“Come apart for a little while and seek the Face of God.”
~St. Anselm
“It is the Church’s task to reflect the light of Christ in every historical period, to make His Face shine also before the generations of the new millennium. Our witness, however, would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated His Face.”
–Pope St. John Paul II
“For God so loved the world”
The first day of the Holy Face Novena will begin on Sunday Sunday, February 23rd–nine days of prayer leading up to the Feast day of the Holy Face on Tuesday, March 4th, 2025–and will be posted here for each day.
The Feast day of the Holy Face always falls on “Shrove Tuesday” which is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.
“Do you see how I suffer? Yet, very few understand me. Those who say they love me are very ungrateful! I have given my HEART as the sensible object of my great LOVE to men and I give my FACE as the sensible object of my sorrow for the sins of men. I wish that it be venerated by a special Feast on Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. I wish that the feast be preceded by a novena in which the faithful make reparation with Me, joining together and sharing in my sorrow.” –Words of Our Lord to Bl. Mother Maria Pierina de Micheli (1890-1945)
Another holy nun, Sr. Marie St. Pierre (1816-1848) of Tours, France, was given revelations about devotion to the Face of Jesus. She received communications from Our Lord, who asked for a devotion to His Holy Face and a Work of Reparation: the offering His Holy Face to the Father in reparation for the sins of blasphemy, sacrilege, the crimes of atheistic communism, the profanation of the Holy Name, and the Holy Day of Sunday. The sins against the first three Commandments of the Ten Commandments are the greatest sins against God. The damage done by our sins to our relationship with God are reflected in the Face of of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. For this reason, devotion and reparation to the Holy Face is fitting in order to make amends for what we have done to Him.
Our Lord said to her, “I have taken upon my Head all the sins of mankind, so that my members may be spared. Therefore, offer my Face to the Father, this is the means of appeasing Him.”
“My daughter, I give you my Face and my Heart, I give you my Blood, and I open my wounds to you; draw from them and pour it out. Buy without money, my Blood that is the price of souls. Oh! What grief for my Heart to see the remedies which have cost me so dearly, scorned. Ask from my Father as many souls as the number of drops of Blood that I shed during my Passion.”
“All who will undertake this work and who will truly devote themselves to it will not die the eternal death. I will defend their cause before my Father and I will give them the kingdom of Heaven.”
“This work is the essence of charity!” — Our Lord to Sr. Marie St. Pierre
King Abgare recieving a miraculous image of the Holy Face
“To contemplate The Face of Christ, and to contemplate it with Mary, is the “program” which I have set before The Church at the dawn of the third millennium…To contemplate Christ involves being able to recognize Him wherever He manifests Himself, in His many forms of presence, but above all, in the living Sacrament of His Body and Blood.”
Pope St. John Paul II
“The Reparation is a Work destined to save society.” Pope Pius I
His Excellency Mons. Bruno Forte opens the Holy Door and enters the Holy Face Sanctuary. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
“All the Earth” shared in the joy of the Omnis Terra Eucharistic Celebration on Sunday, January 19th, at The Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello, Italy. The event was live-streamed around the world from the Sanctuary. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by His Excellency Mons. Bruno Forte, Metropolitan Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto. Concelebrants were Fr. Simone Calvarese, Provincial Minister of the Capuchin Friars Minor of Central Italy, and Fr. Antonio Gentili, Rector of the Sanctuary of the Holy Face. The Mass was followed by a procession and blessing with the relic of the Holy Face Veil.
Many thanks to Alexandra Prandell, who has generously sent these beautiful photos for all devotees of the Holy Face to enjoy!
Fr. Antonio Gentili before the Holy Face Veil. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Archbishop Forte carries the Holy Face Relic in procession (Photo: Alexandra Prandell
Archbishop Forte Face to Face with Il Volto Santo (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
The Holy Face begins to disappear in the light as Archbishop Forte brings the relic out of the Basilica into the light of day. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
The Countenance of the Holy Face momentarily darkens. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Archbishop Forte in prayer before His Face. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Padre Antonio Gentili, Rector of the Sanctuary Basilica, before the relic of the Holy Veil (Photo: Alexandra Prandell) One never tires of gazing upon His Holy Face!
“Those who gaze on it are never satisfied with contemplating it, and wish to always have it before their eyes. And when they eventually leave it, with heavy sighs full of love, they are forced to leave Him their hearts, bathed in tears.” –Capuchin Donato da Bomba 1646, (Speaking of the Holy Veil of Manoppello)
“Previously, God, Who has not a body or a face, absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now, that He has made Himself visible in the flesh, and has lived with people, I can make an image of what we have seen of God…and contemplate the glory of the Lord, His Face unveiled.”–St. John Damascene
Detail from The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588)
Omnis Terra, Latin for “All the Earth, ” is the name given to the Second Sunday in Ordinary time, when the Gospel of the Wedding at Cana is read. In the midst of the wedding feast, Mary whispers to her son Jesus, “They have no wine.” At Mary’s words, Jesus then performed his first miracle: “the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee, and so revealed His glory, and His disciples began to believe in Him.” (John 2: 1-11) The revelation of His glory is the cause for all the earth rejoicing, giving praise to His Name at the wedding feast of the Lamb!
Omnis Terra Celebration 2025
This Holy Jubilee Year of Hope pilgrims from all over the world will be very fortunate to have an opportunity to participate in a Eucharistic celebration, procession, and blessing at the Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello, Italy, on Omnis Terra Sunday, January 19th. The Eucharistic Celebration will be presided over by His Excellency, Mons. Bruno Forte, Metropolitan Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto. Concelebrants will be Fr. Simone Calvarese, Provincial Minister of the Capuchin Friars Minor of Central Italy, and Fr. Antonio Gentili, Rector of the Sanctuary. At the end of the celebration there will be a procession and blessing with the reliquary of the Holy Face.
“To rejoice in the splendor of His Face means penetrating the mystery of His Name made known to us in Jesus, understanding something of His Interior life and of His will, so that we can live according to His plan for humanity. Jesus lets us know the hidden Face of the Father through His human Face; by the gift of the Holy Spirit poured into our hearts.” ~Pope Benedict XVI
This Jubilee Year of Hope, 2024-2025, will mark ten years since the rite of “Omnis Terra,” which had originally begun in 1208, was once again renewed during the Jubilee Year of Mercy, 2015-2016. At that time, a facsimile of the Merciful Face of of Christ on the Holy Veil of Manoppello was carried in a historic procession once again through the streets of Rome. 2016 was the first year that the Holy Face was processed in Rome since the ancient procession of Pope Innocent III from St. Peter’s Basilica to the nearby hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia in 1208. The Omnis Terra celebration was later continued at the Basilica Shrine of Il Volto Santo in Manoppello. This significant event, celebrating the revelation of His glory is certainly a reason for all the earth to rejoice, as though at a wedding feast!
The first “Omnis Terra” Procession of Pope Innocent III in 1208 carrying “the Veronica” Face of Christ (from “Liber Regulae Sancti Spiritus in Saxia” manuscript 1350)
detail of Face of Jesus on the Holy Veil from the precious manuscript “Liber Regulae Sancti Spiritus in Saxia”
Let all the earth worship and praise You, O God; may it sing in praise of Your Name, O Most High. Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth; sing a psalm in honor of His Name, praise Him with magnificence!
–Omnis Terra Introit
Salve! Sancta Facies! Hail, Holy Face!
Salve, Sancta Facies! Hail, Holy Face (c. 1450-1455), Willem Vrelant (1481) and associates, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD.
The exquisite illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages reflect the great love and devotion shown to the Holy Face, as well as provide evidence of what the Holy Face of Jesus looked like, as it was seen on a miraculous veil, known as “the Veronica.” “The Veronica,” or Veil of the Holy Face of Jesus, was the greatest relic in Rome at that time. To gaze upon the veil was the great desire of pilgrims, who came from far and wide, to see for themselves the sheer veil bearing the Face of Jesus. Beginning with public exhibitions and processions of the Holy Veil by Pope Innocent III in the mid thirteenth century, the miraculous veil could be viewed by all. Then, the artists got to work on paintings, illustrations, poetry, prayers, and hymns in honor of the Holy Face. ( “The Veronica Route” website wonderfully catalogues many of these “Veronica” artworks that may be found throughout the world.)
Portrait of a Young Man, 1450-60, Petrus Christus, London National Gallery. Seen above the prayerful young man, on the wall, the Holy Face and the Salve! Sancta Facies Hymn
Pope John XXII, who was elected Pope in 1316, composed a beautiful hymn in honor of the Holy Face, and he also granted a special indulgence to those who recited it — and for those who could could not read, the Pope granted the same indulgence to the faithful for reciting five Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Be’s. (For an understanding of indulgences, this EWTN article,Primer on Indulgences by James Akin is very helpful.)
Hymn in Honor of the Holy Face by Pope John XXII (translated from the original Latin)
Hail! Holy Face of our Redeemer, hail! Which shines in all its majesty divine Upon the spotless veil, a priceless gift To Saint Veronica; of love the sign.
Hail! Glory of all time, mirror-glass of the Saints, Wherein the blessed love for eye to gaze; Destroy within us every stain of sin, And with the elect our souls towards Thee raise.
Hail, Face of God! With His own gifts adorned, Whose splendor through the ages shall not cease; Oh! make Thy light descend into our hearts, And from their earthly toils our souls release.
Hail! Mighty bulwark of the Christian faith, Of heresy and lies the Victor Thou; King in the Sacred Bread, renew the strength Of all the faithful who before Thee bow.
Hail! all our joy in this hard life below, So frail and fugitive, so quickly over; Sweet Picture, lead us onwards to the skies, That we may there the Face of Christ adore.
Hail! noblest of all gems, celestial pearl, In Thee innumerable graces shine; No hand depicted Thee, no chisel carved, Thou wert of God alone the work divine.
The tints with which Thy features He has traced Will never alter and will never fade; Changeless amidst the ravages of time, The everlasting King Thy Face may see.
Forever incorrupt and free from stain, The living Christ we honour still in Thee; Thou turnest into joy our sighs and tears, Oh! grant that we, in heaven, thy Face may see.
Be thou, we pray, our buckler and defense, Our consolation and refreshment sweet, That nothing hostile may our spirits harm, Till, after death, we rest at Jesus’ feet. Amen.
Prayer
Shed, O Lord, joy over the faces of Thy faithful, and turn them away from the depths of hell, that, protected by the contemplation of Thy divine Face, we may have strength to tread underfoot the desires of the flesh, and that we may behold Thee face to face, without fear, Lord Jesus Christ, when Thou will come to judge us. Amen.
The “tints” of the image, written in light, have never altered or faded through the centuries. Holy Face Veil of Manoppello,( photo: Patricia Enk)
“The tints with which Thy features He has traced, Will never alter and will never fade; Changeless amidst the ravages of time, The everlasting King Thy Face may see.”
Below is a new video of a talk by Fr. Chris Alar, of the Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge, Massachusetts that is well worth a watch!
In 1883, inspired by the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote perhaps his most beautiful poem, The Blessed Virgin Compared to the Air We Breathe. In this poem, honoring the Mother of God, Hopkins wonderfully demonstrates that Mary, is as necessary for the life of mankind as the atmosphere that surrounds us. Not only because she gave birth to Our Savior, Jesus Christ, but because the life she continues to bring forth in us is the life of Divine Grace. God Himself, chose her as the means to reveal His glory, as through her, Jesus may be born again in us “morning, noon, and eve.”
“Of her flesh he took flesh:
He does take fresh and fresh,
Though much the mystery how,
Not flesh but spirit now
And makes, O marvellous!
New Nazareths in us,
Where she shall yet conceive
Him, morning, noon, and eve;
New Bethlems, and he born
There, evening, noon, and morn
Bethlem or Nazareth,
Men here may draw like breath
More Christ and baffle death;
Who, born so, comes to be
New self and nobler me
In each one and each one
More makes, when all is done,
Both God’s and Mary Son.”
–The Blessed Virgin Compared to the Air We Breathe
The Feast of Mary, Mother of God
And so, in God’s beautiful design, the Christmas liturgy continues at the beginning of the New Year by drawing us to the Face of Christ with three holy feast days. All three are tied together by a common, yet golden thread–A mother, full of grace, sharing her precious Son with us, so we may see His Face in the eternal life to come.
We begin on January 1, with the Feast of Mary, Mother of God, who teaches us how to contemplate the Face of her Son by seeing the reflection of His beauty and goodness in her face.
On the Solemnity of the Mother of God, Pope Francis said, “Begin the year recalling God’s goodness in the maternal face of Mary.” We see Jesus more clearly through His Mother’s eyes, especially when we pray the Rosary.
“Through her we may see him
Made sweeter, not made dim,
And her hand leaves his light
Sifted to suit our sight.”
–The Blessed Virgin Compared to the Air We Breathe
The first reading for this feast day is the priestly blessing on God’s chosen people from the book of Numbers:
The LORD said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Num 6:22-27)
May Our Lord grant us His blessing in the New Year through intercession the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. As the Incarnation of the Son of God came into the world by the power of the Holy Spirit, at Mary’s “Fiat,” through her prayers, may we obtain the grace to contemplate His Holy Face, and receive God’s greatest gift of peace.
The next feast, on January 3 is…
The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus
In sacred scripture the Angel Gabriel revealed the Holy Name of the Savior of mankind to the Blessed Virgin Mary: “You shall call His name Jesus.”
When Jesus was named, Satan was disarmed!
Mary, Mother of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Pope Benedict XVI had written that the expression “name of God” means God as He Who is present among men. His name, is the concrete sign of His Existence. The Hebrew term, “panim”, which means “face” means to see The Face of God, or the presence of God. “Panim” is a term that describes relationships. The Hebrew word “shem” meaning “name” is also a term of relationship. “Panim” is also the Hebrew word for “Face of God” and the same word is used for “Bread of the Presence” or “Bread of the Face.” (Exodus 25:30) The “Bread of Presence” mentioned in Exodus was not the actual Face of God, but the earthly sign of His Face. The Eucharist, instituted by Christ, however, is the actual Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus. When we are gazing at the Eucharist, the sign of God’s love for us, in Adoration, we see His Holy Face veiled in the appearance of bread, and in doing so, we give honor to His Holy Name.
Who had a more tender relationship of love with Jesus than his mother Mary? Who spoke His name more lovingly? God has a Face and a Name — It is Jesus Christ, our Redeemer! The Blessed Mother invites us to rejoice in the splendor of His Face, and contemplate the mystery of His Holy Name by entering into a relationship with her Son Jesus, especially in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.
“To rejoice in the splendor of His Face means penetrating the mystery of His name made known to us in Jesus, understanding something of His interior life and of His will, so that we can live according to His plan for humanity. Jesus lets us know the hidden Face of The Father through His human Face; by the gift of The Holy Spirit poured into our hearts. This,is the foundation of our peace, which nothing can take from us.” –Pope Benedict XVI
Blessed the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within thee bless His Holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all He hath done for thee. (Ps. ci. i,2)
And the third great holy day drawing us to adore the Holy Face is…
Christ has appeared to us; come, let us adore Him! Adoration of the Magi, Giotto, 1302
The Feast of the Epiphany
“See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; But upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory.”
Isaiah 60
The Epiphany is closely linked to the Holy Face, as the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen and mother, presents her Son, the King of Kings, to the Magi–because the Epiphany is the feast on which Jesus Christ first shows Himself to the world represented by the Magi–and He shows Himself through a human face, the face of an infant. On the feast of the Epiphany, we ask God to shine His Face upon us, to reveal His Face to us once more as we come before Him in adoration, so that, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may also reflect the light of His Face to the world.
“All the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God.”
Isaiah 52
The Virgin Mary in Glory, Jan Provoost, 1524
“Be thou then, thou dear
Mother, my atmosphere;
To wend and meet no sin;
Above me, round me lie
Fronting my froward eye
With sweet and scarless sky;
Stir in my ears, speak there
Of God’s love, O live air,
Of patience, penance, prayer:
World-mothering air, air wild,
Wound with thee, in thee isled,
Fold home, fast fold thy child.”
–The Blessed Virgin Compared to the Air We Breathe
“Visible before to God alone and not to the world, God made the Word visible so that the world could be saved by seeing Him. This mind that entered our world was made known as the Son of God.”
~St. Hippolytus
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-5, 9-14)
Kreuz als Krippe (Cross as a Crib), Oil on canvas, Unknown artist, 18th century (Photos: Paul Badde)
“While we too seek other signs, other wonders, we do not realize that He is the real sign, God made flesh; He is the greatest miracle of the universe: all the love of God hidden in a human heart, in a human Face.” ~ Pope Benedict XVI
+++
O that birth forever blessèd,
When the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bore the Savior of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face,
evermore and evermore!
Merry Christmas! May His Face shine upon you and your loved ones, today and always!
During Advent the Church celebrates the longing to see God’s Face, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a Triduum (three days of prayer beginning on December 15) and a Feast (on December 18th)–It is called The Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Longing to See His Face. (a bit of the history may be found here.) The prayer may also be continued until Christmas.
The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On the days leading up to Christmas we are invited to contemplate, together with Mary, the Divine Child within her womb, who is Our Savior. We too, through sanctifying grace, bear the supernatural image of God within us. Like Mary, we desire to become a peaceful sanctuary for the living God. We are called to be attentive, in prayer, to the faint stirrings of His presence in our hearts, which will fill us with a deep longing to see His Face as we pray:
Prayer for the Triduum and Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Longing to See His Face
“Mary, your life with Jesus was one of the purest, most fervent, most perfect emotions of longing and most eager expectation of the Birth of the Divine Child! How great must have been that longing! You were longing to see the Face of God and to be happy in the vision. You were soon really to see the Face of God, the created image of divine perfection, the sight of which rejoices heaven and earth, from which all being derive life and joy; the Face whose features enraptured God from all eternity, the Face for which all ages expectantly yearned. You were to see this Face unveiled, in all the beauty and grace as the face of your own child.
Most just indeed it is, O Holy Mother of God, that we should unite in that ardent desire which you had to see Him, who had been concealed for nine months in your chaste womb; to know the features of this Son of the heavenly Father, who is also your own; to come to that blissful hour of His birth, which will give glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men of good will. Yes, dear Mother, the time is fast approaching, though not fast enough to satisfy your desires and ours. Make us re-double our attention to the great mystery; complete our preparation by your powerful prayers for us, so that when the solemn hour has come, our Jesus may find no obstacle to His entrance into our hearts. Amen.” (Prayer by Rev. Lawrence Lovasik, S.V.D.)
“Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee.” (Song of Solomon 4:7)
“From the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator,” “for the author of beauty created them.” (Wisdom 13: 3, 5)
The spiritual beauty of God is reflected most perfectly in the woman He created to be His Mother. No stain of sin would mar the beauty of His reflection in her soul. Never for one instant would she be under the power of the devil. “The Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.” (Dogma of the Immaculate Conception) Mary herself proclaims, “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:47)
As the Immaculate Conception, Mary bears in herself the most perfect reflection of the face of God. Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “The Blessed Virgin saw shining upon her, as no other creature, the face of the Father, rich in grace and mercy.” What in Heaven and on earth could be more beautiful than the Mother of God? It is God who has willed that Mary be beautiful, not only fair in face, but in the fullness of grace. Yet, beauty has a purpose, and that is to draw us by the beauty of the graces God has given her towards the Beatific Vision–the Face of God. Mary has no greater desire than that we turn towards the Face of her Son, as she does, with eyes of love.
Strangely, there are some who see the Blessed Mother not as a gift from God who leads us to her Son, but as an obstacle. They want to separate the Mother from the Son, even resorting to violence of smashing statues and slashing paintings of her, mistakenly thinking that somehow this could be pleasing to God, but it is only pleasing to the devil. It is blasphemy. When we separate ourselves from Mary, we separate ourselves from Christ. In The Everlasting Man G.K. Chesterton tells a story from his childhood, many years before he became a Catholic, which left a deep impression on his soul:
“When I was a boy a more Puritan generation objected to a statue upon my parish church representing the Virgin and Child. After much controversy, they compromised by taking away the Child. One would think that this was even more corrupted with Mariolatry, unless the mother was counted less dangerous when deprived of a sort of weapon. But the practical difficulty is also a parable. You cannot chip away the statue of a mother from all round that of a newborn child. You cannot suspend the new-born child in mid-air; indeed you cannot really have a statue of a newborn child at all. Similarly, you cannot suspend the idea of a newborn child in the void or think of him without thinking of his mother. You cannot visit the child without visiting the mother, you cannot in common human life approach the child except through the mother. If we are to think of Christ in this aspect at all, the other idea follows I as it is followed in history. We must either leave Christ out of Christmas, or Christmas out of Christ, or we must admit, if only as we admit it in an old picture, that those holy heads are too near together for the haloes not to mingle and cross.”
Jesus alone is “the Way” that leads to the Father, but Mary is the most beautiful image and likeness of Christ, which will lead us to Him. Dostoevsky once said that “Beauty will save the world!” Mary has a spiritual beauty to share with the world that attracts and expresses what is beyond words, in the depths of her heart, the love of a mother for her Savior and Son.
“Our Lady, in whose face – more than any other creature – we can recognize the features of the Incarnate Word.” –Pope Benedict XVI Madonna and Child from the Robert Lehman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art
A Little Litany by G.K.Chesterton
When God turned back eternity and was young, Ancient of Days, grown little for your mirth (As under the low arch the land is bright) Peered through you, gate of heaven – and saw the earth.
Or shutting out his shining skies awhile Built you about him for a house of gold To see in pictured walls his storied world Return upon him as a tale is told.
Or found his mirror there; the only glass That would not break with that unbearable light Till in a corner of the high dark house God looked on God, as ghosts meet in the night.
Star of his morning; that unfallen star In the strange starry overturn of space When earth and sky changed places for an hour And heaven looked upwards in a human face.
Or young on your strong knees and lifted up Wisdom cried out, whose voice is in the street, And more than twilight of twiformed cherubim Made of his throne indeed a mercy-seat.
Or risen from play at your pale raiment’s hem God, grown adventurous from all time’s repose, Of your tall body climbed the ivory tower And kissed upon your mouth the mystic rose.
Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe “I am your merciful Mother.”
“Look Closely – Our Lady of Guadalupe – Not Made by Human Hands” click here.
Basilica of Il Volto Santo in Manoppello, Italy. (Photo:Paul Badde/EWTN)
St. Anselm wrote about the desire of every human soul created in the image and likeness of God; the desire to see God’s Face. It is a beautiful reflection for Advent! From the “Prosologian” — the words of St. Anselm, Bishop:
“Insignificant man, escape from your everyday business for a short while, hide for a moment from your restless thoughts. Break off from your cares and troubles and be less concerned about your tasks and labors. Make a little time for God and rest a while in him.
Enter into your mind’s inner chamber. Shut out everything but God and whatever helps you to seek him; and when you have shut the door, look for him. Speak now to God and say with your whole heart: I seek your face; your face, Lord, I desire.
Lord, my God, teach my heart where and how to seek you, where and how to find you. Lord, if you are not here where shall I look for you in your absence? Yet if you are everywhere, why do I not see you when you are present? But surely you dwell in ‘light inaccessible.’ And where is ‘light inaccessible? How shall I approach light inaccessible? Or who will lead me and bring me into it that I may see you there? And then, by what forms shall I seek you? I have never seen you, Lord my God; I do not know your face.
Lord most high, what shall this exile do, so far from you? What shall your servant do, tormented by love of you and cast so far from your face? He yearns to see you, and your face is too far from him. He desires to approach you, and your dwelling is unapproachable. He longs to find you, and does not know your dwelling place. He strives to look for you, and does not know your face.
Lord, you are my God and you are my Lord, and I have never seen you. You have made me, and remade me, and you have given me all the good things I possess and still I do not know you. I was made in order to see you, and I have not yet done that for which I was made.
Lord, how long will it be? How long, Lord, will you forget us? How long will you turn your face away from us? When will you look upon us and hear us? When will you enlighten our eyes and show us your face? When will you give yourself back to us?
Look upon us, Lord, hear us and enlighten us, show us your very self. Restore yourself to us that it may go well with us whose life is so evil without you. Take pity on our efforts and our striving toward you, for we have no strength apart from you.
Teach me to seek you, and when I seek you show yourself to me, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, nor can I find you unless you show yourself to me. Let me seek you in desiring you and desire you in seeking you, find you in loving you and love you in finding you.”
“The Holy Face contains light” Prof. Dr. Gosbert Weth holding the nuclear medicine measuring device used for examining the Veil of Manoppello. (Photo: Marco Gandolfo/EWTN)
The Holy Face Veil of Manoppello has been proven to radiate light energy!
Hand viewed through the gossamer-thin Veil of the Holy Face (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
It seems that in Manoppello, Italy, an intriguing and sacred mystery to mankind has been slowly unfolding for centuries: the existence of a changeable, “living” image of the face of Jesus; visible on a sheer veil, from either side. The presence of the image appears to be a miracle of light; seen without any traces of drawing, paint or brush. It is a contradiction–“an inexplicable phenomenon” which begs to be investigated by science. I had written earlier this year, a post on the topic of testing relics, specifically in regards to known Holy Face relics: “The Church, the testing of Relics, and the Holy Face.” The difficulty of conducting research on ancient relics is daunting, but not impossible. But who could undertake such a delicate task, and how…?
Enter an eminent German doctor, Gosbert Weth, who has recently conducted non-invasive investigations on the relic of the Holy Face Veil of Manoppello, using a special nuclear medicine device which measures alpha, beta, and gamma rays. Beta rays are invisible, energetic, and are released during nuclear fission. It has been determined that the veil of Manoppello has such a high level of beta radiation that it fills the Basilica!
EWTN and Ave Maria Radio host Teresa Tomeo has also interviewed Paul Badde, who is in Rome. The “Catholic Connections” interview may be listened to by clicking here: Catholic Connections interview with Paul Badde. There is a slight audio delay, coming from overseas, so it is a little difficult to hear Paul’s words in spots, but fortunately… With permission, Paul Badde has graciously allowed me to print a translation of his original piece on the examination of the relic, which provides additional precious details of the historic investigation of Dr. Weth, and the astounding conclusions:
“Il Volto Santo,” the sudarium veil of the Holy Face of Jesus (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
Living Source for the Holy Year by Paul Badde
In the First Holy Year ever, which Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) introduced as a Christian jubilee for the year 1300, the most important destination for all pilgrims to Rome was not the Pope, nor even the tombs of the Apostles, but [to see] a gossamer-thin veil with the face of Christ. The veil was the greatest treasure of St. Peter’s Basilica, which at that time was called “Sanctum Sudarium” [meaning a burial face-cloth] in Latin, and was also known as the “Veronica.” The relic was considered to be the ‘Holy Sweat Cloth’ from the tomb of Christ, which is first mentioned in the account of the resurrection of the Evangelist John, together with the long linen cloth [Shroud] that is venerated today in Turin. In January 1208, Pope Innocent III was the first Pope to carry this Holy Veil in a crystal monstrance, publicly and barefoot, from St. Peter’s Basilica to the nearby Santo Spirito Hospital in Sassia in Rome, making it known throughout the Catholic world of the West.
Pope Innocent III carrying the reliquary with the Veil of the Holy Face in Procession.
Pope Benedict XVI praying before the ‘Veronica’s Veil’ during a visit to the Holy Face shrine in Manoppello, central Italy, September 1, 2006. (Osservatore Romano)
Since 1620, the same cloth has been venerated as the “Holy Face” (Volto Santo) in a Capuchin church on a hill outside Manoppello, on the slopes of Magellan massif in Abruzzo, where Pope Benedict XVI visited on September 1, 2006, becoming the first Pope [to visit] in over 400 years. It is a veil with many mysteries that has also puzzled Dr. Gosbert Weth from Schweinfurt in Germany ever since he heard about it and saw photos of the veil.
Rector Antonio Gentili OFM Capuchin, and Prof. Dr. Gosbert Weth in front of the relic Veil of the Holy Face. (Photo: Marco Gandolfo/EWTN)
Dr. Gosbert Weth is 78 years old, a former chief physician, doctor of medicine and natural sciences (chemistry), with a “picture-book” academic career. As senior physician and head of the hormone laboratory at the University of Würzburg, he worked on the largest centenarian study in the world with 575 participants, aged 100. He has developed groundbreaking developments for tumor therapies, has also received the German Inventor Award as the holder of several patents, and has been a speaker at the several world congresses for geriatrics and gerontology. Today he is involved in research into new uses of hydrogen, and is a doctor for hopeless cases in Bad Kissengen.
However, because he is convinced that the true “image” on the holy veil cannot have a paint or technical cause, Dr. Weth came to the Papal Basilica of the Holy Face in Manoppello on the eve of the next Holy Year 2025, on September 26th, with a special device from nuclear medicine for measuring alpha, beta, and gamma rays. Here, [in the Basilica] Rector Antonio Gentile of the Capuchin convent of the sanctuary, willingly opened the armored glass door of the display case in which the holy Sudarium has been sealed in its reliquary between two crystal panes in a frame made of walnut and fish glue since 1714. It was on the memorial feast of the holy doctors [of the Church] Cosmos and Damian, when the doctor from Bad Kissengen [Dr. Gosbert Weth] was given two hours here during the lunch break of the monks, and another hour on the following Saturday for his examinations.
Dr. Gosbert Weth examining the Veil of the Holy Face (Photo: Marco Gandolfo/EWTN)
“As a doctor, I can see,” he began his findings, “that this person must have suffered severe torture. Hematomas [bruises] are clearly visible on both the nose and in the area of the right cheek. Intense blows are necessary in order to cause these hematomas, which are always considered to be more serious injuries in medical examinations. There are no traces of paint or blood detected on the image. Therefore, the ‘image’ must have come into existence only after death. There is a pronounced hematoma on the nose (on the left side), which must be older than two to three days. No other bodily fluids such as blood or sweat are visible. This cloth can therefore only have been placed on a person who has already died. There is a double hematoma that can also be seen in the area of the right cheek. Normally, as is still the case in medicine today, the eyes of every dead person are closed. But the man in this portrait, however, has his eyes wide open. This ‘picture’ is an inexplicable phenomenon.”
Miraculous Veil of the”Holy Face of Manoppello” in Italy Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
At the end of his investigation, however, Dr. Weth recorded the following: “All in all, there is only one explanation for the formation of the image of the sacred face. The atomic change from nitrogen (N14) to carbon (C14) must have occurred under the influence of enormous neutron radiation (light energy). The light energy present in the veil is the atomic evidence of the conversion of nitrogen (N14) to carbon (C14). Since the carbon is dark in color, the image is deposited as dark matter in the cloth. This also explains the alternating color shades. The ‘image’ is therefore not due to any application of paint, but to the nuclear-modified fibers of the carrier material.“
In this context, we must remember that most rays, in contrast to light rays, are invisible, but in many cases are extremely powerful–such as electromagnetic X-rays, or the almost invisible infrared light. All of these rays are full of energy.
Holy Face of Manoppello (photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
Dr. Weth continued: “The radio carbon method provides evidence that carbon-C14 was formed. Carbon-C14 decays into nitrogen-N14 with a half-life of 5730 years, releasing beta radiation, which is produced by the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. The formation of carbon-C14 leads back to nitrogen-N14. Since carbon is dark, this image is also darkly colored and optically visible due to the conversion of nitrogen to carbon. So once again: the image on the Manoppello [sudarium] cloth was not created by coloring, but by an atomic change to the nitrogen molecules present in the organic substance.”
“We therefore tried to measure the beta radiation released by the Manoppello cloth,” he said. “That was not so easy because the shroud is enclosed between two glass plates. Nevertheless, we were able to measure this radiation, which took place around 2000 years ago, and of which around 50 percent has already been consumed.”
We know that the decay of carbon C14 under beta radiation decays by half within 5730 years. It should therefore still be possible to measure this radiation– which was actually the case:
This basic radiation on the image veil was significantly higher than outside in the open air of nature. We therefore tried to measure this basic radiation as precisely and closely as possible. If we held the measuring device on the side of the reliquary, i.e. on the left and right at the places where there was no glass shielding, there was an increase of around 40 percent in beta radiation as a result of the conversion of carbon-C14 to nitrogen-N14. Overall, this beta radiation, which is also present everywhere outside in nature, was considerably higher in the protected basilica than [it is] outside. This is actually a contradiction. The reason for this higher density of beta rays can only lie in the existence of the Volto Santo [Holy Face Veil] inside the basilica.
“This can also explain the radiation of the Manoppello cloth at night,” Weth said with conviction. “It is visible in the dark because the conversion of C14 to nitrogen-N14 releases energy that is not one released from light quanta, but also from electrons, as they are raised to higher orbitals [wave function] in a conventional lamp. When the electrons fall back to their orbitals, light is released, which explains the radiance of the Manoppello sudarium cloth at night.”
Holy Face Veil of Manoppello (Photo: Paul Badde)
In one sentence: The Holy Face contains light within itself. The “True Icon” (Vera Eikon), as the veil has also been called for centuries, radiates from within itself. This image veil is therefore not only identical to the Holy Sudarium from Jerusalem and the “Veronica” from Rome. It is “the human face of God” that Pope Benedict XVI has repeatedly spoken of– and also a source of energy that inexplicably even fills the church’s interior, where rays should not normally be measured at all.
Basically, the experience that the Volto Santo is a source of power is nothing new. It is familiar to almost every pilgrim who has ever visited the shrine. However, since Dr. Gosbert Weth’s investigation before the next Jubilee Year, the statement is no longer a mere assertion, but a physical fact that can be measured. –Paul Badde
Paul Badde and Dr. Gosbert Weth (Photo: Marco Gandolfo/EWTN)
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It makes one ponder…if a cloth that had been placed on Christ’s Holy Face in the tomb measurably radiates such powerful light energy that is not seen with our eyes, what tremendous power there must be when we come before His Eucharistic Face– where Jesus is fully present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity?
-Pope Benedict XVI (photo:Paul Badde/EWTN)
“O most awe-inspiring King, we bow before You and pray; May Your Reign, Your Kingdom, be recognized on earth!”
Christ the king, seated on His throne. Illustration Godescalc Illuminated manuscript, commissioned by King Charlemagne in 781, may be the most important “missing link” in depictions of the Face of Christ from the Holy Sudarium. (Photo:Paul Badde)
The Solemnity of the Feast of Christ the King of the Universe comes at the end of the liturgical year, November 24th, 2024. The feast focuses on Jesus Christ coming in glory at the end of time. An important question for every Christian to ponder is: When Christ the King comes again will we recognize Him, and will he recognize us?
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the kind will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the kind will say to them in replay, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. ‘And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Mt. 25:31-46)
Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus can be a helpful means to lead us to an encounter with Jesus in our life-long journey–enabling us to recognize Him–and He, to recognize us. This devotion is comprised of three elements–as characterized by Pope Benedict XVI: Discipleship, Images of the wounded Face of Christ , and the Eucharist.
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Pope Francis embracing a young man with special needs.)
Pope Benedict XVI writes, “The first element [of devotion to the Holy Face] is discipleship and the orientation of one’s life toward an encounter with Jesus in the face of those in need. In order to do this, believers first need to become better acquainted with Jesus through the Eucharist.
The second element is relating to the Passion of Jesus, and the suffering expressed by the images of the wounded Face of Jesus, relating this to the Eucharistic experience.
The third element, the Eucharist is woven between the other two. The eschatological element then builds on awakening to Christ by contemplating his face in the Eucharist.“
The Eucharistic Face of Jesus is central to the devotion of the Face of Christ! Clearly, the grace and strength flowing from worthy reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is vital to encountering Jesus in the faces of our brothers and sisters in need, as well as for the prayerful contemplation of Christ’s Face in images of His Passion. In Novo Millenio Ineunte, Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “And it is the Church’s task to reflect the light of Christ in every historical period, to make His face shine also before the generations of the new millennium. Our witness, however would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves have not first contemplated his face.”
Contemplation of the Face of Jesus is the veil of devotion, with which we may ‘wipe His bruised and wounded Face, ‘woven’ together with “discipleship, and the Eucharist,” which can lead Christians to “the love of God and love of neighbor” that will enable us to see Christ’s Face when He comes again in glory on the final day.
“The invisible Face of Christ,the son of God, is manifest in His Body an Blood in the simplest and, at the same time, the most exalted way possible in this world.
The ecclesial community responds to people in every age who ask perplexed: “We wish to see Jesus” (Jn 12,21), by repeating what the Lord did for the disciples of Emmaus: He broke the bread. In the breaking of the bread, the eyes of those who seek Him with a sincere heart are opened. In the Eucharist, the intuition of the heart recognizes Jesus and His unmistakable love lived “to the end” (Jn 13,1). And in Him, in that gesture, it recognizes the Face of God!“— Pope St. John Paul II
Pope Benedict XVI in prayerful contemplation before the veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello during a visit to the Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello, central Italy, September 1, 2006. (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
***Important and exciting update on the Holy Veil of Manoppello:CNA Deutsch has reported a new discovery, in an article by Paul Badde, pertaining to “Il Volto Santo,” and the inexplicable presence of the Face of Jesus on the sheer veil, which has no traces of paint. An eminent German doctor, Gosbert Weth, has made non-invasive investigations on the relic, using a special nuclear medicine measuring device. The device measures alpha, beta, and gamma rays. Beta rays, which are invisible and energetic, are released during nuclear fission. It has been determined that the veil of Manoppello has such a high level of beta radiation that it fills the Basilica with it! It has also been observed that the veil gives off light in darkness. The upshot of this wonderful discovery is:The Veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello is a source of energy whose strength can be measured objectively.
I will post further details of Dr. Weth’s investigations very soon, but this is amazing news that should be shouted from the rooftops! Thanks be to God!
“O most awe-inspiring King, we bow before You and pray; May Your Reign, Your Kingdom, be recognized on earth.” (Host viewed through the miraculous Manoppello Veil the Holy Face, Photo: Paul Badde/ EWTN)
“Almighty ever-living God, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of the universe, grant, we pray, that the whole creation, set free from slavery, may render your majesty service and ceaselessly proclaim your praise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.”
— Prayer for Feast of Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
Novena to Christ the King
Almighty and merciful God, you break the power of evil and make all things new in your Son Jesus Christ, the King of the universe. May all in heaven and earth acclaim your glory and never cease to praise you.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Recite One Our Father, One Hail Mary, and One Glory Be per day followed by the Novena Prayer:
O Lord our God, You alone are the Most Holy King and Ruler of all nations. We pray to You, Lord, in the great expectation of receiving from You, O Divine King, mercy, peace, justice and all good things. Protect, O Lord our King, our families and the land of our birth. Guard us we pray Most Faithful One. Protect us from our enemies and from Your Just Judgment Forgive us, O Sovereign King, our sins against you. Jesus, You are a King of Mercy. We have deserved Your Just Judgment Have mercy on us, Lord, and forgive us. We trust in Your Great Mercy. O most awe-inspiring King, we bow before You and pray; May Your Reign, Your Kingdom, be recognized on earth.
Illumina Domine Blog - Devotion to The Holy Face 