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THE VEIL
"...et sudarium, quod fuerat super caput eius..."
(Evangelium sec. Ioannem 20:7)
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The
“Holy Face” is a very tenuous Veil that
measures 6,70 inches by 9,45, stretched between two
framed
panes of glass.
In order to avoid running the risk of damaging the mysteriously impressed
Image, the Veil has not yet been removed from the reliquary to verify scientifically the kind
of staple that at a glance seems to be an ancient sea-byssus fibre, a precious "marine silk" also found inside some sarcophagi of the Egyptian pyramids, the "fine linen" mentioned forty-six times, neither more nor less, in the
Bible.
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 The
horizontal threads are rather wavy and the structure
of the material is simple, so weft and warp intersect in the usual way as in a normal texture.
The fabric is so thin that the Image is visible before and behind the shrine and so transparent that a newspaper, put behind it, could be read even at a distance.
There is the effigy of a long-haired man with broken nose, bloodstained forehead (Mr 15:17 - Mt
27:29) and swollen cheek (Jn 18:22);
his half-open mouth seems to be about to utter the word LOVE
(1Jn
4:8 "God is Love") and his light red lips seem to annul every material aspect.
 The contrasting shades of brown flatten by candlelight so the
dark bruises covering his hit face become visible
(Jn 19:1-3).
His eyes look very intensely
upward so we can see the white of the eye under the iris. His pupils are completely open, but in an irregular way.
His glance is amazed but also benevolent and consoling as really Jesus loves us so much that, even after his Passion, He said to the disciples:
"I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).
 Prof.
D. Vittore from Bari and Prof. G. Fanti from Padua, not only by enlarged
digital photographs but also by ultra-violet rays confirm that there is no paint on the Veil.
The expert iconographer B. Paschalis Schlömer
evidenced the truth of her assertion
by placing both diapositives (of the Holy
Face of Manoppello and the Holy Shroud of Turin) one upon another: their transparent data-points fit together perfectly and Prof. A. Resch declares that the wonderful identity, moving us to tears, confirms the authenticity of both Relics as without any doubt it can't be mere chance: Our Lord's Face appears in his Resurrection
from the dead on the third day after his Deposition from the Cross (Lu
9:22).
Ego
sum via et veritas
et vita (Ioannes 14:6) I am the way and the truth and the life
Heinrich Pfeiffer, professor of iconography and
history of Christian art at the papal Gregorian university, affirms
that the Veil was considered also in times past "ảχειροποίητος", i.e. not a human work of art and this sacred Image was the model for the later representations of the
Holy Face, included the portraits painted in the Roman catacombs
during the IV century.
Furthermore, he asserts that Our Lord gave us not only his Word by
means of the Holy Scriptures, but also his Image formed in the tomb
when a supernatural radiant energy maybe illuminated (1Jn
1:5 "God is light") the "fine linen"
soaked in aloes and myrrh, photosensitive "spices" (John 19:39,40), leaving the impression of the immense event, the divine evidence of
the Passion, Resurrection and everlasting Glory of the Redeemer (Mt 28:7
-
Lu 24:51 -
Acts 1:9).
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"...and
the napkin (*), that was about his head, not lying with the linen cloths
(**),
but rolled up in a separate place".
(John
20:7)
(*)
”Soudarion” – the Holy Face of Manoppello, venerated in times past in Rome and
named
Veronica "vera icona" = true icon.
(H. Pfeiffer)
(**)
”Othonia” – the Holy Shroud of Turin: superimposed, this
Image and the Veil of Monoppello
coincide
perfectly.
(B. Paschalis Schlömer)
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Benedicat tibi Dominus et custodiat te! Illuminet Dominus faciem suam super te et misereatur tui!
Convertat Dominus vultum suum ad te et det tibi pacem!
Nm 6, 24-26
The Lord bless you and keep you!
The Lord let his
Holy
Face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!
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