Cloth with ‘Christ’s face’ to visit PH

MANILA, September 5, 2014—The Filipino faithful will have a chance to venerate what many believe to be a piece of cloth containing an imprint of the Lord’s Face.

Named “The Holy Face of Jesus from Manoppello”, the said sacred object is a sudarium, which is a veil or handkerchief customarily used by Jews to cover the face of their dead at burial.
Also known as “The Veil of Manoppello”, it has been housed for 500 years in the Capuchin Friary in Abruzzo, Pescara, near Rome.
The Veil has drawn pilgrims to the obscure hilltop village following the visits of then Benedict XVI to the shrine early in his pontificate.

Amazing discoveries

These papal visits have since called attention to the Veil’s significance in the history of Christ’s life on earth.
The Manoppello image made it to the cover of Inside The Vatican magazine, in its August-September 2014 issue.While its origins are largely anecdotal, years of scientific study and historical research now report the Veil as having the following attributes:

1. The faces on the more famous Shroud of Turin and that on the Manoppello Veil coincide perfectly;
2. Both images are “acheiropoietas”, meaning they could not have been made by human hands;
3. The Veil—measuring a mere 7 x 10 inches—is dated between the time of the Lord’s Crucifixion and His Resurrection.
4. The Shroud of Turin shows the image of a man with closed eyes and fresh wounds, while that on the Manoppello Veil features a face with open eyes and closed wounds.

The Veil of Manoppello

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was reported to have been drawn to Manoppello after receiving the first printed copy of The Face of God, a book by German author Paul Badde which covers ten years of intensive studies on the Veil by professors, scientists, iconographic experts, and authorities of the Catholic Church.

The Manoppello veil will be coming to the Philippines on September 10-17 directly from a tour of the US West Coast and Las Vegas.
Philippine itinerary

Interested parties may catch the image at the following venues:

• September 10, Wednesday – Holy Mass @ 6:00 p.m. at Santuario de San Antonio, Forbes Park, Makati
• September 11, Thursday – The Holy Face of Jesus joins the Marian Pilgrimage Activities at Lipa, Batangas from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It will be transferred immediately after to the Montemaria Shrine at Batangas City for the 6:00 p.m. mass.
• September 12, Friday – The Holy Face of Jesus returns to Lipa, Batangas at 7:00 a.m. to join the Marian Pilgrimage Activities until 5:00 p.m.
• September 13, Saturday – The image will arrive at the Edsa Shrine at 9:30 a.m., and Holy Mass at 12:15 pm. At 3:00 p.m., it will leave for the Holy Face of Jesus Chapel at 1111 F. R. Hidalgo St, Quiapo, Manila where Fr. Carmine Cucinelli, rector of the Basilica of the Holy Face of Manoppello, will deliver a short talk, followed by mass.
• September 14, Sunday – From 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., The Holy Face of Jesus will be at the National Sacred Heart Shrine, 4 Sacred Heart Street corner Kamagong, Makati City, where mass will be held at 10:30 a.m.
• September 15, Monday – From 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., there will be a Holy Mass and vigil at the Church of Our Lady of the Abandoned on Pedro Gil St. in Santa Ana, Manila.
• At 3:30 p.m., a vigil will be held at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral at Plaza Rizal, Malinao, Pasig City.
• September 16, Tuesday – Immaculate Conception Parish Church at Nampicuan, Nueva Ecija from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• September 17, Wednesday – At 6:15 a.m., there will be a farewell mass at Santuario de San Antonio, Forbes Park, Makati.

(Raymond A. Sebastián)