that the Colonna family, in addition to being Dukes of the Marsi, also possessed the County of Manoppello, “as well as many fiefdoms in the Papal States". 

The Front Cover of the "Reggia Marsicana" of Corsignani printed in 1738.

                                                                (Photo by Antonio Bini)

In the work, for the first time, some excerpts from the "Relatione Historica" by Fr. Donato da Bomba, were revealed concerning "the famous image of our Redeemer Jesus Christ". 

Corsignani, evidently linked to the Colonna family, emphasizes "how much caution" is reserved by the Capuchins and that the manuscript that bears the Relatione is "in every part true, although it is copious of long digressions..". The historian prudently believes that it is not his "task to speak of the Face of Christ on the Veronica", he states that he visited the Shrine on several occasions, beginning in 1730, attesting, above all, to the attendance by "bishops, foreigners, princes and knights from various parts, and also Romans with their Great Sovereign knights, from time to time, of the illustrious Casa Colonna,  who have all often visited it". 

Fr. Filippo da Tussio in his Memoirs recalls that even an employee of the Colonna, sensing his vocation, decided to become a friar taking the name of Fr. Andrea da Rocca di Botte. He was part of the religious community of the Shrine, dying in Manoppello on March 7, 1651 in the odor of sanctity. (footnote 5) 

 Of particular importance is the circumstance of such a significant involvement of the important Roman family of Colonna, in frequenting a small modest convent - which was distinguished only by its precious image - not easily accessible and hidden, at the time, on the edge of a forest at the foot of the Maiella,  the Domus Christi, as it was defined by Petrarch. At that time, only the presence of the Veronica could justify pilgrimages from Rome. 

This frequentation is to be related to the role that Cardinal Pompeo Colonna played on the occasion of the Sack of Rome. Strongly hostile to Pope Clement VII, whom he had opposed on the occasion of the conclave of 1523 - during which the member of the Medici family was elected pope - he supported the invasion of Rome, which he saw above all as an opportunity for the elimination of the pope.

This is not the place to reconstruct the complex historical events and the causes of those very serious events, which caused violence, deaths, the desecration of sacred places and the tombs of the popes, devastation, destruction, robberies of all kinds, with the Pope forced to take refuge in Castel Sant'Angelo, while St. Peter's Basilica was attacked, with the last Swiss Guards who were exterminated at the foot of the central altar. It is held that "The Sack of Rome was a shameful torment to civilization, art, religion, human dignity, such as the barbarians of the early Middle Ages had not been able to inflict, in their vandalic raids, on the city of the Caesars and the Pontiffs." (footnote 6) 

Among the various sources, the account of Jacopo Buonaparte, advisor to Pope Clement VII, of Tuscan origin, who was a witness to the tragic events of 1527, consulted in the edition reproduced in 1844, by the Pirotta printing house in Milan, has been taken into consideration. The author wrote of how "they lifted sacred images from the altars," while St. Peter's Basilica, the pope's chapel and other sacred places were devastated, "already full of so many venerable relics, having become at present horse stables." Among the most important relics, the Veronica disappeared  (footnote 7) 

Buonaparte describes the meeting between the Pope and Cardinal Pompeo Colonna, at which he was probably present. The cardinal returned to the city after the capture of Rome. Rejoicing at the damage and danger endured by the pope, the cardinal then had to realize the grave consequences for Rome and for the Romans, while the effects of the plague began to be felt, with hundreds of the dead left unburied in the streets. He met the imprisoned pope at Castel Sant'Angelo and, Buonaparte writes, "they wept together with the most vivid tears for the misery of Rome". 

At that time, the garrison that watched over Castel Sant'Angelo was commanded by the Spaniard Hernando de Alarcón (in Italian, Ferdinando Alarcon), who distinguished himself in the battle of Pavia in 1525, who had been appointed marquis by Charles V, receiving the entrustment of the Valle Siciliana, in the province of Teramo, on the eastern side of the Gran Sasso, until then assigned to the Orsini and before that to the counts of Paleara or Pagliara. Colonna then committed himself to the Pope's release and did everything in his power, including economic, to free and ransom the prisoners, as well as to negotiate the difficult end of the occupation that lasted until October, with the subsequent escape of the Pope, who took refuge in Orvieto. 

The Roman cardinal, together with the members of his powerful family, must have known Alarcon, who later became, together with Prince Philibert of Orange, governor of Rome, (footnote 8) and therefore the subsequent fate of the Holy Face. It cannot be ruled out that Pompeo's cousin, Vittoria Colonna, Marquise of Pescara, poet and deeply religious person, widow of Fernando Francesco D'Avalos, an aristocratic family of Spanish origin, also exerted her influence. 

A significant testimony came a few years from the travel account of the Dominican preacher Fra Serafino Razzi who on July 24, 1575 arrived in Tossicia, the capital of the Valle Siciliana, "the seat of an ancient civilization" (footnote 9). 

The friar was invited to the Marquis Palace, even if the descendant of the commander was not at the headquarters, but probably in Naples, his habitual residence from which he used to return in the summer. "This gentleman, as they say," Razzi writes, " is very courteous and Catholic, he delights a lot in spiritual things .. he keeps a beautiful library . And because the said Lord delights in the playing and singing of music, we saw a room of almost all sorts of musical instruments". But for the purposes of this publication, his testimony is fundamental regarding what the curious Tuscan preacher observes when visiting the private chapel, which he defines as "adorned as much as one can say, full of sacred things, with a rich altar and organ, with royal and papal vestments received by the father of this marquis from Pope Clement VII, after the Sack of Rome and comported himself with that pope in a Christian manner" (footnote 10),  while no trace of the Holy Face appears, hidden or perhaps brought to Manoppello and already in the hands of the Leonelli family. The circumstances described by Razzi were gathered from the conversation that the Tuscan preacher had with the "v. marquis". The next morning, the preacher celebrated Mass in the presence of the deputy marquis and other religious, then continued his journey to Montorio al Vomano. 

Two years later, the preacher, while on his way to the Abbey of San Liberatore a Maiella, then a flourishing community of Benedictine monks, noted his transit through Manoppello, perhaps without stopping and in any case without noting anything. 

Father Pfeiffer himself, on the occasion of a testimony given during the making of the documentary film "In search of the face of Jesus", characterized by a historical setting and edited by director Luca Trovellesi Cesana (and which since 2012 has appeared on international television networks),  mentioned in general terms the possible involvement of Ferdinando Alarcon, based solely on the circumstance related to the role of Spanish commander during the pope's imprisonment in Castel Sant'Angelo,  hypothesizing how, in the years following, once the situation had normalized, it would have been very compromising for the marquis to still keep the Veronica. These concerns, he argued, may have led him to free himself from the sacred image. 

The close relationship of the Colonna family with the Shrine and the role of Ferdinando Alarcon during the Sack of Rome are further elements to reconstruct the history of the Veronica, a compelling story of faith,  of intrigues and twists, with questions that find answers and others that remain in mystery. 

Marquis Palace of Tossicia
(Photo by Antonio Bini)

The large Marquis Palace of Tossicia, which houses the Museum of the People of Gran Sasso, suffered damage caused by the earthquakes of 2009 and 2017 and is only partially accessible and the town itself is experiencing the phenomenon of depopulation. From information taken by the director of the Museum, Giuliano Di Gaetano, whom we thank for his collaboration, it has been confirmed that traces of the Chapel described by Serafino Razzi have disappeared, such as sacred furnishings, as over the centuries the historic building has undergone adaptations and transformations inside, having also been used in the past as the municipal headquarters and as a school. In the museum spaces that can be visited, there are few references to the history of the family, with the exception of some coats of arms carved in stone, surrounded by cannons, to underline the military origins of the progenitor of the family, "brave Spanish captain" (footnote 11), born in 1466 in the village of Palomares del Campo, in the region of Castile-La Mancha, and died in Naples, on January 17, 1540. 

Vault frescoed with the coat of arms of the Marquis Ferdinando Alarcon

                                                              (photo by Giuliano Di Gaetano)                                        

A subsequent reconstruction of the marquis palace of Tossicia coat of arms can be found on the frescoed vault of one of the rooms of the Palace. The best preserved coat of arms is found inside the church of the Madonna degli Angeli and bears the motto "Religionis et loci amator" engraved at the base, to highlight the relationship with faith and his Valley by Ferdinando Alarcon, to be considered, almost certainly, as the one who saved the Veronica, bringing her to safety in his marquisate in Abruzzo. In the Museum of Ceramics of the nearby municipality of Castelli, which was part of the marquisate, together with Isola del Gran Sasso, there is an elegant vase dating back to 1594, with the coat of arms of the Alarcon y Mendoza family, made on the occasion of the marriage between Francisco Ferdinand, fifth Marquis of the Sicilian Valley, and Lucrezia Coscia (footnote 12).

In the same museum there is also an eighteenth-century ceramic work bearing the adoration of the Veronica, attributed to Berardino Gentile the Younger. There is no shortage of Spanish influences in religious architecture, such as the presence of a large shell, a historic symbol of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, on the altar of the central nave of the church of Saint Sinforosa, patron saint of Tossicia. During the first decades of the Alarcon rule, "Tossicia reached a high level of economic and social development" (footnote 13), but the period still awaits in-depth studies. 

"Abruzzo is a great producer of silence," wrote Giorgio Manganelli. And these little-known stories, in particular that of important figures such as Alarcon, who found in Tossicia and in his palace the ideal place to hide in silence the traces linked to the Sack of Rome amply deserve this fame.

Vase with the Alarcon coat of arms exhibited at the Ceramics Museum of Castelli. 
(Photo by Alessia di Stefano)

1Arsenio Frugoni, “La Veronica nostra” (Our Veronica) in Humanitas, n. 5, 1950. The article was included in the book Pellegrini a Roma nel 1300. Cronache del primo giubileo (Pilgrims to Rome in 1300. Chronicles of the first Jubilee), ed. Piemme, Casale Monferrato, 1999, p. 89. 

2 Montaigne, Viaggio in Italia, editori Laterza, Bari, 1972, p. 204. 

3 Desmond O' Grady,  2 Giubilei, Storie e segreti di Roma negli anni santi dal 1300 al 2000 (25 Jubilees, Stories and Secrets of Rome in the Holy Years from 1300 to 2000), ed. Piemme, Casale Monferrato, 1999, p. 94. In his book, published in various countries, the author recalls Father Pfeiffer's thesis on the Holy Face of Manoppello. The Australian vaticanista returned to the theme of the Holy Face, anticipating the Pope's visit, with an extensive article in the Sydney Morning Herald, weekend edition of August 16-27, 2006, with the eloquent title "The Shroud of evidence!". The article also reports a statement by Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini confirming Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer's hypotheses

4 Antonio Pietro Corsignani, Reggia Marsicana, ovvero Memorie topografico-storiche di varie colonie e città antiche e moderne della provincia de i Marsi e Valeria, parte I. (Reggia Marsicana, namely topographical-historical essays of various settlements and ancient and modern cities of the province of the Marsi and Valeria part I), ed. Il Parrino, Naples, 1738, p. 443 ff. 

5 Filippo da Tussio, op.cit., p. 146. 

6 Carlo Castiglioni, Storia dei Papi, vol. II (History of the Popes), UTET, Turin, 1945, p. 250. So also A.E. Berault-Bercastel, Storia del Cristianesimo, vol. XX (History of Christianity), ed. Girolamo Tasso, Venice, 1830, p. 11.

7 Andrea Frediani, Il Sacco di Roma (The Sack of Rome), Giunti Editore, 1997, Florence, p. 43. 

8 Andrea Frediani, op. cit., p. 57. 

9 Gustavo Strafforello, La Patria. Geografia dell'Italia, Provincie di Aquila, Chieti, Teramo, Campobasso, Unione Tipografica Editrice, Torino, 1899, p. 280. 

10 Serafino Razzi, Viaggi in Abruzzo (Travels in Abruzzo), ed. Japadre Editore, L'Aquila, 1968, p. 98 ff. 

11 Thus defined by the historian Vincenzo Balzano, Abruzzo and Molise, UTET, Turin, 1927, p.130. 

12 I thank Dr. Alessia Di Stefano, municipal councilor with responsibility for culture and tourism of the municipality of Castelli, for the report. 

13 Igino Addari, Tossicia tra storia e mistero (Tossicia between history and mystery), Comune di Tossicia, 2011, p. 88.

Medical Researcher Discovers Extraordinary Energy Radiating from the Holy Face of Manoppello

Dr. Weth Measuring Beta Radiation

Photos courtesy of Marco Gandolfo/EWTN

A recent article in the National Catholic Register by Paul Badde entitled

“Manoppello’s Holy Veil: Light of Faith for a New Jubilee”

https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/manoppello-holy-veil-light-of-faith-for-a-new-jubilee

recounts some of the results of the examination of the Holy Face of Manoppello conducted by the medical researcher Dr. Gosbert Weth of Schweinfurt, Germany, senior physician and head of the hormone laboratory at the University of Würzburg.  Regarding his findings Dr. Weth stated “As a doctor, I can see this person must have been severely tortured. Hematomas are clearly visible both on the nose and in the area of the right cheek. … Neither traces of color nor traces of blood can be detected on the image. … Other bodily fluids such as blood or sweat are not recognizable. This cloth can therefore only have been applied to a person who has already died.”

In addition the researcher also came to the following conclusions “All in all, there is only one explanation for the formation of the image of the sacred face. The atomic change from nitrogen (N14) to carbon (C14) must have occurred under the influence of an enormous neutron radiation (light energy). … The ‘image’ is therefore not due to the application of paint, but to the nuclear-altered fibers of the carrier material.”

In addition Dr. Weth was able to scientifically measure for beta radiation and found that the incidence of this radiation was “considerably higher in the protected basilica than outside.”

“The reason for this higher density of beta rays,” he concluded, “can only lie in the existence of the Volto Santo inside the basilica.”

Fr. Antonio Gentili and Dr. Gosbert Weth

Paul Badde described further findings by Dr. Weth in a more detailed article published on the German language website https://de.catholicnewsagency.com/news/17597/das-heilige-gesicht-birgt-licht-in-sich-mediziner-untersucht-volto-santo-von-manoppello

In translation here is some of what he wrote “Dr. Weth came to the Papal Basilica of the Holy Face in Manoppello on the eve of the next Holy Year 2025, on  September 26, with a special nuclear medicine measuring device for alpha, beta and gamma rays. Here, Rector Antonio Gentili from the Capuchin convent of the shrine willingly opened the armored glass door of the display case for him, in which the Holy Sudarium has been sealed in its reliquary since 1714 between two crystal panes in a frame made of walnut and fish glue.”…

According to Dr. Weth “We therefore tried to measure the beta radiation released by the Manoppello cloth. This was not so easy because the cloth is enclosed between two glass plates. Nevertheless, we were able to measure this radiation, which took place around two thousand years ago and of which around 50% has already been consumed.”…

Paul Badde and Dr. Weth

Dr. Weth continued:  “This background radiation at the image veil was significantly higher than outside in nature. We therefore tried to measure this background radiation as precisely and as closely as possible. If we held the measuring device to the side of the reliquary, i.e., to the left and right where there was no glass shielding, there was an approx. 40 percent increase in beta radiation as a result of the conversion of carbon C14 to nitrogen N14. Overall, this beta radiation, which is also present everywhere outside in nature, was considerably higher in the protected basilica than outside. This is actually a contradiction. The reason for this higher density of beta rays can only lie in the existence of the Volto Santo inside the basilica.”

The complete translation of Paul Badde’s German language article is posted below

"The Holy Face contains light: Doctor examines “Volto Santo” of Manoppello"

By Paul Badde

In the first ever Holy Year, which Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) introduced as a Christian jubilee year for the year 1300, the most important destination for all pilgrims to Rome was not the Pope or even the tombs of the apostles, but a wafer-thin veil with the face of Christ. This was the Holy Sudarium. The veil was the greatest treasure of St. Peter's Basilica, which was called “Sanctum Sudarium” in Latin and   also known as “Veronica.” The relic was considered to be the Holy Sudarium from the tomb of Christ, which was first mentioned in the account of the resurrection of St. John the Evangelist together with the long linen cloth, which is known as the Holy Shroud (or Santa Sindonde) venerated in Turin. In January 1208, Pope Innocent III carried this Holy Sudarium barefoot in a crystal monstrance for the first time in Rome, from St. Peter's Basilica to the nearby Santo Spirito in Sassia Hospital, thus making it publicly known throughout the Catholic world of the West. Since 1620, the same cloth has been venerated as the “Holy Face” (Volto Santo) in a Capuchin church on a hill outside Manoppello on the slopes of the Majella massif in Abruzzo, where Benedict XVI became the first pope to visit it after four hundred years on September 1, 2006. It is a material with many mysteries. And it is a subject that has also puzzled Gosbert Weth from Schweinfurt in Germany ever since he heard about it and saw photos of the veil. 

 Gosbert Weth is 78 years old, former chief physician, Doctor of Medicine, and Doctor of Natural Sciences (chemistry) with a storied academic career. As a senior physician and head of the hormone laboratory at the University of Würzburg, he worked on the world's largest centenarian study with 575 centenarians. He has developed groundbreaking developments for tumor therapies, been awarded the German Inventor Prize as the holder of several patents and has spoken at several world congresses on the topics of geriatrics and gerontology.  Today, he is involved in research into new uses for hydrogen and is a doctor for hopeless cases in Bad Kissingen.

However, because he was convinced that the true “image” on the Holy Sudarium cannot have a chemical or a technical cause by a painter, Dr. Weth came to the Papal Basilica of the Holy Face in Manoppello on the eve of the next Holy Year 2025, on  September 26, with a special nuclear medicine measuring device for alpha, beta and gamma rays. Here, Rector Antonio Gentili from the Capuchin convent of the shrine willingly opened the armored glass door of the display case for him, in which the Holy Sudarium has been sealed in its reliquary since 1714 between two crystal panes in a frame made of walnut and fish glue. That day, the memorial of the holy doctors of medicine Saints Cosmas and Damian  in the Catholic Church is when the doctor from Bad Kissingen spent two hours in the basilica for his examinations during the lunch break of the monks and another hour the following Saturday for his examinations.

His initial conclusion was this: “As a doctor, I can see this person must have been severely tortured. Hematomas are clearly visible both on the nose and in the area of the right cheek. Intensive blows are necessary to cause these hematomas, which are always assessed as serious injuries in medical examinations. Neither traces of color nor of blood can be detected on the image which therefore can only have come into existence after his death. There is a pronounced hematoma on the nose (on the left side), which must be older than about 2 to 3 days. Other bodily fluids such as blood or sweat are not recognizable. This cloth can therefore only have been applied to a person who has already died. A double hematoma can also be seen in the area of the right cheek. Normally, as is still the case in medicine today, the eyes of every dead person are closed. The man in this portrait, however, has his eyes wide open. This image is an inexplicable phenomenon.”

At the end of his investigation, however, Dr. Weth recorded the following: “All in all, there is only one explanation for the formation of the image of the sacred face. The atomic change from nitrogen (N14) to carbon (C14) must have occurred under the influence of an enormous neutron radiation (light energy). The light energy present in the veil is atomic evidence of the transformation of nitrogen (N14) into carbon (C14). As the carbon is dark in color, the image is deposited as dark matter in the cloth. This also explains the alternating shades of color. The 'image' is therefore not due to the application of paint, but to the nuclear-altered fibers of the carrier material.”

In this context, we must remember that, unlike light rays, most rays are invisible, but in many cases extremely powerful - such as electromagnetic X-rays or the almost invisible infrared light. All of these rays are full of energy. 

Dr. Weth continues: “The radiocarbon method provides evidence that carbon C14 has been formed. Carbon C14 decays with a half-life of 5730 years into nitrogen N14 with the release of beta radiation, which is produced during the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. The formation of carbon C14 leads back to nitrogen N14. Since carbon is dark, this image is also dark-colored and optically visible due to the conversion of nitrogen to carbon. So once again: The image on Manoppello's cloth was not created by coloring, but by an atomic change in the nitrogen molecules present in the organic substance.

We therefore tried to measure the beta radiation released by the Manoppello cloth. This was not so easy because the cloth is enclosed between two glass plates. Nevertheless, we were able to measure this radiation, which took place around two thousand years ago and of which around 50% has already been consumed. 

We know that the decay of carbon C14 under beta radiation into nitrogen N14 decays by half within 5730 years. It should therefore still be possible to measure this radiation. And this was indeed the case.

This background radiation at the image veil was significantly higher than outside in nature. We therefore tried to measure this background radiation as precisely and as closely as possible. If we held the measuring device to the side of the reliquary, i.e., to the left and right where there was no glass shielding, there was an approx. 40 percent increase in beta radiation as a result of the conversion of carbon C14 to nitrogen N14. Overall, this beta radiation, which is also present everywhere outside in nature, was considerably higher in the protected basilica than outside. This is actually a contradiction. The reason for this higher density of beta rays can only lie in the existence of the Volto Santo inside the basilica.

The radiating of the Manoppello cloth at night can also be explained by this. It is glowing in the dark because energy is released during the conversion of C14 to nitrogen N14, which is not only released from light quanta, but also from electrons, as they are raised to higher orbitals in a conventional lamp. When the electrons fall back to their orbitals, light is released, which explains the glow of the cloth of Manoppello at night.”

In one sentence: the Holy Face contains light. The “True Icon” (Vera Eikon), as the veil has been called for centuries, radiates from within itself. This image veil is therefore not only identical to the Holy Sudarium from Jerusalem and the “Veronica” from Rome. It is “the human face of God,” of which Pope Benedict XVI has repeatedly spoken - and also a source of energy that inexplicably fills even the church interior, where rays should not normally be measured at all. 

Basically, the experience that the Volto Santo is a source of power is nothing new. It is familiar to almost every pilgrim who has ever visited the shrine. Since the examination of the Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Natural Sciences (Chemistry) Gosbert Weth before the next jubilee year, the statement is no longer a mere assertion, but a physical fact that can be measured.