The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-07-15
As IT'S HDLIEST RELIC
Catholic Church RevereS the
SaviOuTs Winding-Sheet
KEPT SACREDLY AT TURIN
Bears the Imprint of the Re-
deemeTs Form.

New York, July 1l.-The World says:
In thechapel Of the Holy Agony, st.
Johns College, Brooklyn, there will short
ly be placed for public veneration a full
length photograph of the most famous
sacred relic in the world. For centuries
every devout follower OF the Roman
Catholic faith has regarded the sacred
winding sheet as the most priceless
treasure conceivable. There could be, say
the other fathers of the church, no great
er incentive to holy living than the sight
Of this very garment of the Lord, itself
unspeakably fraught with holiness. It's
sanctity, they say, has made II imperish-
able, as is witnessed by the fact that it
has already injured for nineteen hun
dred years, although merely a delicate
piece Of linen. Only once has this holy
relic been photographed. Two plates were
taken. One Of the plates was given to the
Pope, Leo XIII. A photograph from the
second plate is reproduced exclusively in
the Sunday World today.
Apart from the religious value attaching
to It as the shroud that actually enveloped
the body of thecrusified Savior, the wind
ing sheet is regarded with especial awe
because. unmarried through the long CEN
turtles. It carries a comparatively distinct
production 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 arestill recognizable
Catholics believe that the miraculous
piece of linen will always retain the i'm
print of the sacred body it once enwrap-
ped, and that fits power to heal the sick
and suffering or to stimulate religious liv-
ing will continue unimpaired as long as
the church shall last on earth.
At present the original sheet, or sacred
sindon, as 1t is called. is preserved in
treasury in a magnificent church I'm Turin,
Italy. IT Is guarded with as unfailing Wig
tlance as the vestal virgins once exercised
in keeping the sacred fire burning. Now
and then. twice or thrice in a century, il
is exhibited to the faithful with all
chluchly pomp. A Journey to T1rin, TO
the vicinity even of therelic, is co' Cath
Ole one of the greatest acts of piety.
But the resting place Of the relic has not
always been so secure. 1t has known
many vicissitudes. and its story is long
one AS told by the church, lis history Is
in brief as follows:
After the winding sheet hal beer cher
ished for a time the decides If Christ
and their successors, 1t WAS placed in
sanctuary at erusalem, whe-e It would be
to this day had the unbelieye=s not CAP
tured the city. AS it was. the knights of
Jerusalem took therelic to the Cypress,
rrh
middle OF the fourteenth century. Here
Godfrey de Charuy, a Christian knight,
placed the holy shroud for greater safety
in his castle Of Lerey, establishing a col
lege and monestary Of eana0ns. Many
years afterthe church gives the date as
March %, 1453-Margaret "a niece oe the
good knight Godfrey. gave the relic to
louis. Duke of Saxony, who took It to
Turin. At the same time The Duke Cars-
ed coins and medals to be struck OF, bear
ing an imprint of the sheet.
Not long afterward there were religious
disturbances in Turin which made the
city seem an unsafe guardian for thesacred
relic. So 1t was carried to Cha,npery.
Here 1t met with its first nlisadveEfurc.
A fire broke out in the church where it
was kept, slightly scorching It's fo:ds. BY
miraculous Intervention, as It seemed 10
the guardians of thesheet, this searching
was limited to theborders and Gid lot mar
the outlines Of the Savior's body.
After this therelic was frequently NOV
ed-to Pinerolo in 1910, to Vercelli in 1894,
to Nice in 1888 and back to Turin in 1878.
This last move was made by order of
Duke Emmanuel Hilbert, who wished to
-I,o T.,
venerate the relic During the seige of
Turin, 1706, the relic was smuggled cut
of the city by body of devout I.riests
and cancelled in Genoa. Later it was re-
turned to Turin, where 1t has remained
ever since.
Six times during the present century
have followers of the church been blessed
with the sight of the sacred siudnn. 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 Napolean I. and saw the
shroud for the first time. He visited 1t
again, which was an evidence OF extreme
I,iety, 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
fhird time. It was again seen at the we'd
ding of the Crown Prince, Victor Emman-
uel H.. and later. in 1868. at the wedding
of Crown Prince Humbert I. The last
occasion was n year ago. From May %
70 June 2. It was seen in connection with
the Exposition of Sacred Art and Catho-
lie 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 refiectors were used. The ex-
posture was eighteen minutes. During this
time body Of church dignitaries. espec-
tally appointed. stood on guard TO pre-
vent the slightest possible accident. The
results Of the photography were marvel
ously successful, as this reproduction