Antonio Bini, who communicates all the good news coming from the Shrine in Manoppello, Italy, has shared a new video put together by a filmmaker–it is a compilation of reports by news media from 1999–that was made to commemorate the historic work and discoveries of the late Father Heinrich Pfeiffer (1939-2021), a historian of Christian art at the Gregorian University in Rome, and who had studied the Holy Face for years. Antonio met Fr. Pfeiffer in 1998, and convinced him to make the results of his studies public at an international press conference that Antonio Bini had organized in Rome on May 31, 1999. “The conference reverberated throughout the world,” said Antonio.

The video, “Heinrich Pfeiffer — Scholar Who Recognized the Veronica (True Image) in the Holy Face of Manoppello,” has been made available thanks to Raymond Frost of of the Holy Face of Manoppello Blogspot, which may now be viewed here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDzE-ODG9mo&t=1s. Raymond has also posted on his blog a link to a free ebook which is the english translation of Antonio Bini’s book  on the teachings of Fr. Pfeiffer on the Holy Face “The Scholar Who Recognized the Veronica in the Holy Face of Manoppello.”

(The video is in Italian, however, a closed-captioned translation is possible by clicking “cc” first; then “settings,” and next choose the option “auto translate” and the language of your choice.)

I can confirm the truth of Antonio’s statement about the news of the Veronica being heard throughout the world. As a life-long devotee of the True Face of Jesus known as the”Veronica,” I was most interested when I first read a U.S. news article about Fr. Pfeiffer’s startling claim of finding “the historic Veronica.” A very strong yearning grew in my heart each day and did not go away; the desire to see the Holy Veil of Manoppello, Italy with my own eyes. However, many more years passed before an opportunity would present itself to travel to Rome, and from there, to somehow find the way through the Abruzzo Mountains to Manoppello–which might as well have been the other side of the moon to me at that time.

Thanks to Paul Badde’s wonderful book, The Face of God: The Rediscovery of the True Face of Jesus, I learned that the Shrine of Il Volto Santo was much more accessible that I had first thought; providentially due to a new highway being completed close to the Shrine. The pilgrimage turned out to be a life-changing spiritual experience to say the least, as it has been for so many other pilgrims from all over the world.

Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer’s important role in bringing the Holy Face of Manoppello, from obscurity to the world, was not an easy one, as his friend, Antonio Bini, reminded me. Therefore, this video was made for the growing community of faithful devotees of the Holy Face, and in gratitude and appreciation of the man who helped pave the way for pilgrims to the Basilica Shrine of Il Volto Santo in this millennium dedicated by Pope St. John Paul II to the Holy Face of Jesus Christ!

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More beautiful photos below, sent by Alexandra Prandell, from the Feast of the Transfiguration celebration in Manoppello, Italy–not “on the other side of the moon,” but only two and a half hours from Rome, in the Abruzzo Mountains: