Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-07-15
SACRED RELIC
Showing Impressions of the
Face and Form Of the
Divine Savior.
Will BE Displayed i'm the
Chapel of st. Johns Col
lege, Brooklyn.
Faithful of America Will Vene-
rate the Fac-Simile of the
Holy SindOn.
VIEWED BY KINGS, PRINCES, PONTIFFS

L
sacred winding sheet as the most price
less treasure conceivable. There could
be, say the fathers of the church, no
greater incentive to holy living than the
sight of this very garment of the Lord,
itself unspeakably fraught with holiness.
Its sanctity, they say, has made it inn
perishable, as is witnessed by the fact
that it has already endured for nineteen
hundred years, although merely deli
cate piece of linen. Only once has this
holy relic been photographed. Two
plates were taken.
Apart from the religious value attach
ing to it as the shroud that actually en-
veloped the body of the crucifed Savior,
the winding sheet is regarded with
especial awe because. unmarried through
the long centuries, it carries a compare
lively distinct reproduction of the face
and body of Christ. So tenderly has the
church preserved this precious sign of its
faith that the sharp lines of the tortured
body, the imprint of the thin, delicate
face and of the matted hair and beard
are still recognizable. Catholics believe
that the miraculous piece of linen will
always retain the imprint of the sacred
body it once enwrapped, and that its
power to heal the sick and suffering or to
stimulate religious living will continue
unimpaired as long as the church shall
last on earth.
AT present the original sheet, or sacred
sindon, as it is called, is preserved in
treasury in a magnificent church in
Turin, Italy. 1t is guarded with as UNI
failing vigilance as the vestal virgins
once exercised in keeping the sacred fire
burning. Now and then, twice or thrice
in a century, it is exhibited to the faith
full with all churchly pomp. A journey
to Turin, TO the vicinity even of the relic,
is for Catholic one of the greatest acts
of piety.
But the resting place of the relic has
not always been so secure. 1t has known
vicissitudes, and its story is long one.
AS told by the church, its history is in
brief as follows:
After the winding sheet had been
cherished for a time by the disciples of
Christ and their successors, it was placed
in a sanctuary at Jerusalem, where it
would be to this day had the unbelievers
not captured the city. AS it was, the
Knights of Jerusalem took the relic to
Cyprus, where it was kept undisturbed
until the middle of the fourteenth CEN
fury. Here Godfrey de Charuy, Chris
tian knight, placed the holy shroud for
greater safety, in his castle of Lerey, es-
tablishing college and monastery of
canons. Many years after-the church
gives the date as March %, 1453-Mar-
garet, a niece of the good Knight Cod
frey, gave the relic to Louis, Duke of
Saxony, who took it to Turin. At the
same .time the Duke caused coins and
medals to be struck off, bearing an i'm
print of the sheet.
Not long afterward there were religious
disturbances in Turin which made the
city seem an unsafe guardian of the sacred
relic. So il was carried to Chambery.
Here it met with its first misadventure. A
fire broke out in the church where it was
kept, slightly scorching its folds. By
miraculous intervention, as it seemed to
the guardians of the sheet, this scorching
was limited to the borders and did not
mar the outlines of the Savior's body.
After this the relic was frequently
moved-to Pinerolo in 1470, to Vercelli
in 1894, to Nice in 1888 and back to
Turin in 1878. This last move was made
by order of Duke Emmanuel Filibert,
who wished to shorten the journey nee
esssary in order to venerate the relic.
During the siege of Turin, 1706, the relic
was Struggled out of the city by body
of devout priests and concealed in Genoa.
Later it was returned to Turin, where it
has remained ever since.
Six times during the present century
have followers of the church been blessed
with sight of the sacred sindon. On
the first two occasions the exhibitions
were private and for the benefit of Pope
Plus VII. The Pope stopped at Turin
while on his way to France to attend the
coronation OF Napoleon /. and saw the
shroud for the first time. He visited it
again, which was an evidence of extreme
piety, while on his way back to his states
in triumph in 1915.
When Charles Felix began his reign
the relic was exposed to view for the
third time. 1t was again seen at the
wedding of the Crown Prince, Victor
Emmanuel H., and later, in 1868, at the
wedding of Crown Prince Humbert /.
The last occasion was year ago. From
May 20 to June 2, 1898, it was seen in
connection with the Exposition of Sacred
Art and Catholic Works and Missions.
1t was during this last exposition that
the Pope granted permission to photo
graph the wonderful relic. The result
was awaited with intense eagerness by
the whole Catholic world. Two powerful
electric refectors were used. The ex-
posure was eighteen minutes. During
this time a body Of church dignitaries,