Exposition of the Shroud

1997 Pastoral Letter

1- The Reason of This Letter.
In the light of the next Christmas, and while 1997 (year dedicated to Jesus Christ for the Jubilee of the year 2000) is ending, Providence has a gift for us, the people of Turin: the gift of remaining in the memory of Jesus, in His Spirit, thanks to the Exposition of the Holy Shroud that will take place next spring.

This special event will induce my greetings and my best wishes. Certainly, the mysterious bond that links the cave of Bethlehem with the Sepulcher in the story of Jesus` life is real. Therefore I do not think I am moving away from the subject - which is the gift of the incarnation of the Word - if I spend some time talking about how the Word, after the incarnation, "suffered for us in the flesh" (1Pt. 4:1) for our Salvation.

The story of this Holy Sheet and of the mysterious imprint that makes it unique, is connected to the mercy of the city of Turin. So, as a pastor of this Diocese, I would like to say something to underline the importance of the Exhibition of the Shroud and to enlighten its penetrating message.

2. A Unique Figure.
I do not mean, with this letter, to deal with the questions that surround the Shroud, since many researchers already deal with them, according to their specializations. Their remarkable job gave us a quantity of information that suits the mentality of the man of today, even in religious matters. My purpose is instead spiritual and pastoral, wishing to help the Christian mercy and the common interest. In fact I believe that the reason why the Shroud is fully acceptable lies in the effectiveness and power of its being an icon, an icon full of evangelic realism about Jesus Crucified.

The Shroud, as it is, in the immediateness of its image, is made for eyes who can see and contemplate it and for minds in which it will be kept as an object of consideration, for consciousness as a message to be converted, for hearts as an invitation to return the love of our Savior, here so vividly recalled. Only God knows these ways - which are, I think, the real meaning of the Exposition - and they all start by "looking unto Jesus," as the author of the letters to the Hebrews reminds us.

As a visual image, the Shroud imposes with effectiveness. In addition, it can attract the observer to the world of the invisible, where it is easier to receive the message of Jesus crucified. Saying this I do not mean to give my personal impression, but the common experience of many people who spoke and wrote about the Shroud, spreading its mysterious charm.

3. Pastoral Attention Given to the Shroud.
Because of the public acknowledgment of this representative force, I think I can suggest a complete pastoral founded on the Shroud.

What do I mean by saying this? I say that the spiritual effect of the contemplation of the Shroud can bring feelings of conversion, fruits of repentance and change of life. It could also provoke an impulse to evangelization. All these considerations allow us to call the Exposition of the Shroud a meaningful moment of our journey, a moment we should help and prepare carefully. In its history the Shroud has always inspired mercy. This because it brings a new and different way to approach the great Gospel’s narrations of the Passion, Death and Entombment of Jesus. For those who do not know these narrations, the Shroud does not say anything more than the story of a man tormented by other men’s cruelty. In the Gospel this character has a name, and for everyone who has a memory of Jesus, the image on the sheet is clearly unmistakable. For this reason I chose as a motto for the Exposition of 1998 the verse "Everybody Will See Our Salvation."

The Shroud traits, with remarkable precision, the portrait of the Savior in His suffering for us, and shows His death unmistakably. It has often been observed that between the imprint of the Shroud and the narrations of the Gospel there is a close relation, too close to be considered merely casual. This comparison between image and Texts creates a feeling of adhesion to Jesus’ violent story on Earth. However, this meeting with God can originate many other thoughts. In this elevation to Jesus lies the real Spirituality of the Shroud, it definitely can nourish a Pastoral: there are only few elements, but so incisive they can produce the best fruits of Christian life.

4- Some Important Points.

I invite you, dear pilgrims, to find in yourselves some spiritual vibration, watching that figure. Allow me to give you some indications:

a) A New Prayer.

The image on the Shroud shows us a man destroyed by torment; but it does not provoke a mere feeling of horror. In the shroud there is another implication, that I have already mentioned, and also the message of a mysterious peace, they both induce us to meditate and pray. It does not seem to me an usual prayer, because the mystery of Jesus crucified for love makes it more pious and meditative. I think it is hard to avoid the necessity to express somehow an overflowing affection, gratitude, and faith, when we are before the image of the Shroud; this emotion is not passing, and it can stay in our memory also throughout our everyday life, for its exceptional characteristics.

b) Discovering Again the Annihilation of our Lord.

The Shroud, without any doubt, is the image of the Kenosis (Greek word that indicates how Jesus lowered his Holy person to a human level) of Jesus, who "became obedient unto death." (Phil.2:8) We can not detach the Shroud from the reality of the Sepulcher, we do not see in it neither light nor life: we should stop more often on this consideration. Here we attend the irreparable end, we see a man abused and disfigured without mercy. The man on the Shroud has lost human and social dignity and every detail of his figure describes to us the real way to destruction. How far we are from the idea of Resurrection! It is true that, on the other hand, the Easter light will shine even more, but now we can only see the void of death and that cold body. Here lies the message of the indescribable humiliation of God made man and, I dare say, of the enormity of that scandal. Then we are strongly called to a sense of total humbleness, to a feeling of death that we share, because we have been "buried" with him in the Baptism.

c) The Memory of How We Have Been Loved.

Believers know that the crucified Man is there because, as He said, He has given His life for His friends. We are "the Church of God, which He had purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28).

Now the Shroud compels us to meditation, reminding us of those truths: if this is the measure of love God gave us, and that we should return , how can we live better from now on?

It is as if we were feeling an amount of love that keeps disturbing us because of the depth of Christ’s love that keeps calling us, and this is a great pastoral and spiritual prospect.

What most impresses us in the Shroud is its appearance of something final: Jesus went to the Cross without any hesitation, and from there He taught us what a moral victory must be, as it is required by our vocation.

d) The Greatness of the Victory on Evil

It happens, sometimes in life, that we are depressed and discouraged because of the number of evils; unfortunately not even the invocation to God "Deliver us from evil" can encourage us, because our hope is weak. So, too many times we think and behave as if evil was victorious in the world. But we know it is not true! The icon of the shroud reminds us that even in the death of Jesus, who is the Word of god, the victory is accomplished, and we live in the continuous plentiful Grace of that event.

I invite you then to remember that God was annihilated when he became a man, but He was not defeated, on the contrary, as we know, He won against evil and death. We are not influenced by Satan, since we belong to God; the Shroud sends us, in our need of hope, the solemn message of life.

Drawing conclusions

The exposition of 1998 will be an event meant to involve a large number of people and associations, and consequently, to have a great impact. Therefore, while I send a grateful thought to everyone who will collaborate on the exposition, I wish to rivet again its spiritual and pastoral meaning. This is the result I hope for. As archbishop I ask all the faithful in the Diocese to pray, before and during the exposition, that Jesus will make it an event of Grace. We will see a great number of pilgrims who may come after a long and hard journey. We should accompany their faith with ours, since we know that the journey prefigures the reaching of the Life, and therefore it is a meaningful itinerary. The Exposition is a time for Grace, it could create in everybody the certainty about the vocation to Jesus Christ. For this reason I said that the Providence presented us with the joy of renewing the memory of the Savior in the Exposition of the Shroud.

I invite all of you to welcome warmly the pilgrims, and then I pray that Mary, the Consoled Virgin patron of our diocese, will be with you. She will share with us her painful feelings, since we know that Salvation gives joy as a crop grown from the seeds of tears. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Psalms 126:5). I renew my best wishes for this Holy Christmas, and ask for me and for you that the icons of the Child and of Jesus Crucified will light a serene and serious enthusiasm in your souls. We need it in these days of evangelization.

Card. Giovanni Saldarini,
Archbishop of Turin.