Conference on the Holy Veil of Manoppello at Mater Dolorosa Church in South San Francisco

 

Sister Petra-Maria Steiner

Several hundred people coming from all over the San Francisco Bay Area participated in the day long Conference on the Holy Veil of Manoppello held on August 5 at Mater Dolorosa Church in South San Francisco. Master of Ceremonies for the day was Reverend Deacon Christoph Sandoval of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco. Deacon Sandoval, who has a life long devotion to the Holy Face and has been a source of encouragement to very many in their devotion to the Holy Face of Manoppello, introduced each of the topics and lead the group in prayers to the Holy Face.


Reverend Deacon Ramon de la Rosa of the parish of Mater Dolorosa organized the logistics of the day with the help of a number of volunteers from the parish and beyond, including members of the Legion of Mary, Knights of Columbus and Singles for Christ. A simple lunch was provided for all.



The main speaker for the day was Sister Petra-Maria Steiner, of the Vita Communis Community, Mary, Mother of the Holy Family, who traveled from Germany for the conference. Sr. Petra-Maria is an expert on the Holy Veil of Manoppello, as well as on the life of Padre Domenico da Cese, having lived and worked for over ten years in Manoppello. The topics of her three talks were "An Introduction to the Holy Face of Manoppello and its connection to the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo". "The Way of the Holy Face, from the Tomb to Manoppello via Rome." and "Why it the Holy Face so important to our faith?"

All of Sister's talks, accompanied by PowerPoint presentations, were very well received by those in attendance. Quite a few of the attendees already had some knowledge of the Holy Face of Manoppello but others were hearing about it for the first time. The conference was an opportunity for all to learn about this precious relic whose historical reality has in the 21st century come back into the consciousness of the people of God.

The editor of this blog, Raymond Frost, also gave a talk on "The Development of Devotion to the Holy Face of Manoppello on the West Coast" drawing on his experience of being in communication for over 15 years with many devotees of the Holy Face from Vancouver, British Columbia in the north to San Diego, California in the south. He dedicated his talk to the memory of the late Mrs. Daisy Neves, beloved pilgrim and missionary of the Holy Face, who was a true friend to so many and whose legacy of devotion to the Holy Face will never be forgotten.

The audience was delighted to hear of the many churches on the West Coast where the Holy Face is enthroned and of the future plans for enthronements in a number of other churches. Also highlighted was the personal devotion of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco to the Holy Face of Manoppello, of his participation at the feast of Omnis Terra at the Basilica of the Holy Face of Manoppello in 2019, and his strong words of encouragement to the faithful "I encourage everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ and love for him to cultivate a devotion to this holy image he has left us – a picture of the first instant of the Resurrection."

Many expressed the hope that this kind of conference can be held again, with devotees from other parts of the country who were not able to attend the conference attesting to this same desire.

The complete conference can be viewed here on YouTube