Msgr. Walter Amaducci presents a copy of his book on the Holy Face of Manoppello to Pope Leo XIV
English edition of Msgr. Amaducci’s book “The Holy Face.”
First, some good news: This October, Msgr. Walter Amaducci, Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Care in the Diocese of Cesena in Emilia-Romagne, was received in a private audience by Pope Leo XIV. During their cordial meeting, Msgr. Amaducci presented the Pope with a copy of his book on the Holy Face of Manoppello. Msgr. Amaducci, who was once a skeptic of the relic veil known as “Il Volto Santo,” has now become its ardent defender, recognizing in the remarkable history, its importance for this millennium–dedicated to the Face of Christ by Pope St. John Paul II.
During his meeting with Pope Leo XIV, the gracious Msgr. Amaducci also advised the Holy Father to seek further information about the relic from Cardinal Louis Antonio Tagle, who has been personally involved in spreading the good news of the Holy Veil of Manoppello for many years.
Padre Carmine Cucinelli, the former Rector of Basilica Sanctuary of the Holy Face and Cardinal Tagle (2017)
On his first visit to see the Holy Face of Manoppello, on May 20, 2017, Cardinal Tagle, shared his experience: (Translation from the original Italian interview, which may be seen here.) — “I saw the Holy Face under the changing of the light, not only a Face of tenderness, but of welcoming. I saw a Face smiling at me, almost saying, “Welcome Luis Antonio!” It is a Face that speaks, it is alive, yes, it is the message, the Word is the Face. It is also a Face turned towards me, but I did not feel fear; fear in front of a judge, or of a face which condemns. A Face of Truth, and the Truth is love; love wins out over fear. I thought this afternoon perhaps this is the Last Judgement–it is not a judgement full of fear and dread, but in front of pure love–I do not want to hide myself. There is no reason to hide myself, but, there is only the reason to open my heart in front of a Face open to love, open to welcoming, open to pardoning my mistakes. It is an experience of liberation, and religious experience for me.”
Cardinal Tagle elevating the Body of Christ at the Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello, Italy (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
At the closing of Cardinal Tagle’s homily the next day, May 21, 2017, he said: “We see the Face of Jesus because He reveals His Face to us, the Face of the loving God. His is the Face of God turned towards us and not centered on Himself. His is the Face of the One who fulfilled the commandment of love. As we see and hear His Face may our faces be transformed into His Holy Face. Through the testimony of our faces, may the suffering people of the world know that Jesus sees them, listens to them, cares for them and loves them.”
A Blessed Encounter with the Holy Face of Jesus
(Photo: Patricia Enk)
Cardinal Tagle has also said, “What we have seen and heard we must share with others.”
Mountain “The Catholic Traveler” Butorac stands next to the Relic Veil of the Holy Face in the Basilica Shrine of Il Volto Santo in Manoppello, Italy. (Photo: Patricia Enk)
And so, I would like to share with tremendous gratitude in my heart, that I have just returned from a Jubilee Year of Hope pilgrimage, which brought me back to Rome, Assisi, Loreto and especially to Manoppello after far too many years–thanks to Mountain Butorac, a.k.a. “The Catholic Traveler.”
Earlier this year Mountain had led my husband and I on an exceptional pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and so now we have a great deal of confidence in the gifts and talents that God has given him to make even the most daunting pilgrimage journey happen–with as few bumps along the way as possible–and many joyful and holy surprises as well.
And speaking of joy and holy surprises… we saw the Pope!
Pope Leo XIV recognizing some very happy & shouting pilgrims from the “Windy City.” (Photo: Patricia Enk)
My last visit to the Basilica Shrine of “Il Volto Santo” was in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, in 2016–which we had traveled to on our own over nine years ago: (Pilgrimage — A Journey Toward the Face of God, Part 1 – Manoppello.) Much had happened in the following nine years which prevented our return; some good and some bad; including the loss of my eyesight for over a year, and after several surgeries–a gradual recovery–thanks be to God!
Sr. Petra-Maria, Cynthia Krystyna Simla reverencing the Holy Face relic. (Photo: Patricia Enk, 2016)
For this pilgrimage journey, our small group of fellow pilgrims were a continual source of unexpected blessing, help, and inspirations at each step along the way. Mountain shouldered the stress whenever “the best laid plans of mice and men” went a little astray, but with the end result always turning out even better than originally planned: such as the day that the Sistine Chapel was going to be closed to the public when we had been scheduled to visit. The reason was the historic meeting of King Charles with Pope Leo XIV. The King the the Pope would be praying together for the first time in 500 hundred years, under the backdrop of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgement.” Only a few hours before that grand event, after strolling peacefully alone through the Vatican Museum, we were surprised when our group had been allowed to enter the Sistine Chapel with no one else present–except some very diligent cleaning ladies preparing for the Pope and King, and a handful of very Vatican official-looking men in suits. (No photos in the Sistine Chapel, of course.)
Biographer of Carlo Acutis, and custodian of his relics, Mons. Anthony Figueiredo, gave the group a wonderful talk on St. Francis connecting to the spirituality of St. Carlo Acutis.
Miracles do happen! And there were many more to come… a surprise blessing with the relics of St. Carlo Acutis in Assisi, Mass in the dark silence of the Holy House of Loreto, the sight of the oldest Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano…and for myself; the tremendous grace to see, through grateful tears once again, the great gift the human Face of my Risen Lord on the Holy Veil of Manoppello, and with renewed Hope in the power of the Resurrection of Christ.
Pope St. John Paul has said: “Contemplation of Christ’s Face cannot stop at the image of the Crucified One. He is the Risen One!” The Holy Face of Manoppello is the Face of the Risen Christ; it is believed to be the “Cloth that Covered His Head” in the tomb.
“Those who gaze on it [the relic Veil of the Holy Face] 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. (Paul Badde’s beautiful photo of Il Volto Santo of Manoppello)
Continuing his catechesis on the Jubilee theme of Jesus Christ, Our Hope, Pope Leo XIV asks us “to consider how the Resurrection of Jesus fulfills the desires of every human heart. Our lives are marked by conflicting situations that reveal limitations and our desire to overcome them. We seek worldly recognition and whether we receive it or not, we still feel empty. This reveals that we are not truly satisfied with achievements and passing certainties of the world. This is because we are created in the image and likeness of God, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we recognize an inexhaustible longing in our hearts for something more. It is only the Resurrected Jesus who can give the only true and lasting peace that sustains and fills us. In a world struggling with fatigue and despair, let us be signs of hope, peace, and joy in the Risen Lord!” (Pope Leo XIV, October 15, 2025 Audience)
(Photo: Jerry Christopher) Entering the Holy Door Deo Gratias!
Cardinal Tagle elevates the Eucharist at a Solemn Mass in honor of the Feast of the Holy Face of Manoppello, Italy (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
Cardinal Tagle delivers homily at the Basilica Sanctuary of the Holy Face (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
Homily, Solemn Eucharistic Celebration
Basilica of the Holy Face, Manoppello 21 May 2017 Sixth Sunday of Easter [Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; I Peter 3:15-18, John 14:15-21] + Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We thank our God, who, always filled with love and benevolence towards us, has gathered us as one family of faith for the solemn celebration of the Holy Face of Manoppello. I bring you warm greetings and wishes of peace from the Philippines, where the devotion to the Holy Face is alive, vibrant and widespread. Celebrating the Eucharist with you on this sixth Sunday of Easter gives me great joy.
In the Gospel that we just listened to, Jesus told His disciples, “In a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me, because I live and you will live.” These words are fulfilled now in our assembly, in our hearing. We see Jesus’ Face now. We can see Him because He is alive, He is in our midst now. And seeing His Face, we do not die, contrary to the fear of the people of old that seeing the Face of God would mean death for them. On the contrary, seeing Jesus’ Holy Face we draw the life and energy which comes from Him. This is a profound blessing granted to us, now. This gives us a foretaste of eternal life, where we hope to behold the Face of God in eternal contemplation and adoration. Seeing Jesus, we live!
How could it be possible for us to see Jesus? As sinners, we do not have the merit nor the right to see His Face. But we see Him and we live! How could this happen? The answer comes from Jesus in the Gospel of today, “Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.” Strictly speaking, we do not see the Face of Jesus. It is more accurate to say that He reveals His Face to us. He shows His Face, and so we see. This is pure grace. This is pure and total love on the part of Jesus. He manifests His Face, His true self, for no other reason than for the love He has for us. Allow me to share with you three points useful for reflection.
First, when Jesus shows His Face to us, He does not look at His own Face. He looks at us. Even our daily experience, when we show our face to other people, we look at them, not at ourselves. This is love: in showing my face I become someone who sees others, who hears others, who understands others, who feels for others. Showing one’s face means that I spend less time looking at my own face, my activities, my needs, my comfort or wellbeing, my interests, and instead that I devote more time to looking at the face of others, of those who suffer. This is the love that the Holy Face of Jesus shows us. He is interested in us, He is for us, He looks at us more than He looks at Himself. The devotees of the Holy Face must be like Him. Is our gaze directed only at ourselves, our immediate group, those closest us us or are we learning from Jesus who penetrates the hearts of others with His loving gaze?
Second, the Face of Jesus, a loving and other-centered face is also a face that speaks. Even when our lips do not utter “audible” words, our face can speak “visible” words. He said in the Gospel, “If you love Me, you will keep My Commandments.” His Face is not only seen but heard. Jesus’ Face is the human face of the Word of God, now heard and seen especially in His Commandments. In our time, people look at rules as something negative. But the Commandments of the Lord are not burdens to make our life more difficult, not tools to destroy our freedom, not mechanisms of condemnation of our weak and fragile persona. His Commandments are paths to peace, liberty and forgiveness. In Jesus’ Face we see the person who fulfilled the commandment to love God above all and one’s neighbor as oneself. His Commandments are visible in Him who told us, “Come to Me…Take My yoke upon your shoulders and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke, in Face, is easy and My burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30). The devotees of the Holy Face are called to listen attentively to Jesus who is the visible Word of peace, of freedom, of forgiveness and of love.
Finally, what we have seen and heard, we must share with others. In the first reading, Philip proclaimed in Samaria the Jesus that he had seen and heard. His preaching was accompanied by visible signs of healing and liberation. The Face of Jesus was seen and heard in Philip’s testimony. In the second reading, Peter tells those who are undergoing trials and persecution to be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in them. The answer is simple: Jesus! He is our sure hope. His love for us and triumph over death is the reason why we have hope. But Peter reminds us to proclaim our hope with gentleness and respect, with a clear conscience and integrity of life, with readiness to suffer for doing good rather than for doing evil. In other words, we best proclaim Jesus if others see and hear Jesus in us.
We see the Face of Jesus because He reveals His Face to us, the Face of the loving God. His is the Face of God turned towards us and not centered on Himself. His is the Face of the One who fulfilled the commandment of love. As we see and hear His Face may our faces be transformed into His Holy Face. Through the testimony of our faces, may the suffering people of the world know that Jesus sees them, listens to them, cares for them and loves them. Amen.
Holy Face “Il Volto Santo” of Manoppello, photo: Paul Badde
My grateful thanks to Paul Badde/EWTN for sharing his beautiful photos and to Raymond Frost for the English translation of Cardinal Tagle’s inspiring homily.
“what we have seen and heard we must share with others”–Cardinal Tagle
More on Cardinal Tagle’s visit to Manoppello “The Face of Truth” by Antonio Bini may be read (here).
Rector of the Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face, Padre Carmine Cucinelli and Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines, together with the faithful, in solemn procession of the Holy Face (Photo by Antonio Bini)
Holy Face of Manoppello, photo: Patricia Enk
Sunday, May 21st, was a day of great celebration and joy, commemorating the arrival of the Holy Veil, bearing a miraculous image of the Face of Jesus, to Manoppello, Italy, centuries ago. The town of Manoppello welcomed Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines, who presided at the Solemn Mass and Procession of the Veil of the Holy Face from the Basilica Shrine to San Nicholas Church in the city center. The Veil is to be brought back to the Sanctuary Basilica the next day.
The recorded history tells of the arrival, in May, of the Veil in Mannoppello, “in around 1506,” in the hands of a mysterious stranger who was thought to have been a holy angel, who gave the precious relic to a local doctor, who later gave it to the local Capuchins for safe-keeping. (The history of the arrival of the Veil may be read here).
Solemn Procession celebrating the Feast of the Holy Face in Manoppello (photo by Antonio Bini)
Thank you to Raymond Frost at Holy Face of Manoppello blogspot (here) for the news and beautiful photos of Antonio Bini, who will have more to report on the celebrations. (More here)
Padre Cucinelli, Sr. Blandina and Cardinal Tagle in prayer
Illumina Domine Blog - Devotion to The Holy Face 