, 1880-03-14

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us the cloth found In the catacombs, which It
resembles in texture and quality. The face
aocs not seem to be painted, as it shows none Of
the orush-marks OF ridges which ancient paint
hgs snow the more the older they arc; but 1t
rather seems like Il work of the sun In color, or
stunned and blended vision-Ike coloring, the
Spontaneous work OF a master hand But it is
;t.e catieo me "achierotypon,"- picture made
without hands, and is claimed to be OF mirac-
Church. 49, >Ae 1o"~e~ @onS VI Lag
tUnly once year--on Palm-Sunday, and then
T.. nt'cE a9sso'ntaon-does the Pope look ut
member OF the Holy Conclaye, and, very rarely.
WIN w some distinguished non-ecclcsiastic. It
mas chapel of its own: tho Veronica Chapel, in
tho colossal statue Of Saint veronica. a. Which is
1nn g most a sacred room in the great basilica-
ot II has y iitany Of its own. and rosary of its
o91k and called the lifany Of the ''holy face."
~. " hue us very great antiquity Is almost GER
7 ha'n, H. ana while miraculous origin is clnimed for
contact with the living face Of Christ, there ara
,t SO many var1adons Of the legend as to leave US
with no satisfactory history further than the
1hs face Of The t. savsol. anu p'cu''ar p''ur' or
Go Concerning its pretended origin: familiarity
WIN the other ancient Christ pictures, with q
Like claim to miraculous origin in su1newhnt the
same way, reminds us at once Of the Edessa,
" TINT picture We can only say, here, that 1t
WAS c3afmed to have been impressed upon a
fs e1tF eo or napkin BY Christ Himself touching it to
Eocssa, ny the messenger whom He had sent for
It; ; and that the first glance at it healed the
The Veronica claims much more touch
ing origin. and no less than this that 1t was the
napkin upon which our Redeemcr wiped his
on Calvary. Tho stories vary in details aud in
the history OF the picture and the miracles
Tho general legend is this: Christ on the
"Via Dolorosa," or the way to Cavalry, fell
under the burden OF His cross. A woman
among Ais followers, whom they name Veronica,
kneit beside Him, and gave Him her veil or
napkin, to wipe the respiration and blood from
op eoP eoeS bs # to ne pe
with the picture OF His fnce and hair. This
treasure she kept until after the Ascension,
VI when she gave it to Thomas, who gave it to
He afterwards went to Edessa, and cured the
King Abgarus with the mere sight OF the sacred
miracles. This story h,s long been maintained
BY the Roman Catholic Church; and picture Of
the Esst the mgs vas hus
On the way to the crucihxion.
Another version is, that Veronica, being
for from Rome, and requested to bring the holy
image to Tiberias, who was fatally i'll with lepro
sy. She came, and the sight Of the face healed
the Emperor, who forthwith sentenced Pontius
Plate to death for haring cruciflcd the Lord
a variation OF this story is that the Emperor
sent message to 1'ilate to send Jesus to Rome;
and P1tnte replied that he had crucidcd Him as q
malefactor. On the messengers return he met
Veronica, who, heuring his story. gave him the
,sudarium. or the mpkin picture; which, be-
I'll hin. o'ousA' 10 Tue EMPEROR 'm"eo'a'ei' healeo
The healing Of vespastan, another Emperor.
Is related Ia similar legend Again 1t, is
claimed that the picture came to Rome in the
year 81.
Still another story is that Veronica, having
St. Luke. who wus an artist, as well as ply
sictan, and he having fuiled to secure likeness,
Christ visited her house, and, wipin9 His face
after ST., washing before dinner, left the impress OF
His features on tho towel.
a Latin monkish Legend of the twelfth cen
tn9y, vares ] it M ag{n Mary at the 8 foot Of the
napkin to Veronica.
There are at least five veronicas. claimed to
Spain; and they account for the number at once,
by the assertion that the napkin was In folds.
and % the picfnre penetrated them L nn9a aa- c,.., -
Veronica, shows life-stze face or mask, with
the hair. The features are long, dignited,
grand and t9usnng in aspect and s1pTessi9n
and blood drops, and the semblance Of tears:
The whole effect is dreadfully powerful, and
hair is matted and struggling, and the beard is
in three tufts or locks Of equal length.
The Sudar1um IS nov inc1osed in silver
There s' are are some % authorities who belie2e that
this is one Of the breast-cloths worn under their
clothing by the ear1y Christians nnd the kind Of
cloth would give some probability to this theory;
but the remarkable tinting rather than painting
which appears in the face is something unique
III art work The word VeTontcd mas been traced
through q. series Of possible corruptons Of
- Pro1l11ice, the name given BY tradition to the
woman healed Of the issue Of blood; and again:
as composed of the Latin ssreru," true, and
Greek "ason," image. and meaning "trrh
image" ........
The latter is probably the true origin Of the
word, and Is clew to the origin OF the severai
pictures bearing that name, and which were
tians. Correggio, Van Dyck, and other artists,
have painted this style of picture On the nap
kin, with the features peculiar to their coz
cepdons.
Whatever may be the real truth as to the
origin of this story and its connected holy face,
there is tho certainty Of q very ancient picture,
OF ma-velously powerful character, exhibit
ing that wonderful face IN its most sacred as
pect bearing His awful sufferings for u.s. And
the heart Of every sincere person is awakened
by the thought, IS l may see that face again"
Yes. again; and maT it be with joy forever
moref