The Holy Shroud Guild

Francis J. DeStefano, Francis Joseph Paul DeStefano, President
Resurrection NOW, Inc.
51 Southwood Road
Fairfield, CT 06825
United States

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This wonderful work was written by Francis J. DeStefano. His mission is simple, to make the Catholic church and all who are interested in better understanding the true meaning of The Holy Shroud of Turin and learn of all its marvel.
I am honored to have been given permission to add his work to the Holy Shroud Guild's website.

It's a small part we play to make sure his words and others are heard.

God Bless,

Giorgio Bracaglia



In 1933 Pope Pius XI, formerly known as Anchilli Ratti, after making a personal inquiry into the Shroud of Turin - determined for himself that it was authentic.  In that year, he asked the Italian Savoy family, the ruling family of Italy, and the owners and custodians of the Shroud - to exhibit the Shroud to commemorate the Holy Year.

Pope Pius XI was close friends with early Shroud researchers. One of them was Secondo Pia, an Italian politician and amateur photographer who was the first to photograph the Shroud back in 1898.  You can still see the large camera that he used in a museum in Turin dedicated to the Shroud.

Pope Pius XI was also close friends with another great early Shroud researcher, Frenchman, Paul Vignon.

By the way, it was during that exhibit in 1933 that Peter Rinaldi, an altar boy, saw the Shroud, and because he was fluent in several languages - he was asked to help people learn more about the Shroud during that exhibit. He went on to become one of the foremost authorities on the Shroud of Turin in the world.

Seeing the Shroud - resolved him to become a Salesian priest.  The Salesians were founded by St. John Bosco, who also grew up in Turin.  St. John Bosco saw the Shroud when it was exhibited in 1827 and became a life-long Shroudie.  He saw it again in 1863, this time with his followers.  After his death, John Bosco was canonized by Pope Pius XI.
 
The Salesians received their name from St. Francis DeSales, an heroic saint who brought thousands of Calvinists back to the Catholic Church.  Turns out that one of his favorite devotions - was venerating the Shroud of Turin.
 
Anyhow, Father Rinaldi SDB (Salesians of John Bosco) was sent to Portchester, New York, where he served as pastor of Corpus Christi parish for twenty-nine years.  It was he who built the first shrine to the Shroud of Turin in the United States back in 1970.
 
In fact, if you go see it - there is a stained glass window there, that shows him viewing the Shroud.  It was put there, not by Father Rinaldi's request - but by the artist who was inspired to do so.
 
Were it not for this one priest - who saw the Shroud because of Pope Pius XI - we would still know next to nothing about the Shroud of Turin.
 
It was because of Father Peter Rinaldi, and ultimately because of Pope Pius XI - that the Shroud has become the most researched artifact in the world, because he was he, using his diplomatic skills and connections - who persuaded the custodians of the Shroud to grant access to American scientists.
 
Back to the popes.  I do not know if Pope Pius XII was as interested in the Shroud as his predecessor was.  I do not know if Pope John XXIII was interested in it either.   But they might have been.
 
What I do know is that the Shroud was hidden away during the Second World War, and that it wasn't exhibited again publicy until 1978.
 
You should know that, for its entire history, the Shroud of Turin has been privately held, and since it's history in Turin - it was exhibited very rarely: in 1827, in 1863, in 1898, in 1931 (for a marriage between King Umberto II and his wife), in 1933 (when Father Rinaldi saw it), in 1978 (when Pope John Paul II saw it), in 1998, in 2000, and now, again, in 2010.
 
Perhaps the most significant exhibition of the Shroud - was during 1978.  It was exhibited that year to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Shroud's arrival in Turin - after being brought there in 1578 so that the aged St. Charles Borromeo - could venerate it.
 
About 4 million saw the Shroud during that exhibition.  That was before the Shroud's carbon dating, and also while the Savoy family still owned the Shroud.  It was immediately after this exhibit ended that the Shroud of Turin Research Project scientists (STURP) - spent 120 hours studying the Shroud firsthand.
 

It was the largest and most amazing faith/science collaboration that has ever occurred in history.
 
Some of the best scientists in the world at that time - were involved in this research - research that the future Pope John Paul II - would continue to encourage.
 
It was during the 1978 exhibition that the future Pope John Paul II - saw the Shroud as a cardinal.  I also know that as many as 300 bishops also saw it during that exhibition, one of them being the saintly Cardinal Terence Cooke of New York - who was so moved by it - that he wanted the original Shroud brought to St. Patrick's Cathedral.
 
Cardinal Cooke was close friends with Father Peter Rinaldi.  I have a photograph of Cardinal Cooke visiting Father Rinaldi at his parish.  His successor, Cardinal O'Connor - was also very interested in the Shroud, and I have documentary evidence which shows he encouraged the work of the Holy Shroud Guild.
 
Getting back on track, I know that Pope Paul VI was also interested in the Shroud, because of that letter he wrote that I shared with you, and also, from another document that I found in Father Rinaldi's shrine to the Shroud.
 
I also know that Pope John Paul II became the personal owner of the Shroud in 1985, after King Umberto II, the last king of Italy, died in exile in 1983.  The shroud passed through the Italian court system for two years, when finally the king's will was probated and the Shroud went to the living Pope, on condition that it remain in Turin.
 
Many people believe that the Shroud belongs to the Vatican.  But that is not true.  It is actually the personal possession of the living pope.
 
I also know something else.  Ever since the carbon-14 dating was conducted on the Shroud, back in 1988 (which tests were paid for by the Archdiocese of Turin) - the Catholic Church has invested next to nothing to deepen our understanding of the Shroud - after spending nearly a billion dollars to settle all the sex abuses case against it in the United States, as reported in Catholic New York, one of the Church's own newspapers.
 
I also know that, during the late 1990's, the Turinese custodians of the Shroud - approached Pope John Paul II, and asked him when they should exhibit the Shroud again.  They presented him with two options: either in 1998, to commemorate the 100 years that the Shroud was first photographed, or during the year 2000, to commemorate the Third Millenium.
 
At that, Pope John Paul II - asked for the Shroud to be exhibited during BOTH dates, which it was.  You have seen the speech that he gave about the Shroud back in 1998, when he visited the Shroud to venerate it personally.
 
I also know that Pope Benedict XVI - will also be going to Turin to venerate the Shroud on May 2nd of next year.
 
I also know that Mother Angelica has life-sized images of the Shroud at her convent in Alabama, probably obtained from my Jewish hippie friend, Barrie Schwortz.  But you never find that out by looking at her website.
 
I know that images of the Shroud are exhibited at several Catholic churches in the United States:  at Corpus Christi Parish in Portchester, New York, at the Mount Manresa Retreat Center in Staten Island, at the monastery of the Holy Face in Clifton, New Jersey, at Alvernia College in Reading Pennsylvania, at Our Lady of the Angels, down in Virginia.
 
As I also told you, an image of the Shroud is on one of the doors of St. Maria Maggiori in Rome.
 
To sum up then:  I do not know if I am doing God's will to be so interested in the Shroud.  But when I see all of these popes and bishops and heroic religious - who share my interest in the Shroud - then I know that I am not acting alone.
 
May none of us walk alone in 2010!
 
A very Happy New Year to you all!
 
Peace in Christ,
 
Francis J. DeStefano