Each May the Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello, Italy, commemorates the mysterious arrival of their most treasured relic — a shimmering, transparent veil which, in a miraculous manner, bears the Holy Face of Jesus. May 15, 16, 17, and 18, 2026 were marked by solemn liturgies, Eucharistic adoration, and processions with the Holy Veil. The centuries-old story behind the joyous celebrations is an incredible one!
Following the Sack of Rome in 1527, it had been widely reported that the most treasured relic of the Vatican — the “Veronica Veil” — had been stolen. A letter, written to the Duchess of Urbino by her representative Urban, dated May 21, 1527 read: “Holy relics have been thrown out onto the streets. The Veronica has been stolen and passed around in taverns from person to person without a word of protest.” The crystal reliquary that had displayed the sheer veil known as the “Veronica” or true image, was broken and empty. The relic veil was no longer seen in public. When the dust had settled somewhat by 1616, Pope Paul V had prohibited copies to be made of the “Veronica” to be made without permission. Later, Pope Urban VIII ordered that any copies of the Veronica were to be handed in to a local priest or Bishop under pain of excommunication. It appeared to many that a desperate effort was being made to recover that which had been lost.
More than a century later, In 1638, in the Abruzzo mountains, towards the Adriatic coast, “a devout and well-respected man” named Don Antonio Fabritiis donated a precious veil bearing the Face of Christ to the Capuchin monastery in the small, isolated mountain village of Manoppello, Italy. The story, of how the veil arrived and eventually had come into his possession, was carefully recorded and certified in a document entitled Relazione Historica.
The Relazione Historica told of the arrival of the Veil in Mannoppello, Italy, “in May,” around 1506, in the hands of a mysterious stranger who was thought to have been a holy angel, having had suddenly appeared and just as suddenly disappeared, after fulfilling a mission to put a miraculous relic into safe hands. Aside from the “angel,” all the main characters in the story have since been historically verified.
The re-telling the local legend of the Veil was written by Capuchin Donato da Bomba and notarized in 1646 and then, certified by sixteen local witnesses. The unusual number of witnesses — reflected the local peoples deep devotion and protectiveness of relic –also giving legal weight and credence to the miraculous account of the appearance of Holy Veil in Manoppello. However, the Relatzione’s recorded date of 1506 as being the actual date of arrival has been disputed by some. More than a century after the “Veronica Veil” in the Vatican had disappeared, the document seemed to conveniently date the arrival before 1527, thus avoiding the possible sanctions of Pope Paul V and Pope Urban VIII against possessing or copying the “True Image of the Face of Christ.”
The recorded story told was this: “There lived in Manoppello the very famous Giacomo Antonio Leonelli, doctor in medicine…one day when he was out in the public square just outside of the door of the Mother church of the town of Manoppello, St. Nicholas Bari, in honest conversation with other peers, and while they were speaking a pilgrim arrived unknown by anyone, with a very venerable religious appearance, who having greeted this beautiful circle of citizens, he said, with many terms of manners, and of humility to Dr. Giacomo Antonio Leonelli that he had to speak with him about a secret thing which would be very pleasing, useful and profitable for him. And thus, taking him aside just inside the doorway of the church of St. Nicholas Bari, gave him a parcel, and without unfolding it told him that he ought to hold this devotion very dear, because God would do him many favors, so that in things both temporal and spiritual he would always prosper.” So the doctor took the parcel and turning towards the holy water fount carefully opened it, and “seeing the Most Sacred Face of Our Lord Christ…he burst into most tender tears…and thanking God for such a gift…turned to the unknown pilgrim to thank him…but he did not see him anymore.” When the good doctor, “shaken” and “filled with wonder,” went outside to his friends and asked where the man went, his friends replied that they never saw him exit the church. They searched high and low but never found the mysterious pilgrim, “hence all judged that the man in the form of a pilgrim to be a heavenly Angel, or else a Saint from Paradise.”
The Holy Veil remained the property of the Leonelli family for nearly a century, until a family member in need of money sold the Veil to Don Antonio Fabritiis, who in turn gave it to the Capuchins in 1638. The Holy Veil, called the “Il Volto Santo,” was kept in a dimly lit side chapel until the church was renovated in 1960, when it was decided that the Veil should be moved to a more prominent place behind the altar.
What did the Face on the gossamer-thin Veil look like? Here are portions of a description that Capuchin Donato da Bomba gave of the Holy Face: “He has a rather long, well-proportioned face, with a venerable and majestic look. His hair, or locks are long with thin twisted curls–in particular at the top of the forehead about fifty hairs wind into a little corkscrew, distinct from each other and well arranged. His left cheek is swollen and bigger than the other because of a strong blow across the cheek. The lips are very swollen. His teeth show. It seems the Holy Face is made of living flesh, but flesh that is afflicted, emaciated, sad, sorrowful, pale and covered in bruises around the eyes and on the forehead. The eyes of Christ are similar to those of a dove…He is serene and tranquil.”
“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
On September 1, 2006, another pilgrim (some also may say an “angelic pilgrim”) came to Manoppello to see for himself the Holy Face of Jesus on the Veil–Pope Benedict XVI, who has elevated the status of the Shrine to a Sanctuary Basilica. “Your Face O Lord I seek–seeking the Face of Jesus must be the longing of all Christians, indeed, we are ‘the generation’ which seeks His Face in our day, the Face of the ‘God of Jacob.’ If we persevere in our quest for the Face of the Lord, at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, He, Jesus, will be our eternal joy, our reward and glory forever.”–Pope Benedict XVI, September 1, 2006
Mille Grazie! to Alexandra Prandell, of Manoppello, who has graciously shared her photos of the May festival in honor of the historic arrival of the Holy Face in Manoppello — enjoy!
Act of Consecration to the Holy Face
O Lord Jesus, we believe most firmly in You, we love You. You are the Eternal Son of God and the Son Incarnate of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You are the Lord and Absolute Ruler of all creation. We acknowledge You, therefore, as the Universal Sovereign of all creatures. You are the Lord and Supreme Ruler of all mankind, and we, in acknowledging this Your dominion, consecrate ourselves to You now and forever. Loving Jesus, we place our family under the protection of Your Holy Face, and of Your Virgin Mother Mary most sorrowful. We promise to be faithful to You for the rest of our lives and to observe with fidelity Your Holy Commandments. We will never deny before men, You and Your Divine rights over us and all mankind. Grant us the grace to never sin again; nevertheless, should we fail, O Divine Saviour, have mercy on us and restore us to Your grace. Radiate Your Divine Countenance upon us and bless us now and forever. Embrace us at the hour of our death in Your Kingdom for all eternity, through the intercession of Your Blessed Mother, of all Your Saints who behold You in Heaven, and the just who glorify You on earth. O Jesus, be mindful of us forever and never forsake us; protect our family. O Mother of Sorrows, by the eternal glory which you enjoy in Heaven, through the merits of your bitter anguish in the Sacred Passion of your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, obtain for us the grace that the Precious Blood shed by Jesus for the redemption of our souls, be not shed for us in vain. We love you, O Mary. Embrace us and bless us, O Mother. Protect us in life and in death. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Illumina Domine Blog - Devotion to The Holy Face 