Prayer Before the Holy Face

Pope Innocent III, according to the author Saverio Gaeta, composed in 1216 the first indulgenced prayer in the history of Christian piety. This prayer was meant to be prayed before the image of the Veronica. The prayer in the original latin:

Deus qui nobis, signatis lumine Vultus tui, memoriale tuum ad instantiam beatae Veronicae imaginem tuam sudario impressam relinquere volutisti, per passionem et crucem tuam tribue ut ita nunc in terris per speculum et in aenigmate venerari, honorare ipsum valeamus ut te tunc facie ad faciem venientem super nos iudicem secure videamus.

O God, who has willed for us as a memorial your image on the sudarium, at the request of the blessed Veronica, grant to us, illumined by the splendor of your face, present to us here on earth as if in a mirror, and in a mysterious way, that by your passion and cross, while venerating, honoring and adoring your face, we may one day be able to see you without fear face to face when you come before us as judge.

It was Pope Innocent III who approved the establishment of the Friars Minor as founded by St. Francis of Assisi.

Thanks to Paul Badde, as always, for allowing me the grace of using his photos of the Holy Face of Manoppello on this blog. Thanks also to my Latin teachers, Fr. Riddlemoser, S.S. (R.I.P.), and Fr. Kalkman, S.S. at St. Joseph of Cupertino High School.

Light from Light, True God from True God

"Taste and see the goodness of the Lord"

Psalm 31:16 "Let thy face shine on thy servant; save me in thy steadfast love"

Psalm 50 "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth"

Youth of the World, Bring the Shining Face of Christ to the Four Corners of the World!

Un Nuevo Sol Se Levanta

We Pray, God Generously Responds

Throughout the Psalms we pray that God might reveal his face. And God generously and continuously responds! In how many ways does God reveal his face? No doubt there are an infinite number of ways that God does so. Mother Teresa prayed that we might see God's face in the poor. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI prayed that we might see God's Eucharistic Face. Certainly one of the most unique revelations of God's face is that of the multi-faceted Faces (Countenances) on both sides of the cloth of marine byssus in Manoppello. The many faces of God in Jesus Christ present within the one cloth of Manoppello astonish all who generously find the time to travel there. Among the many psalms we pray that God might show us his face I am especially thinking of:

Psalm 31:16 Let thy face shine on thy servant, save me in thy steadfast love.

Psalm 34:5 Look to him and be radiant, so your faces may never blush with shame

Psalm 67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us

The people of the Old Testament fervently prayed to see God's face, may we continue to do the same, and believe that God will hear and respond!

Recent Articles Speak of New Research on Ties Between the Shroud of Turin, the Sudarium of Oviedo and the Holy Face of Manoppello

A metal icon of the Holy Face from 19th century Russia
through the courtesy of Andrew Whelan



A composite photograph of the Holy Face of Manoppello and the Face on the Shroud of Turin



the Veronica by a Flemish master


There are several quite interesting articles published in the April 2009 english language edition of 30 Days, an important Italian Catholic monthly. These articles, under the common heading "Clues to the Resurrection of Jesus" show the increasing attention scientists and researchers are giving to the close ties between these most notable relics of Turin, Manoppello and Oviedo.

Three of the articles are by Lorenzo Bianchi, a senior researcher of the Italian Institute for Technologies (CNR) while the fourth is by Fr. Carmine Cucinelli, Rector of the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello.

The first article, http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=21067, is

"The Sudarium of Oviedo and the Veil of Manoppello: Two objects venerated for centuries as relics of the Passion of Jesus which show surprising correspondences with the Shroud of Turin"

The second article, http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=21068, is

"The Sudarium of Oviedo, according to one tradition the 'Sudarium of the Lord' has been preserved in the ancient capital of Asturias since the 8th century. The scientific studies have recognized spots of blood compatible with those of the Shroud of Turin"

The third article, http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=21069, is

"The Veil of Manoppello: The Roman 'Veronica', 'true icon' of Christ 'not made by human hands' has been in Abruzzo since the 17th century. An image showing the face of a real person"

The fourth article, http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=21070, is

"The Visit of Benedict XVI to the Holy Countenance of Manoppello"

by Fr. Carmine Cucinelli, Rector of the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello also speaks of the religious history of the Veil from the time of its arrival in Manoppello up to the time of the historic visit of Pope Benedict to Manoppello on September 1, 2006 and the subsequent designation of the Shrine as a Minor Basilica on September 22, 2006.

A Tale of Cloths in Three Places - Turin, Oviedo and Manoppello

The Face on the Shroud of Turin


The Holy Face of Manoppello



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The Sudarium of Oviedo

Through the website of Antonio Teseo

http://www.sindonesantovolto.splinder.com/

I learned of a Vatican Radio broadcast on July 1 of this year regarding the correspondence between the Shroud of Turin, the Sudarium of Oviedo and the Holy Face of Manoppello. Originally transmitted in Italian, I provide the following translation of the Italian transcript available on the Vatican Radio website

it.radiovaticana.va/storico/2009/07/01/le_straordinarie_corrispondenze_tra_il_sudario_del_signore_di_ovied/it1-299038

"The Extraordinary Correspondence Between the Lord's Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud of Turin. Interview with the archaeologist Lorenzo Bianchi.

According to tradition, ever since the eighth century the Lord's Sudarium has been preserved in the ancient capital of Asturias in Spain. Scientific studies have shown stains of blood which are compatible with the Shroud of Turin. On the other hand, in Abruzzo in Italy, starting in the 17th century there has been displayed the Veil of Manoppello, true icon of Christ, which according to tradition is not made by human hands. We are dealing here with two objects venerated for centuries as relics of the Passion of the Lord which demonstrate a suprising correspondence with the Shroud of Turin. Luca Collodi has asked Dr. Lorenzo Bianchi, archaeologist and primary researcher for the CNR (the Italian National Research Institute), as well as author of several articles on this topic published in the April 2009 edition of the Italian journal "30 Days" if it is possible to speak of evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus.

Dr. Bianchi: The Sudarium of Oviedo and the Veil of Manoppello are linked in some particular ways to the Shroud. The Sudarium of Oviedo is witness to the Crucifixion and Passion of Jesus because it has a series of specific concordances with the Shroud of Turin: regarding the nature of the blood as well as the geometric shapes of the bloodstains.

Luca Collodi: So there is no scientific contradiction between Oviedo and Turin?

Dr. Bianchi: Absolutely not, Oviedo is probably that cloth which was placed on the face of Jesus at the moment when he was being taken down from the cross. There are the same types of geometric shapes of wounds on the cloth of Oviedo as there are on the Holy Shroud: that of the blood issuing from the face and also from the mouth. The Sudarium of Oviedo was used for the purpose (of containing the blood of Jesus)and therefore is not evidence relating to the Resurrection but rather to the death of Jesus.

Luca Collodi: The Veil of Manoppello that is in Abruzzo, which significantly has been visited by Benedict XVI, instead contains evidence which refers to the Resurrection?

Dr. Bianchi: The Veil of Manoppello is another truly surprising piece of evidence. What has been noted by studies in recent years is that this face appearing on the Veil of Manoppello has an amazing geometric and physical correspondence with the face on the Shroud. While it is still an object of study, there are those who think that the Veil of Manoppello may actually be that sudarium - I use the word sudarium this time to refer to the cloth found inside the tomb of which the Evangelist John makes specific mention - that perhaps was placed on top of the Shroud at the level of the face and therefore would have had a kind of impression of the face of Jesus through the Shroud at the moment of the Resurrection.

A View of the Veronica along with an Angelic Hand

Each year in Manoppello on the third Sunday of May there takes place a procession from the Capuchin Shrine of the Holy Face, about a kilometer outside the walls of the old commune of Manoppello, to the church of San Nicola, where tradition holds that in 1506 an angelic personage handed over the Holy Face to a citizen of Manoppello. It was in 1506 that Pope Julius II laid the cornerstone for the Veronica pillar which is also the cornerstone of the whole edifice of the present St. Peter's Basilica. Coincidentally it was also in 1506 that the same pontiff gave permission for the establishment of a feast of the Holy Shroud of Turin on May 4 each year, with its own proper Mass and Office.

Here is a photo of the Veronica now present in Manoppello as it arrives at the Church of San Nicola with a small tribute of a single rose petal perched near the cross above the Veronica. During the festive procession,and especially once the Veronica arrives inside the commune's walls, the people of the commune toss an abundance of rose petals to honor the Holy Face of Jesus.

Next year in 2010 this procession will take place on May 16 toward the end of the announced Exposition of the Holy Shroud in Turin which will be from April 10 to May 23. However it is not necessary to wait until that time to see the Holy Face. One may go there at any time the Shrine of the Holy Face is open, which is every day. And hopefully you will have the good fortune to meet a modern day angelic personage, Sr. Blandina,who will explain for you the most blessed Face which is the true image of the Lord. It is through her hands, one of which is actually seen helping to make visible the Face of Jesus in the second photo above, that the Holy Face has now passed from Manoppello to the world.