Thursday, May 11, 2023
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Biography of Padre Domenico da Cese Published in Poland
"The
Stigmatist of Manoppello" ("Stygmatyk z Manoppello") is released
in Poland.
The
Life, Miracles and Mystical Experiences of Father Domenico of the Holy Face of
Jesus
Reviewed by Antonio
Bini
The book, authored by Aleksandra Zapotoczny, recounts the story of this mysterious Capuchin stigmatist and his supernatural gifts, emphasizing his connection to the Holy Face of Jesus preserved in Manoppello and his friendship with Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.
Aleksandra Zapotoczny, has written several books on Pope
John Paul II (in Italy Mondadori published in 2022 her book "Live inside us"). She has been interested for years in the Holy
Face, which is known throughout Poland and has been venerated by thousands of
Polish pilgrims. Her interest in the
Holy Face quite naturally extended to the figure of Father Domenico da Cese leading her to participate in several of the commemorative meetings in Manoppello, held
annually around the anniversary of Father Domenico’s death, which took place on
September 17, 1978, in Turin, where he had gone for the exposition of the
Shroud. Through these occasions she became a part of the group of
devotees and propagators of the figure of the Servant of God, who have come to
Manoppello from all over Italy.
During these gatherings she met the late Br. Vincenzo
d'Elpidio, who was a long-time friend of Fr. Domenico and tireless supporter of
his cause of beatification. The author manages to comprehend the friar’s extraordinary
dedication to the Holy Face whose authenticity he always maintained.
.JPG) |
| Brother Vincenzo d'Elpidio, Antonio Bini and Aleksandra Zapotoczny |
The volume narrates the most important facts of the life,
the alleged miracles and the mystical experiences of Emidio Petracca, known to the world as
Father Domenico, faithful propagator of the Holy Face. The author is convinced
that Poland will also come to love Father Domenico and his work, helping to spread the
extraordinary news that the world preserves a great gift: the image of the Face
of Christ.
It is a cause for reflection that it was the Capuchin
himself who, although despite the fact that he did not wish to be spoken about, prophesied on several
occasions that after his death there would be an ever increasing amount of talk
about his life at the service of the Holy Face.
Readers will also find many images of the places linked to
the life of this priest from Abruzzo. There are testimonies and a number of
interviews with people significantly present in the life of Father Domenico and
those who frequent the Basilica of Manoppello. Space is given to the words of
the vice postulator of the Cause of Beatification, Father Eugenio Vittorio Di
Giamberardino and to Fr. Carmine Cucinelli, at the time of the interview rector
of the Basilica of the Holy Face in Manoppello, who for many years, together
with Sister Petra-Maria Steiner, collected many documents concerning the
Servant of God. Some family members of
Father Domenico are also among those interviewed.
In her introduction to the book, the author Aleksandra
Zapotoczny thanks in Italian one by one the people who contributed to the
realization of this volume: "My most sincere thanks to Antonio Bini, to
the editorial staff of 'La voce delle Cese', to Paul Badde, to the Capuchin
Fathers of Manoppello and to the other witnesses of the holy life of Father
Domenico da Cese".
Zapotoczny says that: "it is a great responsibility to
introduce a person to those who do not yet know him. To date, publications have
been published on the figure of Father Domenico in Italian, English, German and
Portuguese, but this book of mine is the first in Polish. I paid great
attention to describing the figure of Emidio Petracca, especially for those
Poles who, not knowing languages, could not deepen the topic. I read about
Father Domenico for the first time in the book by the German writer Paul Badde
and this character intrigued me immediately, especially for the fact that he
was "recommended" to the faithful by Padre Pio. So I decided to
introduce Father Domenico to Polish readers, using for the cover of my book the
first photo of Father Domenico that I saw published in Paul Badde's
volume".
Zapotoczny recalls how "Poland is coming to know this
incredible relic. In my book, I dedicate an entire chapter to the history of
this Veil, mentioning all the people who have been working for years to make it
known everywhere, as Father Domenico desired, including Renzo Allegri, Sister
Blandina, Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer, Saverio Gaeta and many others. An affectionate
thought also goes to Pope Benedict XVI, who wished to visit Manoppello back in
2006, thus turning the spotlight on this relic. Many Polish pilgrimages
go to Manoppello and in our country there are already several churches that
preserve copies of the Holy Face but, until today, the figure of Father Domenico
has been known hardly at all.
We asked the author some questions to better understand her
work.
1) What particular circumstance led you to write the book?
For years I have been dealing with the topic of the relics
of the saints, regarding which I have published two books, with the third in
preparation. Precisely because of this I approached the Veil of Manoppello. The
first "eye to eye" encounter with Jesus was impressive. When you look
at the Veil and the light that illuminates the reliquary changes, it is as if the
face of Jesus comes to life. The fact that the Veil remained in the tomb of
Jesus together with the Shroud of Turin inspires the faithful to deepen their
knowledge of the life and death of Christ. During my research, I read for the
first time the name of Father Domenico da Cese in the book written by the
German writer Paul Badde, where a photograph of the Capuchin was also
published. The figure of Father Domenico immediately inspired me and from that
moment I knew that this photo would be published on the cover of the book I
would write about him. I thank my publishing house Wydawnictwo AA for accepting
my project.
2) You spoke of the bilocations of Padre Pio and Padre
Domenico. How could you define or frame the relationship between these two
Capuchins?
In Poland the Neapolitan priest Don Dolindo Ruotolo is
known, also for being in the odor of sanctity. He too was recommended to the
faithful by Padre Pio. Don Dolindo did not receive the stigmata, but
like Father Domenico he had the gift of bilocation. A curious fact, not well
known in Poland, is that relating to the "double bilocation": first
of all of the appearance of Padre Pio in Manoppello shortly before his death
and then the presence of Father Domenico during the funeral of the friar of
Pietrelcina. This is a curious and mysterious event, which deserved to be
presented to the vast Polish public. Although, as we well know, supernatural
events are not a sufficient measure to confirm the sanctity of a person. Being
holy means something else.
3) You mentioned the process of canonization
The servant of God, Father Domenico da Cese is a figure to
be presented to the Poles. In the book, of course, I report all the main
biographical facts and I also recalled the information on the opening of the
process of Beatification, as well as the prayer for the intercession of Father
Domenico which was translated into Polish for the first time.
4) You also mentioned the figure of Brother Vincenzo.
My research to complete the book began before the pandemic
and was interrupted by the lockdown period. This book was published on the 45th
anniversary of Father Domenico's birth into heaven but, in the meantime,
Brother Vincent has left us. It was very precious to me to have been able to
know him and to receive a special blessing from him. In the book, I also
published one of his testimonies about Father Domenico.
5) You also remembered Sister Amalia Di Rella, from Ruvo di
Puglia, who was the spiritual daughter of Father Domenico
In my book, which contains 200 pages, I presented the life,
the presumed miracles and the graces that would have been received through the
prayers of Father Domenico da Cese when he was still alive. I introduced all
the people who were close to him. Among these, the figure of Sister Amalia di
Rella could not be missing. Puglia is much loved by Polish people and,
presenting this spiritual daughter of Father Domenico, I wanted to invite the
devotees to travel not only to Manoppello but also to Ruvo di Puglia (and in
particular to the Church of Purgatory, spiritual home of Sr. Amalia and the
Volto Santo Association, Editor’s note )
°°°°
Aleksandra Zapotoczny, born in
Wadowice, Poland, the birthplace of St. John Paul II, now lives in Rome. A
Vatican expert, she collaborated with the Postulation for the process of
Beatification and Canonization of the Polish Pope. A journalist accredited to
the Holy See Press Office, she is the author of 26 books on saints and their
relics. Her
book on Father Domenico is published by Wydawnictw AA of Krakow - Stygmatyk z
Manoppello - Aleksandra Zapotoczny | Wydawnictwo AA - and can be purchased through the main web-stores. Future editions in other
languages are desirable.
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Benedict XVI, the Pope Who Brought Christ's Gaze Back to the Church
Benedict XVI Commemorated in Manoppello to coincide with the ancient
rite of Omnis Terra
By Antonio Bini
On the
occasion of the re-enactment of the rite of Omnis Terra, named from the words
of the Latin text of Psalm 65: Omnis terra adoret te, Deus (Let the whole
earth adore you) Pope Benedict XVI was commemorated at the
Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello.
Antonio Gentili, rector of the Shrine, recalled the origins of the ancient rite, inspired by the event established by Pope Innocent III in 1208, on the second Sunday following the Epiphany, when the Veronica from St. Peter's was carried in procession to the sick being care for in the nearby pilgrims' hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia. That event, as Fr. Anthony underscored, is historically remembered as the beginning of the public worship of the sacred image. He then recalled that the tradition was resumed in 2016, on the occasion of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, with a pilgrimage from Manoppello to Rome during which a reproduction of the Holy Face was carried in procession . In the following years the tradition of the rite was renewed in Manoppello, thus becoming the third annual feast of the Holy Face.
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| Poster of the Association of Our Lady of the Holy Face announcing the Feast of Omnis Terra Commemorating Pope Benedict XVI |
The rector then emphasized that the celebration
intended to remember Pope Benedict XVI, recently deceased, who was a pilgrim to
the Holy Face on September 1, 2006, the first Pope to visit this Shrine. Fr.
Antonio highlighted that the television images and photos of that visit - which had returned to
light in recent days - showed the pontiff deeply moved in meditation for a long
time in prayer before the sacred image, and then as the pope encouraged the religious and the
faithful in the search for the face of Christ.
Fr. Antonio concluded with the invitation to pray for Benedict XVI,
thanking him for what he gave to the Church and to the Shrine.
In his homily, Archbishop Bruno Forte drew an appropriate link between Pope Innocent III, initiator of the cult of the Holy Face, and
Benedict XVI, as the pontiff who "brought back" to the Church the forgotten
sacred image, after centuries of oblivion and silence.
The archbishop, with an emotional voice, affirmed how the
gaze of the dying pope rested on the reproduction of the Holy Face, as the
pontiff gave a last invocation: "Lord, I love you."
From another testimony, published on the website of the
German-speaking Catholic press agency Kath.net on January 2, 2023, we know that
biographer Michael Hesemann visited Benedict XVI one last time on December 1,
2022, finding him weak, but mentally alert. Hesemann himself says that the pope
had near him, on a small table, the reproduction of the Holy Face of
Manoppello. It is likely that he had several, including the one, kept between two panes of glass in a silver frame, received as a gift from the Capuchins on
September 1, 2006.
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| Photo courtesy of Paul Badde |
 |
| Photo courtesy of Paul Badde |
Archbishop Bruno Forte recalled, not without emotion,
that visit, taking up and commenting on some passages of the prayer that the
Pope dedicated to the Holy Face, relating them to sections of the discourse that the Holy Father gave on the occasion of his apostolic journey to Germany, to
Freiburg im Breisgau, on September 24, 2011, during a prayer
vigil with young people.
It was Archbishop Bruno Forte himself who welcomed
Benedict XVI to Manoppello in 2006.
The pope's encounter with the Holy Face was very special. As he arrived at the Shrine, on a bright summer day, he was welcomed by thousands of
people who filled every possible space near the Shrine of the Holy Face. The
pope was visibly moved, without hiding his joy at being there, avoiding the
attempts of those who tried to dissuade him from a trip to this place where no
pope had ever gone before.
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| Pope Benedict with Archbishop Forte at the left and Fr. Cucinelli to the right |
As soon as he arrived in the church plaza, he addressed a brief greeting to those present, and then entered the church which was crowded with bishops, Capuchins and priests. He paused in prayer on his knees before the altar. Then accompanied by Fr. Carmine Cucinelli, then rector of the Shrine and the archbishop of Chieti-Vasto Bruno Forte, the pontiff climbed the stairs behind the main altar leading to the other side of the Holy Face, and remained there for several minutes in deep recollection, staring intensely with shining eyes at the Holy Face, whispering, according to some, "... The Face of God".
Precisely
these long and emotional moments of prayer represented the most significant
moment of the visit. During his address to those present, carried on giant screens to those outside the church, the Pope avoided expressing any official pronouncement on the
nature of the veil, stressing however that he was in a place "where we can
meditate on the mystery of divine love by contemplating the icon of the Holy
Face". Following this he addressed an invitation to religious: "Dear priests, if the holiness of his
Face remains impressed on you, pastors of Christ's flock, do not be afraid, the faithful entrusted to your care will also be infected with it and
transformed". He also urged the seminarians present not to be attracted by
anything other than Jesus and the desire to serve His Church. At the exit of
the church, he addressed a last greeting to the enthusiastic crowd that awaited
him, renewing the encouragement, addressed above all to the many young people
"to seek the Face of Christ" concluding his visit, exclaiming with
joy: "It is good to be with the Lord."
Individual
pilgrims and groups from various parts had reached the Shrine only on foot starting the
night before, as security needs had led to traffic being blocked several kilometers
away.
That day I was also in Manoppello. Indeed I was there since the previous night, as Fr. Carmine, then rector of the Shrine, asked me to help him in the organizational phase of that extraordinary event that had no precedent for the town and for the Capuchins themselves, and also to set up a stage for journalists and television reporters and transformed the adjacent San Damiano hall into a press room.
That
night we slept very little waiting for the next morning, between prayers and
songs of groups of young people and new arrivals, including foreign journalists. The
next morning, the arrival of the pontiff by helicopter, who landed in the
nearby parking lot for the short walk to the Shrine, in the company of
Archbishop Bruno Forte, of Mons. Georg Gänswein,
Mons. James Harvey Prefect of the Apostolic Palace. Their passage was surrounded
by the joy of the crowd that crowded near the barriers, moving Benedict XVI
himself.
Already
in February 2006, the hypothesis of a visit by Benedict XVI had leaked to some
newspapers. The news caused a sensation, but was immediately denied by Mons.
Bruno Forte, archbishop of the diocese of Chieti-Vasto, including the Shrine of
the Holy Face. A circumstance that was to reveal little-known back stage maneuverings, or
rather attempts made by members of the Vatican hierarchy to advise against that visit by citing possible consequences.
The
announcement did not fail to generate expectations and hopes among the
Capuchins themselves, who discreetly put their organizational machine into
practice, preparing for the
expected event. Only on August 19, 2006, the Vatican Press Office issued a
simple notice confirming that the "pilgrimage of His Holiness Benedict XVI
to the Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello" would be held on September
1. In short, a private pilgrimage and not a true and proper visit, which reaffirmed the
pope's desire to meet the Holy Face.
In
fact, at the beginning of 2005 it was Mons. Forte to have invited the then
cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to Manoppello, from whom he had received episcopal
ordination on September 8, 2004 in Naples, before assuming the leadership of
the diocese of Chieti-Vasto. In a recent interview with the newspaper "Avvenire" on January 6, 2023, Forte confirmed that
the date of April 18, 2005, had already been set, but owing to the fact that two days before the appointed day the
cardinal was elected pope the appointment could not be kept. But it was only
postponed.
In the
autumn of 2004 it was the journalist and writer Paul Badde who informed the
future pope, living at that time close to the Vatican in the very same apartment building as Badde, of the
research he was conducting on the Holy Face, and gave the cardinal a copy of his first book
on the Holy Face published in Germany (Das Muschelseindentuch, Ullstein,
Berlin).
Heinrich Pfeiffer, the authoritative scholar of the image of Christ, after presenting his theses on Veronica at a conference with the foreign press in Rome on May 31, 1999,delivered a memorandum to Cardinal Ratzinger hoping for a visit by Pope John Paul II. In those same years, Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini had also informed the Polish pope of the results of the research by Fr. Pfeiffer, professor of Christian art history at the Gregorian University of Rome and scientific consultant of the International Research Institute on the Face of Christ, created in 1997 by Cardinal Angelini himself, precisely in view of the great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
The
visit was a great international media event, as documented by the booklet in
which I collected the main comments expressed by the reporting which appeared
on television, in newspapers and magazines, or was disseminated by press agencies. The Capuchins of the shrine wanted to publish this booklet as a supplement to their magazine
Il Volto Santo di Manoppello.
It
seems appropriate to me to point out some of these comments in order to
understand what happened in the years that followed and also to grasp the meaning
of the papal pilgrimage that raised questions among the many journalists and
commentators. For example, Jerry O'Connell, in the British newspaper The
Universe, wondered "how a visit accompanied by over 300 journalists could
be considered private". Paul Kreiner in "Der Tagesspiegel" also
recalled the irony with which the pope himself spoke of the "private"
character of his visit.
Saverio
Gaeta is quite explicit in his article "This is the Face that we will see
again", published in the weekly Famiglia Cristiana, n. 37/2006, p. 57. For
the most widely circulated Catholic weekly in Italy, with unusual frankness, he
wrote that "his coming, despite the objections raised by some leaders of
the Vatican Curia regarding the appropriateness of such a trip (for fear that
in fact it would contradict what has been claimed for centuries by the Vatican
Chapter, which has always claimed to possess the original), makes legitimate
the idea that the Pontiff is convinced of the authenticity of this image."
Paul Badde, in the newspapers Die Welt and Berliner Morgen Post, also dwelt
"on the resistance of the Vatican hierarchy" that characterized
Benedict XVI's trip to Abruzzo. Others also spoke of a"detective story". Circumstances that can also give an idea of the
difficulties that have characterized Benedict's pontificate.
The popular German newspaper Bild, in an article by Andreas English, wrote "the pope prays before the Holy Face, elevating the image to the most important relic of Catholics." Joachim Fischer in the Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung recalled the Gospel of John which speaks of the cloth that covered the face of Jesus (sudarium) as well as the burial cloths, also claiming that "more than his prudent words, the Pope impressed by remaining in silent devotion before the Icon". From this behavior the journalist notes the possibility of historical changes in the sense that "for the Catholic Church the period in which it distanced itself from images is over." Guido Horst, in the German newspaper Die Tagespost, argued that the pope "with not a word expressed the thesis that the veil of Manoppello is what in the tomb was on the Face of Jesus." The BBC and Reuters also spoke specifically of visiting the Veronica. Others recalled the studies of Sister Blandina Paschalis Schlòmer regarding the overlapping of the Holy Face with the Shroud.
With respect to a variety of comments and questions in the press around the world, I recall that L'Osservatore Romano dedicated its front page to the papal visit, with the complete text of Benedict XVI's words delivered at the Shrine on an internal page, without further comment. After almost 150 years of history, the Vatican newspaper was still and all taking an interest in the Shrine of Abruzzo for the very first time.
.jpg)
The
meaning of the visit must also be understood in the light of the cordial
meeting with the most famous scholars of the Holy Face, which took place inside
the Friary, during a break in the visit, as documented by the images that show
the pontiff with Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer, Paul Badde, Sr. Blandina, Fr. Andreas Resch and
Saverio Gaeta, all convinced supporters of the authenticity of the veil and its
identification with the Veronica (true icon).
.jpg) |
| Pope Benedict with Paul Badde. In the middle Archbishop Forte, Fr. Resch and Fr. Pfeiffer To the right Sr. Blandina |
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| Sr. Blandina greeting Pope Benedict |
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| Fr. Pfeiffer greeting Pope Benedict. Archbishop Forte looks on |
Fr. Pfeiffer, in his article which appeared in the special edition of the Shrine's magazine dedicated to the
visit, published by the Capuchins, argued that it was important that the pope,
"well beyond any type of pressuring" had seen with his own eyes "the image of
Christ who was venerated over the centuries as the most important relic of
Christianity. Perhaps it would never have been known to the general public if
the now deceased Fr. Domenico da Cese had not wanted to exhibit it during the
Eucharistic Congress held in Pescara", alluding to the exhibition on the
Holy Face that the Capuchin, deeply convinced of the authenticity of the image,
wanted to organize on the occasion of that event (September 1977), during which Pope Paul VI was present.
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| Padre Domenico and the Holy Face |
Pfeiffer,
the first to support after years of research the identification of Veronica with the veil of Manoppello took the opportunity to admit "that he never wanted
to create difficulties for the Canons of St. Peter's, but it is known that one
of them exhibits on the eve of Passion Sunday, what is a copy that replaced the
true relic". In previous years, a lively debate regarding the Veronica's
disappearance also ended up on the pages of the monthly 30 Days, between the
German Jesuit and Mons. Dario Rezza, canon of Saint Peter's Basilica. We also know that two
canons of St. Peter's went to Manoppello in the early years of the new
millennium and, while venerating the sacred image, verbally recommended to Fr.
Germano Di Pietro, then rector, to avoid talking about the Veronica, of which they had also begun to write about in the magazine of the Shrine. For a long time the
Capuchins had been afraid to do so.
Pfeiffer,
who died on November 15, 2021, suffered greatly from the consequences of his
studies, which he tenaciously continued to carry out. After the pope's visit to
Manoppello, he wrote that "every research is a debtor to only one thing: the
truth." And Benedict's presence in Manoppello should also be understood as a
response to his studies.
In
reality, from that visit, immediate effects emerged, such as the Shrine's elevation to the status of basilica only three weeks after the visit. The granting of the title was
intended to "intensify the attachment and devotion of the chair of St.
Peter to this important church and at the same time make it the center of
particular liturgical and pastoral action."
One
year after the pilgrimage, the Pope sent to the Shrine, through the bishop, the
prayer dedicated to the Holy Face, the text of which expresses a long
reflection directed to the "human face of God who entered history to
reveal the horizons of eternity. Silent face of Jesus suffering and risen
..". A true and proper testimony
that came from the theologian pope, who has shaped his entire religious and
academic life on the dialogue between faith and reason, between science and
faith.
The
consequences of the encounter with the Holy Face emerged from other voices,
such as that of Alessandra Borghese, a Roman noblewoman very close to Vatican
circles, who published an article in the newspaper Il Resto del Carlino on
December 20, 2007 – entitled "The Mystery of the Holy Face" – in which
she wrote that some friends had heard that the pope was deeply moved by that sacred image.
Even the centuries-old silence on Veronica began to fade. In a statement from the Holy See Press Office of July 14, 2011, coinciding with the presentation of the exhibition "The Man, the Face, the Mystery," to be held in San Marino, with works from the Vatican museums, it became known that Veronica had disappeared in 1527. A thesis confirmed by Antonio Paolucci, then director of the Vatican museums, in an interview with the newspaper Il Resto del Carlino on August 18, again about the San Marino exhibition. But these belated admissions, although relevant, seemed to produce little reaction, persisting towards the "rediscovered Face " an attitude of little attention.
Other
signs and events followed in this direction in the following years, also after
the resignation of Benedict XVI (February 28, 2013), which he followed by
almost a decade of secluded silence, until his death.
Among
these signs and events, it is worth remembering how, coinciding with
the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, instituted by Pope Francis in 2016, the
idea of resuming the ancient tradition established by Pope Innocent III took
shape.
On
January 16, 2016, a pilgrimage of 400 people, led by Fr. Carmine Cucinelli,
with the reproduction of the Holy Face, enclosed in an ancient silver
reliquary, traveled from Manoppello to converge on St. Peter's Square. The
procession was able to enter St. Peter's under the statue of Mochi and then in
procession, led by the choir, headed to the nearby basilica of Santo Spirito in
Sassia, packed to the hilt. The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Mons. Gänswein, prefect of the Papal Household and, above all, Benedict
XVI's trusted secretary, who had already accompanied the pope to Manoppello. see https://holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-veronica-at-st-peters-today-toward.html and https://holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com/2016/01/archbishop-georg-gansweins-homily-at.html
In the
course of the homily he clearly stated that it was "a copy of the ancient
original that Pope Innocent III showed to pilgrims and that for four hundred
years has been kept in Abruzzo, on the Adriatic, in an outlying area of Italy,
from where today for the first time it has been brought back to the place where
its public worship began." Among the concelebrants were two canons of St.
Peter's, Lebanese Archbishop Edmond Y.
Farhat and Mons. Americo Ciani.
Since then the ancient rite is repeated each year in Manoppello and ends with a short procession in front of the church plaza. On January 17, 2021, Mons. Gänswein returned to preside over the celebration, reiterating, among other things, that "On the first of September 2006 Pope Benedict brought back to the Church and throughout the earth the 'face of God' human and personal". He added the reference to when on May 15, 2009, "Benedict visited the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, from which both the veil of the Holy Face and the Turin Shroud come as an incomparable message of the Resurrection of Christ from the dead." Relevant statements, which can be traced back to the thought of the pope, and of course to that of Mons. Gänswein and that make us think back to the humble prophecy of Fr. Domenico da Cese, who came to the same conclusions in the 1970's, courageously expressing them in the notes that accompanied a holy card that reproduced the Holy Face. see https://holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com/2021/01/homily-of-archbishop-george-ganswein-at.html
In the book "Nothing but the truth" (ed. Piemme, Milan, 2023), written by Mons. Gänswein, with the collaboration of the journalist Saverio Gaeta, there are references to the Holy Face. The book, released a few days after the death of Benedict XVI, is causing an uproar for some details that emerged especially during the period following the resignation, which perhaps would have required greater confidentiality, while understanding the human desire to clarify some episodes, after almost ten years of silence, also to protect the memory of the deceased pope.
The book represents, in any case, an
opportunity to learn more about the vision of the recently deceased pope. It is argued, among other things, that for
pope Ratzinger at the base of the trilogy "Jesus of Nazareth," there
was the conviction of Jesus' saving message, "which is not simply a
doctrine, but the concrete encounter with his person, with the God who truly
became man and who continues to be present in every age." In this regard,
Mons. Georg recalls the words that the pope pronounced in Manoppello before the
Holy Face: "To see God we must know Christ...". In addition, the
invitation of Mons. Forte, to the then Cardinal Ratzinger, to whom he donated a
copy of the book on the Holy Face, edited by Saverio Gaeta, printed by Famiglia
Cristiana in March 2005. In the appendix of Mons. Georg's book, the papal
testament is published, written on August 29, 2006, that is, while he was preparing
for his pilgrimage to the Holy Face, of which he knew everything (even beyond
the books that had been given to him), including his spiritual legacy: "Remain firm in the
faith! Don't let yourself be confounded!... Jesus Christ is truly the way, the truth, and the
life—and the Church, with all her shortcomings, is truly His body."
The
papacy of Benedict XVI will be discussed at length, as well as his resignation,
which seemed inspired by the gesture made in 1294 by Celestine V, on whose
mortal remains kept in the Basilica of Collemaggio in L'Aquila he went to pray in the days following the earthquake that struck Abruzzo on April 6,
2009 and again, on a pastoral visit to Sulmona on July 4, 2010. But to have
brought back to the Church the gaze on the face of Christ will remain an act
historically attributable to his pontificate.
(all photos except as noted courtesy of Antonio Bini)
Monday, January 16, 2023
Homily of Archbishop Bruno Forte for the Feast of Omnis Terra
Photo by Paul Badde
Homily at the Mass at
the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello
Sunday, January 15,
2023
of
+ Bruno Forte
Archbishop of
Chieti-Vasto
Another Pope, Benedict
XVI, who went to meet the Lord last December 31, wished to visit this place on
September 1, 2006 to venerate the Holy
Face, receiving such a profound impression that he wrote the beautiful prayer
we know and also wanted permanently beside him the copy of that beloved
Face. Reliable sources assure us that it is to that image that the dying Pope
directed His last gaze, pronouncing the words, the true synthesis of His entire
life given to Christ, to the Church and to the world: "Lord, I love
you!". The word of God proclaimed this Sunday helps us to understand Pope
Benedict's love for the Holy Face and the reasons that make the pilgrimage to this
place a particular source of grace and peace: here from the Face of the risen
Jesus marked by pain, but serene and radiant, the light of the Redeemer of man
shines for us; Here everyone can welcome that light into his heart for his own
life; from here we start with the intense desire to witness to everyone the
light of that Face, to lead many to the encounter with the Savior, who
profoundly changes our lives and makes us pilgrims in love towards the heavenly
homeland, where the Holy Father Benedict has now entered and intercedes for us.
The text taken from
the book of the prophet Isaiah (49,3,5-6) reports the promise made by the Lord
to manifest His glory on His servant, Israel, whom He chose and shaped from his
mother's womb to restore the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the survivors of
Israel and whom he made "light to the nations" to bring salvation
from on high to the ends of the earth. In a homily given on September 24, 2011,
to young people, gathered for a prayer
vigil in the Fairgrounds at Freiburg im Breisgau, Pope Benedict affirmed:
"Christ, who says of himself: 'I am the light of the world' (Jn 8:12),
makes our lives shine, so that what is said in his Gospel may be true: 'You are
the light of the world' (Mt 5:14). It is not our human efforts or the technical
progress of our time that bring light to this world. The suffering of the
innocent and, finally, the death of every man constitute an impenetrable
darkness that can be illuminated for a moment by new experiences, as by
lightning in the night. In the end, however, a distressing darkness remains...
However, we see a light: a small, tiny flame that is stronger than darkness, seemingly
so powerful and unbeatable. Christ, who rose from the dead, shines in this
world, and he does so most clearly precisely where according to human judgment
everything seems gloomy and hopeless. He has conquered death - He lives - and
faith in Him penetrates like a small light all that is dark and threatening.
Those who believe in Jesus certainly do not always see only the sun in life...,
but there is always a bright light that shows them a way, the way that leads to
life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). The eyes of those who believe in Christ see
even in the darkest night a light and already see the glow of a new day".
Yes: we believed in the light, which is the Risen Lord, and this light gives
meaning to our life and to history and fills the restless hearts of us pilgrims
to the heavenly city with peace and hope.
It is not we,
therefore, who give ourselves light: it is Christ who gives us the light, he
who - as the Apostle Paul affirms in today's second reading, taken from the First Letter to the Corinthians (1:1-3) -
has sanctified us in himself, making us saints by vocation together with all
those who everywhere call on his name. The light that liberates and saves is
grace, a free and undeserved gift, offered to us in abundance by the One who died and rose for
us. Pope Benedict also recalls this in the homily cited: "If we believe that he is the Son of God
who healed the sick and raised the dead, indeed, that he himself rose from the
tomb and truly lives, then we understand that he is the light, the source of
all the lights of this world. We experience again and again the failure of our
efforts and personal error despite our good intentions. There are still wars,
terror, hunger and disease, extreme poverty and merciless repression. And even
those who in history have considered themselves "bearers of light",
without however having been enlightened by Christ, the only true light, have
not created any earthly paradise, but have established dictatorships and
totalitarian systems, in which even the smallest spark of humanism has been
stifled. Only Christ can say "I am the light of the world"... Only by
starting from Him can we become an ever new light. Of course, instead of putting a light on the lampstand,
you can cover it with a bushel. Let us ask ourselves then: how often do we
cover God's light with our inertia, with our obstinacy, so that it cannot
shine, through us, in the world?" May the Lord who looks at us from the Face
contemplated in this place flood us more and more with His light, freeing us
from evil, making us radiant with His
light with His grace, for the salvation of every creature.
Finally, in the passage from the Gospel
according to John (1:29-34), we are entrusted with the task of bringing to the
world the light that has reached us in
Jesus. John the Baptist bears witness to this, saying: "Behold the Lamb
of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world!" He then traces for
all of us a task, the same one that He fulfilled with His whole life: "I
have beheld the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and remaining upon
him. I did not know him, but the very one who sent me to baptize in water said
to me: "He upon whom you will see the Spirit descend and remain, it is he who
baptizes in the Holy Spirit". And I have seen and testified that this is
the Son of God." This is our mission: to bear witness to Christ, Lord
and Savior. It is once again Pope Benedict who reminds us of this on the
occasion cited: "Christ is not so much interested in how many times in
life we falter and fall, but in how many times we, with his help, get up again.
He does not demand extraordinary actions but wants his light to shine in you.
He does not call us because we are good and perfect, but because He is good and
wants to make us His friends. Yes, we are the light of the world because Jesus
is our light. We are Christians not because we accomplish extraordinary things,
but because He, Christ, is our life. We are holy, if we allow His grace to work
in us."
Let us ask, then, the Lord,
who looks at us from His Holy Face, to fill us with His light and to be witnesses
to His light in every situation of our
lives, for the benefit of every creature He will give us to meet. We do so with
words taken from the beautiful prayer
that Pope Benedict sent us a year after his visit here in Manoppello: “O Lord
Jesus, like the first apostles, ... We too, your disciples of this difficult
time, want to follow you and be your
friends, attracted by the radiance of your desired and hidden face. Show us, we
beg you, your ever new face, a mysterious mirror of God's infinite mercy. Let
us contemplate him in the eyes of our mind and heart: the face of the Son, the
radiance of the Father's glory and the imprint of his substance (Cf. Heb 1:3),
the human face of God who entered history to reveal the horizons of eternity.
light that illuminates the darkness of doubt and sadness, life that has defeated
forever the power of evil and death... Make
us pilgrims of God in this world, thirsting for the infinite and ready for the
meeting of the last day... Mary, Mother of the Holy Face, help us to have
"clean hands and a pure heart", hands enlightened by the truth of
love and hearts enraptured by divine beauty, so that, transformed by the
encounter with Christ, we may give ourselves to the poor and suffering, in
whose faces shines the mysterious presence of your Son Jesus, who lives and
reigns for ever and ever. Amen!”
Monday, January 9, 2023
Celebration of Omnis Terra This Sunday at the Shrine of the Holy Face
Archbishop Bruno Forte will preside at the Omnis Terra celebration this Sunday January 15 at 11am local time at the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be remembered in prayer during the Mass. A blessing will be imparted with the reliquary of the Holy Face during the celebration. The celebration will be Livestreamed on the Facebook page of the Shrine https://www.facebook.com/basilicavoltosanto and also should be available for viewing after the celebration is concluded.
Sunday, January 1, 2023
With Gratitude for the Heroic Christian Life and Witness of Pope Benedict XVI
We gratefully praise and pray to the Most Holy Trinity for our dearly departed Pope Benedict XVI who poured out his life totally for Jesus Christ and the Church. His pilgrimage to the Holy Face of Manoppello on September 1, 2006 threw open wide an amazing door to Christ, which for five long centuries had been tightly shut! May the perpetual light of the Holy Face of Jesus shine upon him and upon all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Prayer of Pope Benedict XVI to the Holy Face released on September 1, 2007 the first anniversary of his pilgrimage to the Holy Face of Manoppello
Lord Jesus, as the first Apostles, whom you asked: “What do you seek?” accepted your invitation to “Come and See,” recognizing you as the Son of God, the Promised Messiah for the world’s redemption, we too, your disciples in this difficult time, want to follow you and be your friends, drawn by the brilliance of Your Face, much desired, yet hidden. Show us, O Lord, we pray you, Your Face ever new; that mirror, mystery-laden, of God’s infinite mercy. Grant that we may contemplate it with the eyes of our mind and our hearts: the Son’s Face, radiance of the Father’s glory and the imprint of His Nature (cf. Hb 1:3), the human Face of God that has burst into history to reveal the horizons of eternity. The silent Face of Jesus, suffering and risen, when loved and accepted, changes our hearts and lives. “Your Face, Lord, do I seek, do not hide Your Face from me.” (Ps. 27:8ff) How many times through the centuries and millennia has resounded the ardent invocation of the Psalmist among the faithful! Lord, with faith, we too repeat the same invocation: “Man of suffering, as one from whom other hide their faces.” (Is. 53:3) Do not hide your Face from us! We want to draw from your eyes that look on us with tenderness and compassion the force of love and peace which shows us the way of life, and the courage to follow you without fear or compromise, so as to be witnesses of your Gospel with concrete signs of acceptance, love and forgiveness. O Holy Face of Christ, Light that enlightens the darkness of doubt and sadness, life that has defeated forever the force of evil and death, O inscrutable gaze that never ceases to watch over mankind. Face concealed in the Eucharistic signs and in the faces of those that live with us! Make us God’s pilgrims in this world, longing for the infinite and ready for the final encounter, when we shall see you, Lord, “face to face” (Cor. 13:12) and be able to contemplate you forever in heavenly Glory. Mary, Mother of the Holy Face, help us to have “hands innocent and a heart pure,” hands illumined by the truth of love and hearts enraptured by divine beauty, that transformed by the encounter with Christ, we may gift ourselves to the poor and the suffering, whose face reflect the hidden presence of your Son Jesus. Amen.
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
The "Acheropite" Icon and the Face of Christ, The Holy Face of Manoppello and the Shroud of Turin
 |
| Archbishop Bruno Forte |
(Rapino, 18 September
2011 – Study Conference on the Holy Face)
by
BRUNO FORTE
Archbishop of
Chieti-Vasto
I would like to present three brief
reflections of a theological-pastoral nature on the relationship between icons known
as "Acheropite"(Not made by human hands) and the Face of Christ, with
particular reference to the Holy Face of Manoppello and the Shroud of Turin. The
first reflection concerns the plausibility of an image of Christ not painted by
human hands. The second considers the interpretation of the unpainted image and
in the specific case of the image of the Holy Face present in Manoppello, also
in relation to the Shroud. The third presents the conclusions of a pastoral and
spiritual nature that can be drawn from these premises, those that most
directly interest me as a pastor.
1. Seeing and listening: two ways
that are joined together. Why has Christian tradition shown so much interest in
so-called "acheropite" images, that is, those not painted by human
hands? What is the theological plausibility of such an interest? According to
biblical testimony, the ways of perceiving the divine over time
are fundamentally two: listening and seeing. To say that the biblical world is
solely the world of listening - given
the objective relevance of the invitation to listen contained for example in
the formula "Shema Israel Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad" - "Hear,
O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one" (Dt 6: 4) - is overly simplistic. In the Bible
listening is of fundamental importance because the attachment
to the Word is central to it: however, both in the Old Testament and
in the New Testament, listening is
inseparable from vision.
In the First Testament we find the combining
of the verb "to see" with terms related to hearing (for example, at
Sinai "all the people saw the
voices": Ex 20:18 according to the
Hebrew text). At the climax of this conception we find Revelation 1:12: the
visionary is on the island of Patmos on the day of the Lord, in a liturgical
context, and hears the noise of falling waters. He then turns to "see the
voice", as the Greek text says: "blèpein tén phonén".
"Blépein" is the verb used to indicate an "insistent and
profound look", scrutinizing, an intense observation. In the expression of
Revelation 1:12 the object of this intense and penetrating gaze is the voice,
"tèn phonén". The common translation in the past was "I turned to see him
speaking." This translation, however, is unfortunate, because it overlooks the fact that the biblical
tradition educates us to see what we hear. This is why the psalmist who has
heard the words of the Lord wants to see the Face of God. There is a continuous
need for a vision that is combined with listening: considering that in Hebrew
the term "panim", face, is a plural form, with a dual meaning at
times, it is understood that listening, like the vision of the Face of God,
will never be truly final. If the Face is the Faces, then God also offers
Himself as a tremendous quantity of Faces to be scrutinized. The plural of
"panim" tells us that the search for the Face will be continuous, and
that therefore the way of the perception
of the divine in time will be a continuous listening to the word to see the
Face ever more deeply, up to what theological Tradition calls the vision of God
face to face, eternally.
It is therefore legitimate for the
believer not only to listen to the Word of the Lord, but also to seek at the
same time the vision of the Face of God: what response does the biblical God give to this
legitimate aspiration? What is the structure of divine self-communication in
history? According to the Councils of Nicaea II (787) and Constantinople IV (870), which put an end
to the crisis of iconoclasm, that is, of the denial of the possibility and
legitimacy of sacred images, there are two ways in which God satisfies this
aspiration to hear the voice, seeing the voice. According to the formula of the
Fourth Constantinopolitan Council they are the "logos en syllabé" -
"the discourse in syllables",
and the "graphé en kromasi", "writing in color" (DS 654).
There are then two languages of the sacred, a verbal language and a visual
language, and this for the faith of the Church is founded on the fact that life
became visible (1 Jn 1:2), that the Word became flesh (Jn 1:14). If the Word
became flesh, we can be authorized not only to hear His Word, but also to see
His Face in some way.
This means that God always reveals
himself in a circumscribed form, whether it is a word, the circumscription of a
sound, or in the graphic form of an image, of an icon, which is not by chance
called "written" and not painted (hence "iconography").
Through this twofold way we are authorized to seek in a circumscribed form what
God says to us, in words and images. This is why it is plausible that, just as
once and for all the Word spoke of himself in the words of men and revealed
himself in the flesh in his historical face, so he can manifest himself to men
in a form that is not only verbal, but also sacramental, and also, by absolute
gratuitousness, with an intervention that manifests itself in the form of the
visible. I am not referring here to the question of subjective visions, which
is very complex from the theological and spiritual point of view and requires
rigorous discernment, but I believe that what has been said so far justifies
why in the Christian tradition there has always been a great desire for images
not painted by human hands: this desire, in short, is not illegitimate in the
Christian tradition, because it is God
who established the foundation for this by the fact that he spoke, made himself
visible and became man.
The conclusion of this first point
is modest, but absolutely important, because if we were to say theologically
that no "Acheropite" image can exist, we would have to prejudicially
exclude an investigation into this field: the conclusion we have reached is
instead that, if God loves to manifest
Himself "in figuris", both verbally and in vision, we cannot exclude
that He has left us imprints of His visible manifestation, which derive from His making Himself present
in history. Of course, these imprints are all the more eloquent the closer to
the source: this is why no image will sufficiently render the strength of the
encounter with the Word in the flesh as the holy places, where Jesus set his
feet (one thinks of Peter's house in Capernaum or at Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher
or on the road along the western perimeter of the temple, precious places because
of the footprints of a Presence that were there).
2. The "serious case"
of the Face of Manoppello, What
interpretation should we give, then, to the image and in particular to the image not painted by
human hands? If God speaks in words and manifests himself in a handwriting in
colors, it is necessary to read the handwriting, just as it is necessary to
interpret the logos. This is part of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Judaism and
Christianity are religions of interpretation, while Islam, which denies
interpretation on principle, is not. Hermeneutics, that is, the science of
interpretation, is born within the Judeo-Christian biblical and theological
tradition, because God has spoken about Himself but has not totally explained
himself in speaking about himself: therefore, through what he told us about
himself or gave us to see for himself, we must always go further, dig into the
abyss, walk towards the depths. So I try to read theologically an image considered
"acheropite", that of the face of Manoppello, giving as possible some
elements, obviously not affirmed absolutely, because we are not in a field in
which mathematical certainty must be used, but moral certainty is enough. What
does the handwriting of this Face tell us? In my opinion, there are three fundamental
aspects.
The first is the strong emphasis on
the historical subject of our faith. We do not believe in a myth, we believe in
a historical revelation that has passed through a man whom we recognize to be
the Son of God, visible, palpable, who has been touched, seen, heard, who has
spoken words. Now this appears truly clear in this Face, a Face of man that
emphasizes how the subject of the accomplished revelation was the Son of God in
the flesh, Jesus. The second aspect is that this Jesus manifests himself in
this Face with the two fundamental characteristics of "passus et
glorificatus". It is a Face that bears within itself the imprints of the
Passion, but at the same time it is a Face that radiates brightness, the
victory of Light over darkness: therefore, while it reminds us of the
historicity of the Passion, it also reminds us of the historicity of the
original testimony of the victory over death. In the Face of Manoppello the
dimension of the Glorified is more perceptible than in the Shroud (even if the
two faces coincide perfectly, as the research of Sr. Blandina Paschalis
Schlömer has shown). In the Shroud there is more the idea of the "Christus
Passus": in Manoppello one perceives the paradoxical unity of the
"Passus et Glorificatus", which is also a theme of all Christian
iconography, in which the Risen Christ is often represented with the wounds of
the Passion. Therefore, we are faced with the paradoxical union of death and
resurrection.
The third indication that the image
gives us is that it is not only the "Passus et Glorificatus" that is
represented, but also the "Patiens et Glorificans". That is, the One
we see in this image is the One who in a certain way is suffering, but is also
overcoming pain, is communicating to us the victory over pain and death: the (grammatical)
participles are not only in the past, but also in the present. The experience
of interpreting this image is not only, then, "in illo tempore" (at
that time), but it is also alive "hodie et semper" (today and
forever): it is as if there were a fixation in eternity both of the act of the
Passion and of the act of the Resurrection. On the other hand, in the Book of
Revelation the immolated Lamb who is standing says exactly the same things: the
most precious biblical source for reading this Face is then not only John 20:7
("Peter arrives and sees the veils and the sudarium, which was on his head
..."), but also Revelation with the image of the slaughtered Lamb who is standing,
of the "Christus Passus et Glorificatus" which is at the same time "Patiens
et Glorificans" (Rev 5 :6).
3. The history of a veil coming from
the East to the West and its meaning for us. It is important to investigate the historicity of this testimony,
it is important that two types of methodologies intersect, the one linked to
the sciences of the spirit and that proper to the natural sciences: it is
necessary to reconstruct historically how this image is here in Manoppello to
answer the two questions: is this the
image that was in Rome until the early 1500’s and that which was called the
Roman Veronica? And, if this is the image which arrived in Rome in 705, is it
the same image imprinted on the "soudarion" of which John speaks
(20:7), later present at Camulia in Cappadocia? With regard to these questions,
the arguments can only be related to the history of tradition. In addition to
these types of investigation, there are then those aimed at ascertaining the
consistency of the data: the cloth in front of us: of what material is it made? The claim that
it is of byssus is a particularly important statement, which as far as I know
has not been absolutely proven, nor has it been disproven. And then: how was
the image imprinted on this material? It is not through weaving, it is not through
painting, is it a photo-impression? In order to arrive at the answer to these questions
scientific methods are important. Nothing can be taken for granted if one does
research in a rigorous way. Having said all this, however, some conclusions of
a pastoral-spiritual nature are fundamental.
In the first place, if this image is to be contemplated without separating
vision and listening, it must be done such that the reading of it is
accompanied by the reading of biblical texts, especially the Book of
Revelation. It will be necessary to work in this direction, to scrutinize the
image with the help that comes to us from the Word of God. Secondly, it is
necessary to learn to stand before this image, as Pope Benedict XVI invited us to do in his discourse
during his pilgrimage visit on September 1, 2006, as under the merciful gaze of
the Lord, that is, by experiencing contemplative silence before the Word. The
image of Manoppello can be an education in listening to the silence of God,
which is not the silence of the mutism of those who do not speak, but it is the
silence of those who speak with a language that is not that of words. Knowing
how to let ourselves be looked at, placing under the gaze of Jesus' mercy the
sin of the world and the expectation of humanity and letting His Face be imprinted
upon us, is what matters most. What would be the point of contemplating the
Face, investigating it in the most diverse ways, if all this did not lead to a
deeper union with Christ? He did not come to be reproduced as an image external
to us, but to live in us, as Paul says in Galatians (2:20): "It is not I
who live, but Christ who lives in me". Then the great spiritual
fruit to be invoked is not external reproduction, but the re-presentation in us
of Him, that is, that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith.
And this is precisely what the
Shrine strives to offer through the
service of the Word, of Reconciliation, of the Sacraments, and this is what is
especially dear to me as a Bishop: that is, the Basilica of the Holy Face is a
place of holiness, a place where the
image of Christ is written within us. Everything is preparation, help that must
be offered with the utmost scientific seriousness, but what we must strive for
is that this encounter takes place, that is, that the loving gaze with which
the believer lets himself be contemplated by Christ may be the vehicle of the
gift of His mercy. Observation and feedback then move along the border between
great humility and serious attention to both historical and scientific research, but to support the theological-spiritual ends which I have outlined, and which
are the true purpose of the pilgrimage to the Holy Face of Manoppello.
(editor's note: thanks to Paul Badde for providing me with the original Italian text of Archbishop Forte's discourse, and also for the photos)
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