Shroud of Turin goes on display
The Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, will go on public display today for the first time in a decade.
Some two million people are expected to view one of the most revered relics in Christendom -- and among the most disputed -- over the next six weeks in the northern Italian city.
Hundreds of journalists and photographers were offered a first chance to view the cloth as the city finalised preparations for the onslaught of visitors.
A large area around the Turin cathedral has been cordoned off and scores of volunteers were on hand.
A nearby tent city offers ice cream and specialities of Turin's Piedmont region, as well as emergency services.
Special parking areas have been designated for coaches bringing pilgrims for their chance to spend three to five minutes before the relic.
The Shroud of Turin, which was painstakingly restored in 2002, measures 4.4 by 1.1 metres (14.3 by 3.7 feet) and is said to have been imprinted with an image of Christ's body, notably his face.
It was discovered in the French city of Troyes, southeast of Paris, in the mid-14th century.
Radiocarbon dating analysis in 1988 determined that the fibres in the cloth date from the Middle Ages, sometime between 1260 and 1390, but those findings have in turn been challenged.
Pope Benedict XVI will pay homage to the shroud on May 2.
The relic last went on public display in 2000 on the occasion of the Roman Catholic Church's World Youth Days, held that year in Rome.
Benedict said his visit would be "a propitious occasion to contemplate this mysterious visage that speaks silently to the heart of men, inviting them to recognise the face of God."
The Vatican has never pronounced on the authenticity of the shroud.
Monsignor Giuseppe Ghiberti, president of the Turin archdiocese's Commission on the Shroud, has called it an "instrument of evangelisation."
The viewing runs through May 23.
Normally visitors to the cathedral can only view a lifesize reproduction of the shroud.
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G.Micallef
Apr 11th 2010, 13:14
@Renald Williams
Kif stqarr wiehed li kien jahsibha bhalek ghal tletin sena shah, George Schnell, fil-ktieb tieghu 30 Years a Watch Tower Slave, tinqdew 1/16 ta' l-Iskrittura biex minghalikom tipperswadu u timpressjonaw!
renald williams
Apr 11th 2010, 12:39
[1.] Jiena l-Mulej Alla tieghek… Ma jkollokx allat ohra quddiemi.
[2.] La taghmel ebda xbieha ... ghalik… La tmilx quddiemhom, u la tqimhomx:
[3.] La ssemmix isem il-Mulej, Alla tieghek, fil-batal: ....
[9.] La tghidx xhieda giddieba ghal ghajrek.
[10.] La tixtieqx dar ghajrek; la tixtieqx mart ghajrek… la l-gendus tieghu… u lanqas xejn milli hu ta’ ghajrek. Esodu 20:1-17, Dewteronomju 5:6-21.
Li ma tithassrux, u taghmlu ghalikom xi ... xbieha ta’ xi ragel… Harsu lilkom infuskom, li ma tinsewx il-ghaqda tal-Mulej, Alla taghkom, li ghamel maghkom, u taghmlu ghalikom xi
...haga, li l-Mulej, Alla tieghek, ordnalek biex ma taghmilx. Dewteronomju 4:16, 23.... Dewteronomju 16:22. ... Dewteronomju 27:15.... Salmi 115:4-8; 135:15-18.
Lanqas tkunu idolatri, bhal ma kienu x’uhud minnhom. 1 Korintin 10:7
U xi ftehim hemm bejn it-tempju t’Alla u l-idoli? Ghax intom it-tempju t’Alla haj; bhal ma qal Alla: Nghammar fosthom, u nimxi fosthom, u nkun Alla taghhom, u huma jkunu l-poplu tieghi. 2 Korintin 6:16.
Dortu lejn Alla mill-idoli biex taqdu ‘l Alla haj u veru. 1 Tessalonkin 1:9.
Harsu ruhkom mill-idoli. Amen. 1 Gwann 5:21.; Ir-Rivelazzjoni/Apokalissi 9:20.
Bosco Peters
Apr 11th 2010, 03:01
Great to read this. I just blogged on this topic http://www.liturgy.co.nz/blog/shroud-turin/2944
Joe Xuereb
Apr 11th 2010, 01:19
Total investment of one's identity in faith is a very serious matter. That is why moving away, even ever so slightly from that faith/identity/investment has implications so horrendous one dares not venture there. Hence the continued belief, resisting any shift, even when presented with the most glaring evidence to the contrary.
Alfred Gatt
Apr 10th 2010, 23:53
The Church does not need to use the Shroud's exhibition to get her out of trouble. Whenever she is in trouble, she turns to God, sure of His help. Jesus assured her that he will always remain with her, no matter what storms she faces.
Sarah Gatt
Apr 10th 2010, 17:20
Amazing yes would love to see it, just seems that church is in trouble let's get the shroud out, to take peoples minds of the problems.
Philip Sultana
Apr 10th 2010, 15:05
It surprises me that so many people and the church stick to their beliefs even when faced with overwhelming evidence to the contrary!