You have written about the veil in the Vatican which is supposed to be the one with which Veronica wiped the face of Jesus, but you mentioned another one, in Manoppello, which also might be the one used by Veronica. What can you tell me about it?
The veil in Manoppello, a town in the Abruzzo region of Italy, is kept in a chapel known as the Sanctuary of the Holy Face and is often called simply the “Veil of Manoppello”. This veil has a much clearer image than that of the Vatican, and some believe it could be the true veil used by Veronica.
If so, it may have been transferred from Rome to Manoppello centuries ago. The image shows a bearded man with long hair, open eyes, and visible wounds or swelling on the face. What makes the veil famous is not only the image itself, but the unusual fabric and the way the image appears on it.
The cloth is extremely thin and semi-transparent. Researchers who have examined it say it is made from byssus, sometimes called “sea silk,” a rare fabric woven from fibres produced by Mediterranean shellfish. Byssus is very delicate and painting on it would be very difficult.
The veil is small, measuring roughly 17 by 24 centimetres and is held between two panes of glass in a reliquary. Because the cloth is translucent, the face can be seen from both sides, with slightly different appearances depending on the lighting.
Various photographers, textile experts, and researchers have studied the veil and have found some unusual characteristics. The image has been described as almost like a photograph. It is not painted, since no pigments are detectable and there is no evidence of brush strokes. As a result, the image cannot be explained by any known artistic methods. The image appears nearly identical on both sides, and the coloration seems to fade or intensify depending on the angle of light. The eyes of the man are open, unlike many traditional depictions of the dead Christ.
Q&A with Fr Flader: Does Veronica’s veil with the face of Christ still exist today?
The documented history of the veil is relatively recent, becoming reasonably clear only in the early 16th century. According to local tradition, around 1506, a mysterious pilgrim gave the veil to a man named Giacomo Antonio Leonelli in Manoppello. The cloth later passed through several hands before being entrusted to the Capuchin friars. Since the 17th century, it has been preserved in Manoppello. As with the Vatican veil, there is no continuous historical documentation tracing the veil back to the time of Christ.
Some researchers, among them the German scholar and journalist Paul Badde, have proposed that the Manoppello veil may actually be the original Vatican veil, which was removed from Rome during the turmoil of the 16th century. This theory remains speculative, but it has greatly increased interest in the relic.
Supporters of the veil’s authenticity point to similarities between the Manoppello face and the image on the Shroud of Turin. There are similar proportions of the nose, mouth, and beard, and there are corresponding facial wounds and swelling. The features align when the images are digitally overlaid.
Some claim that the two images match so closely that they must depict the same person. Others argue that the similarities are to be expected, since both images follow traditional iconography of Christ. A major difference is that the Shroud image appears to show a dead body with closed eyes, while the Manoppello image shows a living person with open eyes. This would be expected if the image were made by wiping Christ’s face on the way to Calvary.
The Catholic Church has not officially declared the veil to be an authentic relic of Christ, but it does permit and encourage devotion associated with it. Interest in the veil grew significantly when Pope Benedict XVI visited the shrine in 2006. He prayed before the relic and referred to it as the “Holy Face,” although he did not make a formal declaration about its authenticity.
Today, the shrine attracts pilgrims from all over the world, especially those devoted to the Holy Face of Jesus.
