St. Pope John Paul II and the Holy Face

At the Church of San Andrea in Pescara. By the artist Stefano di Stasio with mosaic by Marco Santi of Ravenna (2013)

(Note:  As Archbishop Forte dedicated to St. John Paul II a great portion of his homily for the feast of the Holy Face which coincided with the 100th anniversary of the pontiff's birth, some further reflection seems appropriate about St. Pope John Paul II's influence which discreetly ensured the  re-emergence of the Holy Face back into history during the years just prior to the Great Jubilee of 2000.)

Text and Photos by Antonio Bini

The great Polish pope, at the end of the last century had become aware of the reality of the Holy Face, mainly thanks to Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, then president of the International Institute of Research on the Face of Christ, founded in 1997. Though he was already more than 80 years old,  the cardinal threw himself enthusiastically into this far from easy undertaking, calling on the collaboration of Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer, S.J.,  then professor of Christian art at the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome and member of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church. Fr. Pfeiffer's thesis about the identification of Veronica with the Holy Face of Manoppello was presented at the first international congress promoted by the Institute.

Sr. Blandina Paschalis Schlömer exiting the Church of San Nicola on the Feast of the Holy Face with Archbishop Bruno Forte behind her.  It was Sr. Blandina who first informed Fr. Pfeiffer of the existence of the Holy Face at Manoppello  

Just prior to the second international conference, which was held on October 23 1998, the Polish pope sent Cardinal Angelini,  a message addressed to the participants in which he expressed the following desire: "May the veneration and study of the Holy Face prepare your minds for the special reflection on the Person of the Father, which the Church is setting for itself during the next year, in preparation for the great Jubilee of the year 2000", which can certainly be seen in continuity with the unforgettable appeal from the opening discourse of his pontificate  : "Be not afraid! Open, indeed, throw open wide the doors to Christ!"

Cardinal Angelini himself, named a cardinal by the Polish pope in 1991, wrote that the impetus for the Research Institute, which he founded together with the Benedictine Congregation of the Sisters of Reparation of the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ, "was suggested by the circumstance, that the year of 1997, at the will of the Holy Father John Paul II, was dedicated, throughout the church, to a special reflection on the Person of Christ." (F. Angelini, L’uomo delle Beatitudini, Editrice Velar, 2000, p. 176). Probably it was Fr. Pfeiffer himself who told me that the Pope had asked the Canons of St. Peter’s to have the Veronica from St. Peter's Basilica brought to his apartments, and then was disappointed with what he saw.

From credible sources, we know that in those years there were numerous meetings between John Paul II and Cardinal Angelini in which they often spoke of the Holy Face of Manoppello, to which the cardinal had become very devoted, with frequent visits to Manoppello. On some of these visits to Manoppello I was also present.

Archbishop Fiorenzo Angelini (later named Cardinal) with Padre Germano di Pietro, Rector of the Shrine and Sister Maria Maurizia Biancucci,  Superior of the Benedictine  Sisters of Reparation of the Holy Face at Manoppello in the 1990's

At the end of the Great Jubilee of 2000, John Paul II published the apostolic letter "Novo Millennio Ineunte", (January 6, 2001) in which he analyzed the intense Jubilee event just concluded.  Looking toward the third millennium he prophetically invited all to resume their ordinary path, bringing into one's soul the richness of the experiences lived, with "the gaze that remains more than ever fixed on the Face of the Lord" (cf. Section II, "A Face to Contemplate").

This circumstance has drawn in recent years many Poles to Manoppello, including the Polish nuns, the Handmaidens of the Holy Blood, and has brought about as well the enthronement of the Holy Face in churches of Katowice (2016) and in recent weeks in Krakow, the city to which the young Wojtyla moved at the age of 18. I also remember seeing the exceptional number of buses arriving at the shrine of the Holy Face of groups of Polish pilgrims heading to or returning from Rome on the occasion of the canonization of St. John Paul, on April 27, 2014.

According to rumors dating from the late 1990s in Manoppello, the pope was even seen coming for a brief visit to the Holy Face, without having had alerted anyone. A hypothesis not to be excluded, considering that after his death, his secretary, Cardinal Stanislaus  Dziwisz,  admitted in his book "A Life with Karol" (ed. Rizzoli, Milan, 2007), that John Paul II left the Vatican more than 100 times to travel to the Abruzzo mountains, without the Cardinal entering into descriptions of the individual excursions. Tuesdays were normally the day planned for these incognito getaways. And at that time on weekdays it was very possible to find the Shrine completely empty.

Cardinal Angelini himself, speaking at the University of Chieti, on February 10, 2006, at the international conference "The Holy Face and the iconography of the image of Christ", desired to attribute the flowering of the initiative of the creation of the Research Institute on the Face of Christ to some circumstances that he did not hesitate to call "extraordinary". These include the aforementioned apostolic letter "Novo Millennio Ineunte" by John Paul II, of "revered and holy memory". This text  should be compared with the letter "Tertio Millennio Adveniente" (November 10, 1994), about the preparation of the  Great  Jubilee, in  which the highlighted "distinctly Christological character"  was not accompanied by any reference to the Face of Christ, to understand the evolution of the thought of the Polish pope.

Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini and Father Heinrich Pfeiffer on February 10, 2006 at the University of Chieti just months before the September 1, 2006 visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Manoppello to Venerate the Holy Face

On that occasion,  Cardinal  Angelini  extolled the person of Fr. Pfeiffer, to whom he addressed "a greeting and a thank you to the three-times most dear Father Pfeiffer, who is a great apostle of the Holy Face of Manoppello yes, but of the Holy Face as such. A great scholar and above all a great priest and exemplary religious."

In his speech, transcribed in full in the magazine Il Volto Santo di Manoppello, No. 1, July 2006, p. 6ff, the Cardinal, speaking of the Holy Face, asserted the need to continue the thorough study of "historical facts (which are) in some ways still mysterious” affirming his personal belief that we are dealing with the Veronica, as he already had clearly stated in his preface to Fr. Pfeiffer’s book ("Il Volto Santo di Manoppello”,  Carsa Edizioni, 2000).

Archbishop Forte and Cardinal Angelini at the University of Chieti February 10, 2006

Further research should be done on that intense period immediately prior to the Great Jubilee of 2000. In the meantime there is little doubt that St. John Paul II belongs to the recent history of the Holy Face, as does his successor Benedict XVI.

The Coronavirus Emergency Does Not Stop the Feast of The Holy Face

     The Coronavirus Emergency Does Not Stop the Feast of The Holy Face, 
       On the Occasion of the Centenary of the Birth of John Paul II

text and photos (excepted as noted) by Antonio Bini

Despite the exceptional situation due to the effects of the coronavirus, the centuries-old May celebration of the Holy Face was observed this year, although without the participation of the thousands of people who ordinarily come to Manoppello for the occasion, from Italy and abroad. The festival, which traditionally takes place over two days, coinciding with the third Sunday of May, during which the Holy Face is carried in procession through the town, to  the church of San Nicola, where the sacred image had been brought by an anonymous pilgrim in the sixteenth century, while on the following day, after a prayer vigil for the whole night, the precious relic is brought back, again in procession, to the basilica.

In recent days the Mayor, the Capuchins and the local community took action as soon as the government authorities decreed the resumption on Monday May 18 of many activities and the reopening of churches, albeit with considerable limitations.  There was a strong desire to maintain the tradition, especially in view of the reopening of the churches coinciding with the second day of the festival, on which the festivities would focus.   The festival would retain its symbolic and religious essence, while all its collateral elements, proper to the civil program, such as fireworks, special street lighting, lotteries, stalls, games, and concerts would be eliminated.  

The prohibition against processions allowed for the simple transfer of the sacred image from the Basilica to the Church of San Nicola, by means of a small motorcade, with a jeep from the carabinieri at the head, then the car of the rector of the Sanctuary, Fr. Carmine Cucinelli, followed by an open vehicle, on which was placed the Holy Face, provided by volunteers among the mountaineers (alpini) from the Italian ministry of Civil Protection , with an additional vehicle of the same volunteers completing the procession. 

 I was able to follow the preparatory stage of the motorcade, noting the loving care given to the details, with the arrangement of blankets on which to rest the antique wooden throne, with the arrangement of flowers and colored ribbons, which were added to the safety tie rods.  (This historic throne was preferred to the one in use for decades, much heavier and bulkier and which also includes a Plexiglas security "cage") 
Incidentally, some of the volunteers of the Civil Protection, are also volunteers of the Holy Face. A slight drizzle accompanied these preparations which ended just before the departure of the motorcade.

from a postcard showing the procession of the Holy Face in 1931 utilizing the same antique wooden throne used this year.
(from the collection of Antonio Bini)
                    

On the way from the Shrine to the village some people, well spaced out and scattered along the route, waited with emotion for the passage of the small procession, which at around 9.30 arrived at the Church of San Nicola, with the Holy Face welcomed by prayers and songs.

 Under the current government provisions, according to the square footage of the church, it was possible to allow access to only 68 people, equipped with passes, while also the population was asked not to congregate along the narrow Corso Santarelli , avoiding gatherings, another word which has entered into the chronicles of this period. However, it was possible to listen to the celebration from speakers mounted outside the Church. 

At the entrance to the church, volunteers took the temperature of those entering, while the church space was marked off by red ribbons arranged on the rows of the benches, making available only the seats at the end of the row. Gloves were distributed to those present and hand sanitizer made available. A surreal atmosphere, but also of particular emotion, with the religious, government officials and public with masked faces and with the church crowded with carabinieri and especially by the volunteers from the Civil Protection.  The tradition of the night vigil was also maintained, as if the Holy Face were present, throughout the time between Sunday evening and Monday morning in the church of San Nicola, through the efforts of Sister Blandina Paschalis Schlömer. and three others. 

Archbishop Bruno Forte at the beginning of the solemn Mass recalled those who are suffering and have suffered from the coronavirus infection and especially for those who have lost their lives. He also addressed a greeting to those who could follow the celebration via livestreaming on the Facebook pages of the Shrine and the Municipality of Manoppello, while in the regional area the celebration was broadcast live by Rete 8. Father Anatoliy Grvtskiv, representative of the Greek Orthodox Church, an expression in Abruzzo and Molise of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, was also present at the celebration. 

Referring to the traditional May procession, the Archbishop emphasized its happy coincidence with the centenary of the birth of St. John Paul II, recalling in particular the dialogues he had with him during the spiritual exercises of 2004, the last of St. John Paul II’s earthly life.

At the conclusion of his homily the Archbishop wished to recall the prayer recited by St. John Paul
II during his pastoral visit to the Archdiocese of Lucca (23-24 September 1989), the city where a
wooden crucifix revered as the Face of Christ is preserved. St. John Paul II "pronounced words" –
continued Archbishop Forte – "that we can address with humility and love to the Holy Face
imprinted on the sudarium, venerated in this place"

photo by Paul Badde

"Lord Jesus, crucified and risen, image of the glory of the Father, Holy Face who looks at us and scrutinizes us, merciful and meek, to call us to conversion and invite us to the fullness of love, we adore you and we thank you. In your luminous Face, we learn how we are loved and how we are to love; where freedom and reconciliation are found; how to become builders of the peace that radiates from you and leads to you. 

Photo by Paul Badde

In your glorified Face we learn to overcome all forms of selfishness, to hope against all hope, to choose the works of life against the actions of death. Give us the grace to place you at the center of our lives; to remain faithful, amidst the perils and changes of the world, to our Christian vocation; to announce to the peoples the power of the Cross and the Word that saves; to be alert and hard working, attentive to the least of the brethren; to grasp the signs of true liberation, which has begun and will be fulfilled in you. 

Courtesy of the Capuchin Friars of Manoppello

Lord, grant your Church to stand, like the Virgin Mother, at your glorious Cross and at the crosses of all men to bring consolation, hope, and comfort to them. May the Spirit you have given us bring to maturity your work of salvation, so that all creatures, freed from the constraints of death, may contemplate in the glory of the Father your Holy Face, which luminously shines for ever and ever. Amen.

Photo by Paul Badde

At the end of Mass Archbishop Forte decided to personally read the prayer in English and German for those who were online from abroad.  The celebration having concluded with a moving and prolonged applause, the Holy Face made a speedy return to the Basilica accompanied along the way, as always, by the residents showering rose petals and displaying their finely embroidered blankets and draperies from the balconies of the town.

 

Homily of Archbishop Forte During Holy Mass at San Nicola di Bari for the Feast of the Holy Face

                      Blessing by Archbishop Bruno Forte with the Holy Face at the end of Holy Mass
                                                      Courtesy of Paul Badde

May 18, 2020

Eucharistic celebration in the Parish Church of Manoppello

Before the Holy Face

Archbishop Bruno Forte's homily

            Today's Eucharistic celebration is an act of praise to God for the gift of the precious sudarium of the crucified Lord, preserved in the Basilica of the Holy Face, present among us today on the occasion of the annual feast of the third Sunday of May, which commemorates the arrival of the relic in Manoppello. This thanksgiving, moreover, takes place on the centenary of the birth of Karol Wojtyla, St. John Paul II, who on this date in 1920 came into the world in Wadowice, Poland. The mystery proclaimed by the Word of God from the liturgy of Easter time is thus united to the double mystery we are celebrating, the luminous one linked to the Face of the Savior and the one depicted by the figure of this great Saint, who was a loving witness to the Redeemer, springing from a union with Him that I would not hesitate to define as mystical, whose depths I could perceive throughout the entire week that I spent with him, when I had the grace to preach the spiritual exercises for him in 2004, which he intensely and faithfully followed, and which were also the last of His earthly life.

            The reading from the Acts of the Apostles (16:11-15) demonstrates the exquisite attention that the Apostle Paul pays to human relations: in addition to his efforts to visit the communities he founded to see the brethren in person, the consideration he shows towards women, to whom he turns with great freedom to announce to them the good news, is striking,  not hesitating to accept the invitation of Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, a believer in God, to go as a guest in her household. We could say that Paul's attention to faces is revealed here,  that is, to people in their unique and concrete stories: if we were to ask ourselves from whom a fervent Hebrew such as Saul had learned to pay so much attention to faces, especially to female ones, traditionally neglected by the rather masculine culture of his time, we could only answer that he had learned it from his mystical contemplation of the One he had met on the way to Damascus and who, speaking to him one on one, had said to him: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4). The vision became in the heart of the fervent persecutor a precise question: "Who are you, O Lord?", to which he received the revealing answer: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting!" (v. 5). The role of the Face of Jesus, expressed in appearance and in voice, is decisive for the vocation of the one who will become the great Apostle of the peoples, as Ananias will confirm to him, "the Lord sent me to you, that Jesus who appeared to you on the way you were traveling" (v. 17): from our personal encounter with  the  Face of  Christ, our lives are transformed, even transfigured, to become with the grace from on high lives of apostles, stories of humility, charity and holiness in the service of the Gospel. From the encounter with the Face of the Lord comes conversion and mission.

            The text taken from the Gospel according to John (15:26-16:4), then, makes us understand who makes possible this meeting so personal and transformative with Christ, leaping over the chasm of the centuries that separate us from the days of His flesh: it is the Spirit, the Paraclete that Jesus sends from the Father, the Spirit of truth that testifies to Him and makes it possible for us to bear witness, if  we abide with Him and remain united to Him. Once again, the Face of the Savior reaches us with absolute concreteness in the strength of His Spirit, and looking at us and calling us makes us able to love as He asks and to become witnesses of this love at the cost of one’s life, as so often the persecutions of Christians have shown in the history of humanity. Not only, therefore, does the Face of the Beloved send forth the disciple, but it is also the source of the strength that reaches out to him and that makes possible the otherwise impossible ability to bear witness, completely and without fear, to Him who is risen, The Face that sends us forth by His voice is the same Face that looks at us, accompanies us, supports us and awaits us in the infinite beauty of the final encounter in beauty and joy, which will never know sunset.  From the Holy Face of Jesus, contemplated and loved, comes the strength of our missionary passion and fidelity stronger than any trial..

            The Face of Jesus was also for St. John Paul II the source of his vocation and mission and the strength to bring these to completion in the absolute fidelity of his whole life: in the two long dialogues that I had with him during the exercises of 2004, the Pope recounted to me -  among many other beautiful things  -  a phrase, which in my opinion shows in a tangible way the mystical union that He lived with Christ. Speaking of the challenges faced in serving the Church and bringing to the world the good news of salvation that does not disappoint, John Paul II paused for a moment, and then added with a particularly expressive face, as if marked by memories, these words: "The Pope must suffer". He emphasized that "must" with a particular intensity, which instinctively reminded me of Jesus' phrase addressed to the disciples of Emmaus: "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Didn't Christ have to undergo this suffering in order to enter into his glory?" (Lk 24:25-26). It is the law of love, the need to pay with one’s life the price of the gift of self for the sake of others, summed up, for example, in the words of Paul and Barnabas,  reported by the Acts of the Apostles: "After preaching the gospel in that city and making a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples and urging them to remain steadfast in the faith because, they said, it is necessary to go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:21-22) As with the Apostle, so for St. John Paul II, the strength to endure so many trials can only come from the Lord Jesus, from His Face radiating light, love, and courage: "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).

            It is also the holy Pope himself who reveals to us this mystical secret of his life:  he does so,  certainly, with the discretion and modesty of those who speak of the unspeakable, but also with the conviction of those who have had a true and profound experience of loving and dialoguing knowledge and contemplation of the Face of the Lord. In a prayer recited during his pastoral visit to the Archdiocese of Lucca (September 23-24, 1989), a city where a wooden crucifix revered as the Holy Face (Volto Santo) of Christ is preserved, St. John Paul II pronounced words which reveal profound depths of faith and mystical union, and which we can address with humility and love to the Holy Face imprinted on the sudarium, venerated in this place:  "Lord Jesus, crucified and risen, image of the glory of the Father, Holy Face who looks at us and scrutinizes us, merciful and meek, to call us to conversion and invite us to the fullness of love, we adore you and we thank you. In your luminous Face, we learn how we are loved and how we are to love; where freedom and reconciliation are found; how to become builders of the peace that radiates from you and leads to you. In your glorified Face we learn to overcome all forms of selfishness, to hope against all hope, to choose the works of life against the actions of death. Give us the grace to place you at the center of our lives; to remain faithful, amidst the perils and changes of the world, to our Christian vocation; to announce to the peoples the power of the Cross and the Word that saves; to be alert and hard working, attentive to the least of the brethren; to grasp the signs of true liberation, which has begun and will be fulfilled in you. Lord, grant your Church to stand, like the Virgin Mother, at your glorious Cross and at the crosses of all men to bring consolation, hope, and comfort to them. May the Spirit you have given us bring to maturity your work of salvation, so that all creatures, freed from the constraints of death, may contemplate in the glory of the Father your Holy Face, which luminously shines for ever and ever. Amen.

Feast of the Holy Face

From several years ago:  the Holy Face leaving the Church of San Nicola da Bari to begin the procession through the town on its return to the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello

 Photos courtesy of Paul Badde

Thanks to Antonio Bini for this information on this year's celebration of the Holy Face

This year the annual feast of the Holy Face will not be able to be celebrated as usual at Manoppello due to the restrictions imposed to protect the people from the Cornonavirus.  The public Mass at the Basilica Shrine with procession of the Holy Face to the parish church of San Nicola da Bari will not be held today, the third Sunday of May.  The photos above are from the feast of past years.

However tomorrow Monday May 18 with the lifting of restrictions on public Masses in Italy the Holy Face will be brought at 9am to the parish Church of San Nicola da Bari from the Shrine,  mounted on an open truck provided by the Italian Ministry of Civil Protection. Mass will be celebrated at 10am at the Church presided by the local Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto Most Reverend Bruno Forte.  A limited number of the faithful will be present in the Church for the Mass.  As May 18 also marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of St. Pope John Paul II, this happy coincidence will be part of the celebration also.   After the Mass the Holy Face will return to the Shrine of the Holy Face by the same means of the Ministry of Civil Protection.

 As the Holy Face is brought to San Nicola as well as upon its return trip to the Basilica Shrine many residents of Manoppello will be showering rose petals on the Holy Face from the balconies of their residences decorated with intricately embroidered bed coverings according to the beautiful tradition.

The Mass from the parish church will be Live-streamed on the Facebook page of the Basilica https://www.facebook.com/basilicavoltosanto

Until May 31 an edited version of the  beautiful documentary on the history of the Holy Face Il Volto Ritrovato di Gesu (The Rediscovered Face of Jesus) produced by Fabrizio Franceschelli and Anna Cavasinni will be available on YouTube.

Novena to the Holy Face of Jesus

photos courtesy of the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello and Paul Badde

Novena prayers from website of the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello
 https://www.voltosanto.it/novena-al-santo-volto-di-gesu/

FIRST DAY

Initial prayer

Lord Jesus, crucified and risen, image of the glory of the Father, Holy Face who looks at us and scrutinizes us, merciful and meek, to call us to conversion and invite us to the fullness of love, we adore you and we thank you. In your luminous Face, we learn how we are loved and how we are to love; where freedom and reconciliation are found; how to become builders of the peace that radiates from you and leads to you. In your glorified Face we learn to overcome all forms of selfishness, to hope against all hope, to choose the works of life against the actions of death. Give us the grace to place you at the center of our lives; to remain faithful, amidst the perils and changes of the world, to our Christian vocation; to announce to the peoples the power of the Cross and the Word that saves; to be alert and hard working, attentive to the least of the brethren; to grasp the signs of true liberation, which has begun and will be fulfilled in you. Lord, grant your Church to stand, like the Virgin Mother, at your glorious Cross and at the crosses of all men to bring consolation, hope, and comfort to them. May the Spirit you have given us bring to maturity your work of salvation, so that all creatures, freed from the constraints of death, may contemplate in the glory of the Father your Holy Face, which luminously shines for ever and ever. Amen.  (St. John Paul II)

Invocation

«Hear, Lord, my voice. I cry: "Have mercy on me!". Answer me. My heart has said of you: "Seek his face". Your face, Lord, I seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not be angry with your servant. You are my help, do not leave me, do not abandon me, God of my salvation "». Lord Jesus, show us your face and we will be saved.

3 Glory be to the Father

Final prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, whose Most Sacred face, hidden in passion, shines like the sun in its splendor, graciously grant us that, by participating here on earth in your sufferings, we can then exult in heaven, when your glory will be revealed to us. You are God and live and reign with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

.

SECOND DAY

Initial prayer

(see first day)

Invocation

Lord Jesus, your face is the radiation of the Father's Glory and the image of his face. Grace spreads on your lips; You are the most beautiful of the children of men. Whoever sees you sees your Father who sent you to us to be our wisdom, justice, sanctification and redemption. Lord Jesus, we adore you and thank you.

3 Glory be to the Father

Final prayer

(see first day)

THIRD DAY

Initial prayer

(see first day)

Invocation

Lord Jesus, in the Incarnation you took on the face of each of us, in the passion you wished to humble yourself until death and death on the cross, giving all of yourself for our ransom. Your face had no appearance or beauty. Despised and rejected by men, man of pain who knows suffering, you have been pierced for our sins and crushed for our iniquities. Lord Jesus, let us dry your face by drying the suffering face of our brothers.

3 Glory be to the Father

Final prayer

(see first day)

FOURTH DAY

Initial prayer

(see first day)

Invocation

Lord Jesus, who showed compassion and tenderness towards everyone to the point of weeping over human misfortunes and sufferings, make your face to shine on us during our earthly pilgrimage until one day we can contemplate you face to face forever. Lord Jesus, who are the fullness of truth and grace, have mercy on us.

3 Glory be to the Father

Final prayer

(see first day)

FIFTH DAY

Initial prayer

(see first day)

Invocation

Lord Jesus, who looked upon Peter with eyes of mercy by inducing him to cry bitterly over his sin, look with benevolence on us too: cancel our faults, grant us the joy of being saved. Lord Jesus, forgiveness is being close to you and your mercy is great.

3 Glory be to the Father

Final prayer

(see first day)

SIXTH DAY

Initial prayer

(see first day)

Invocation

Lord Jesus, who accepted the traitor kiss of Judas and endured being slapped and spit in the face, help us make our life a sacrifice pleasing to you, carrying our cross every day. Lord Jesus, help us complete what is missing from your passion.

3 Glory be to the Father

Final prayer

(see first day)

SEVENTH DAY

Initial prayer

(see first day)

Invocation

Lord Jesus, we know that every man is the human face of God, who by our faults we disfigure and hide. You, who are mercy, do not look upon our sins, do not hide your face from us. Your blood falls on us, you purify us and you renew us. Lord Jesus, who rejoices for every sinner who is converted, have mercy on us.

3 Glory be to the Father

Final prayer

(see first day)

EIGHTH DAY

Initial prayer

(see first day)

Invocation

Lord Jesus, who in the transfiguration on Mount Tabor made your face shine like the sun, allow us also, walking in the splendor of your light, to transform our lives and be light and leaven of truth and unity. Lord Jesus, who with your resurrection have overcome death and sin, walk with us.

3 Glory be to the Father

Final prayer

(see first day)

NINTH DAY

Initial prayer

(see first day)

Invocation

O Mary, you who contemplated the face of the boy Jesus with motherly affection and kissed his bloody face with deep emotion, help us to collaborate with you in the work of redemption so that the kingdom of your Son may be established in the world, which is the kingdom of truth. and of life, of holiness and of grace, of justice, of love and of peace. O Mary, Mother of the Church, intercede for us.

3 Glory be to the Father

Final prayer

(see first day)

walled town of Manoppello

Shrine of the Holy Face one kilometer distant from the walled town of Manoppello with the snow capped heights of the Gran Sasso in the distance