Each year, the Feast of the Transfiguration, is marked by prayer, vigils and processions in honor of the Holy Face of Jesus. On this feast day St. Therese would toss roses and sprinkle perfume on the drawing of the Holy Face of Jesus that was so dear to her heart. At the Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello, Italy, local residents and pilgrims from all over the world take part in the joyous festivities in honor of the Holy Face. This year includes World Youth Day pilgrims! (Thank you to Alexandra Prandell for the video and photos!) (Enjoy as well, a few pictures from past celebrations below!) Wherever you may be on this holy feast day; come before His Holy Face–by entering into His Holy Presence in prayer–so together with the whole body of Christ, in Heaven and on earth, we may say, “Lord, it is good to be here.”
World Youth Day Pilgrims gather at the Basilica Shrine of “Il Volto Santo” The relic Veil of the Holy Face in Manoppello, Italy. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face in the Abruzzo Mountains, Manoppello, Italy (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
“It is good, Lord, to be here” before your Holy Face! (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
“Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, and led them up a high mountain where they were alone. There, before their eyes, he was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Then the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, and they were talking to Jesus.”
~Matthew 17:2
Rays of light burst through the clouds above the Abruzzo Mountains. (2022 Photo: Paul Badde)
The following is a very beautiful sermon, by Bishop Anastasias of Sinai, on the Transfiguration of the Lord:
“Upon Mount Tabor, Jesus revealed to his disciples a heavenly mystery. While living among them he had spoken of the kingdom and of his second coming in glory, but to banish from their hearts any possible doubt concerning the kingdom and to confirm their faith in what lay in the future by its prefiguration in the present, he gave them on Mount Tabor a wonderful vision of his glory, a foreshadowing of the kingdom of heaven. It was as if he said to them: ‘As time goes by you may be in danger of losing your faith. To save you from this I tell you now that some standing here listening to me will not taste death until they have seen the Son of Man coming in the glory of his Father…'”
Along the Transfiguration Vigil Procession (Photo: Paul Badde)
Colorful lights line the streets of Manoppello, Italy in preparation for the Vigil and Procession for the Feast of the Transfiguration. (Photo: 2023 Paul Badde)
The Manoppello Veil “as white as light,” yet the face on the sheer veil can still be faintly seen. (Photo: Paul Badde)
(The Holy Veil of Manoppello is an Achieropoeta–a supernatural image made by the Hand of God–that is present on a sheer veil, without the aid of paint, and may be viewed from both sides. The Face of Jesus becomes visible to the viewer according to the light. The relic Veil of the Holy Face has recently been proven to radiate light energy.)
Holy Face–eyes always looking toward the viewer–on the Veil of Manoppello. (Photo: Paul Badde)
Holy Face seen in candlelight (2023 Photo: Paul Badde)
Transfiguration by Carl Bloch
Continuing from the sermon on the Transfiguration of the Lord by Anastasius of Sinai, Bishop:
“These are the divine wonders we celebrate today; this is the saving revelation given us upon the mountain; this is the festival of Christ that has drawn us here. Let us listen, then, to the sacred voice of God so compellingly calling us from on high, from the summit of the mountain, so that with the Lord’s chosen disciples we may penetrate the deep meaning of these holy mysteries, so far beyond our capacity to express. Jesus goes before us to show us the way, both up the mountain and into heaven, and–I speak boldly–it is for us now to follow him with all speed, yearning for the heavenly vision that will give us a share in his radiance, renew our spiritual nature and transform us into his own likeness making us for ever sharers in his Godhead and raising us to heights as yet undreamed of.
Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by that glorious transfiguration. Let us retire from the world, stand aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from creatures and run to the creator, to who Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: Lord, it is good for us to be here–here where all things shine with divine radiance, where there is joy and gladness and exultation; where there is nothing in our hearts but peace, serenity, stillness; where God is seen.”
Rector Padre Antonio Gentili (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
“For here, in our hearts, Christ takes up his abode together with the Father, saying as he enters: Today salvation has come to this house. With Christ, our hearts receive all the wealth of his eternal blessings, and there where they are stored up for us in him, we see reflected as in a mirror both the first fruits and the whole of the world to come.”
“Il Volto Santo” of Manoppello, Italy (2023 Photo: Paul Badde)
All the mysteries of Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, are hidden and yet revealed in the transfigured Face of Jesus on the mountaintop. Jesus Christ unveils for us in this mystery the Paschal journey that He would suffer, and the glory that is already within Him. He invites us to follow Him, in taking up our own crosses in faith, hope and love. In order to see God the Father in His Glory–we must first pass through the door of the Holy Face of Jesus Christ, in imitation of Him–It is the only way to be transformed by the Holy Spirit of Love into His Image–to purify our eyes to see the glory of the Father in Heaven.
As we read in Scripture: “… He [Jesus] took along Peter John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothes became white and gleaming. And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure, which He was about to accomplish [through His Passion and Death] at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:28-31) The light that shone from His Holy Face at the Transfiguration gives us hope in the glory of the Resurrection.
“For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone into our hearts to bring the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6) As we follow Christ in carrying our crosses we will be transformed by the Holy Spirit into His Image, from glory unto even greater glory. “All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18)
Holy Face Relic of Manoppello, believed to the Face Cloth of the Resurrection. “At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully as I am known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13: 12-13)
“O Beloved Face of Jesus! As we await the everlasting day when we contemplate Your infinite Glory our one desire is to charm Your Divine Eyes by hiding our faces too, so that here on earth no one can recognize us. O Jesus! Your veiled gaze is our heaven!”–St. Therese
Holy Veil of Manoppello (May 2025 Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Procession of August 6th begins…(Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
(Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Rector of and Basilica Shrine Padre Antonio Gentili carries the precious reliquary. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Remarkable photo by Alexandra Prandell–the Face on the Holy Veil may be seen, but at the same time what it behind it may be seen as well.
In this photo by Alexandra Prandell, the image on the Veil has disappeared according to the angle of the viewer and the light.
(Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
(Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
The Veil of the Holy Face, “Il Volto Santo” of Manoppello, Italy. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
“How fair you are, O Virgin Mary! Your face is resplendent with grace.” –Carmelite Proper
“The Virgin Mary is she who more than any other contemplated God in the human Face of Jesus. She saw Him as a newborn when, wrapped in swaddling clothes, He was placed in a manger; she saw Him when, just after His death, they took Him down from the Cross, wrapped Him in linen and placed Him in the sepulcher. Inside her was impressed the image of her martyred Son; but this image was then transfigured in the light of the Resurrection. Thus, in Mary’s heart, was carried the mystery of the Face of Christ, a mystery of death and glory. From her we can always learn how to look upon Jesus, with a gaze of love and faith, to recognize in that human countenance, the Face of God.” –Pope Benedict XVI
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Seeking the Face of Christ through Mary
In the icon of “Queen Beauty and Mother of Carmel,” the Infant Jesus tenderly invites us to look at the face of His Mother, “resplendent with grace.” What makes the Virgin Mary’s face “resplendent with grace?” It is the light of the Face of Christ – just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, the face of Mary reflects the light of the true sun, Jesus Christ.
Mary is “The glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the highest honor of our race,” (Judith 15:9) because she sought the face of God every moment of life; that is, she sought His holy will and pleasure, in all things. Just as it is possible for the moon to shine even in the brightness of day, Mary gives more beauty to the heavens, more glory to God than any other creature on earth. And when the dark night of faith is upon us and the sun is hidden from our view, Mary is there to enlighten our path and show us the way to her Son, until “In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1: 78-79)
At the present moment, although the world is filled with darkness, we can turn to her for help in seeking His Face and leading souls to Him. Even pebbles on a path on the ground can reflect the light of the moon at night; and so the children of Mary by following her example, “to seek the Face of God in all things,” can guide others through the darkness by reflecting the light of the Face of Christ as does Mary.
It is Jesus Himself who desires that we turn to the face of His Mother. He created her with all the perfection and beauty that would be fitting for the Mother of God. Her soul, holy, immaculate and unstained by sin, is the perfect mirror in which He reflects His Face. He holds her up to us as the model for all His disciples as He did in Luke’s Gospel: “While He was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.’” This singular praise of Mary from the woman in the crowd was not enough for her Son. And so Jesus replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” (Luke 11:27) Mary is thus thrice blessed, first, in being chosen to be the Mother of God, second, in that Mary heard the word of God and third, because she kept His word in her heart.
Mary holds out to us her Scapular, a sacramental sign of being clothed in her own garment, to place over our shoulders, so that we may imitate her in faith, hope, charity and all the virtues that adorn her soul. By contemplating the Face of Jesus always, together with Mary, we can do our part in making His Face shine upon our world as well.
Queen Beauty of Carmel Feast day: July 16th
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Novena Prayer:
O most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, blessed Mother of Christ, Immaculate Virgin, we praise and honor you as our Queen and Mother. Help us to persevere in constant prayer for the needs of our world and share with you in the work of redemption. Be with us, Holy Virgin, and guide us on our way, as we journey together in faith, hope and love to your Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Holy Face Veil of Manoppello, Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
“…and if my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek My Face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from Heaven and pardon their sins and revive their land.” (2 Chr. 7:4)
Psalm 27
27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
” I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another’ just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John !#:34) The Holy Face from the Shroud of Turin
“O Lord, wealth of the poor, how admirably You can sustain souls, revealing Your great riches to them gradually and not permitting them to see them all at once. When I see Your great Majesty hidden in so small a thing as the Host, I cannot but marvel at Your great wisdom.” –St. Teresa of Jesus
The video above was posted on YouTube over eleven years ago of a Eucharistic Miracle that occurred on Friday, November 15, of 2013, at Christ the King Church in Vilakannur, Kerala, India. After twelve years of investigation, the Vatican has recently announced the approval of this “Relic of Divinity.” This is a powerful sign for our times at the beginning of this millennium dedicated by Pope St. John Paul II to the Holy Face of Jesus Christ. It seems as though Our Lord invites us to come to the banquet of His Love.
“The Face of Christ is the supreme revelation of Christ’s Mercy.”–Pope Benedict XVI gazing at the Eucharistic Face of Christ. (photo:Paul Badde/EWTN)
The Eucharist is the visible sign of the of the veiled presence of the invisible Face of God. In God’s great humility, mercy, and love, the grandeur of His Divine Presence is veiled in the Eucharist so that we may not fear to draw near and come into His Presence in the Bread of Life.
“Being Christian,” Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but an encounter… a Person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” As often as we encounter the person of Christ, present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Eucharist, we are being transformed into His Image. While He is the “Divine Prisoner” He is longing and waiting for us to come to Him.
Jesus is “the Divine Prisoner.” God points us to His Holy Face on the miraculous Veil of Manoppello. (photo: Patricia Enk)
Come and see that “Truth is a Person…a Presence, a Face: Jesus Christ.” — Pope St. John Paul II
Are you sorrowful, lonely, sick or fearful? Come to Him. Do you feel alienated, rejected, remorseful and in need of forgiveness? Come to Him. Are you angry and frustrated? Come. If your faith is little, come; if you long for Love Himself, come; if you are losing Hope, come.
Come, come, come! Your presence is requested.
Jesus waits for you. Come.
Paten viewed through the Veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello. (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, in the Sistine Chapel
What does it mean to be human, and why does it matter? The understanding of the human person has tremendous consequences for the world, which can lead humanity to–or away from–the Face of God, because “it is only in God that man has meaning.” (Gaudium et Spes)
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV, when first meeting with the college of cardinals, mentioned serious challenges to human dignity, in particular, regarding “developments in the field of artificial intelligence:”(Read also: Pope Leo XIV to Cardinals: Church must respond to digital revolution ) This poses many questions: What are the “serious challenges” mentioned? What should our response be to this rapidly developing technology and its misuse? What exactly is “artificial intelligence,” and what does it mean to be a “human person?” And what does all this have to do with the Face of God?
Holy Face of Manoppello, an “achieropoieta” — made by the Hand of God. (Photo: Paul Badde)
Pope St. John Paul II dedicated the millennium to the Face of God. And it is my own belief that devotion to the Face of Christ, *as studied and characterized by Card. Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) at the request of Pope St. John Paul II, is the answer to a rapidly approaching crisis that will soon face all humanity. God bless Pope Leo XIV, who has now brought the Church’s concerns about AI and human dignity to the forefront at the beginning of his pontificate.
Several news items that are related to artificial intelligence have caught my attention this past year: One was regarding an Apple advertisement for their new iPad which depicted crushing various instruments of human creativity, such as art objects and musical instruments, implying that the new iPad would take the place of human creativity, and unceremoniously dump it all in the ash heap of human history. The others were related to the “deep fakes” emerging from AI technology that are greatly alarming a great many people, notably in the entertainment industry, and the increasingly horrifying news related to the nefarious use of images of innocent persons to generate pornography.
Calling attention to the emerging, hyper-realistic, and increasingly disturbing AI capabilities, many writers, and artists, and people in all walks of life, have called on their governments to act to protect the creative works, images, and voices of persons living and dead, from being manipulated or stolen by unsavory persons lurking in the dark doorways of the internet.
One popular singer, Sheryl Crow, hit the nail on the head when said she was “terrified” by the AI fakes of her work; that AI “crushes the spirit of music.” “It feels like an assault on my spirit.” “It [AI technology] has consumed me with questions about who we will forever be in our humanity…” The music artist has touched on the deepest question of mankind–what does it mean to be human?
The great theologian John Zizioulas wrote in his book The Meaning of Being Human that “the key to understanding being human is understanding personhood as a relationship between the ‘giver,’ who is God, and the one who receives ‘the gift’ given them through the language of love.”
Mankind’s relationship with God seems to be gravely threatened in recent years by an iniquitous use of AI that begins in simple laziness. When AI makes it possible to take the easy path to get something done, very few may first look toward God for inspiration and help. A person need only ask AI for what he desires, and it appears within seconds on a screen effortlessly, and seemingly perfect. Or is it? AI seems to offer freedom, but it can lead to enslavement.
In our fast-paced world of technology we are losing the patience to think and create, and feel we lack the time to think, or learn the the skills to: create a job resume, a love letter, a song, a painting, or find a medical diagnosis. But we are meant to use our God-given gifts of intellect and free will — “to seek His Face” in all things –God, Our Father, Jesus, Our Savior, and the Holy Spirit, Our Advocate — the Holy Trinity with Whom mankind is made for relationship. However, in mankind’s inability to satisfy his desires quickly enough, many no longer look to God, who has given us the gifts we need to do the work, but instead reach for the easy, wide path of AI — an algorithm — thereby, gradually exchanging God’s gifts of freedom for slavery. The human ability to create is one of the ways we are imago Dei, the image of God; to shortcut our creativity is to violate, deny, or deprive that essential part of our identity as sons and daughters of God.
This is the truth which is amplified in Gaudium et Spes: “The truth is that only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of Him Who was to come, namely Christ the Lord. Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear. It is not surprising, then, that in Him all the aforementioned truths find their root and attain their crown.”
“Veronica” is the example of the soul’s transformation in love into the Image of Christ through love of God and neighbor.
Human persons are made for relationship–in communion, freedom, and love with God. We are made in His Image and likeness in this way. God Himself is a personal being, eternally three persons in relationship–Trinity–and love. Therefore, as John Zizioulas writes, “the notion of a person is to be found only in God,” and human personhood is never satisfied with itself until it becomes an image of God.” Becoming an image of God requires a transformation in love that is needed to enable us to see God face to face in Heaven. And that requires a relationship with Him.
You cannot have a relationship with an algorithm.
As Pope Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, “[Many people] want their interpersonal relationships provided by sophisticated equipment, by screens and systems which can be turned on and off on command. Meanwhile, the Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others. . . . True faith in the incarnate Son of God is inseparable from self-giving, from membership in the community, from service, from reconciliation with others.”
Pope Benedict XVI has written that in the Psalms we learn the attitude for seeing the face of God: “Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his presence continually” (Ps 105:3-4). In Psalm 24, we learn the prerequisites of “clean hands and a pure heart” “Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
John Zizioulas points out the tragedy of human personhood is manifested in his “capacity” and “incapacity;” these are the means, Zizioulas says, through which we relate to God and the rest of creation. Human capacity includes the intellect and the will. Intellectual human capacities are knowledge, creativity, and skills. Capacities of the will would be commitment, trust, perseverance, or the choice to sacrifice for a greater good. Our incapacities as human persons are as numerous as the sands on the seashore. But that is exactly the place where God meets us in the mystery of the Incarnate Word. It is the place where God reveals man to himself — where we recognize our need for His Love and salvation.
Being a person made in the image of God is the highest form of human “capacity.” We are capable of communion with God Himself! We are capable of creating, enabling our presence to be revealed even in our absence, as John Zizioulas demonstrates in his book The Meaning of Being Human by his analogy of the “absent artist.” By creating something himself, an artist’s presence is revealed in what he has created. We know from looking at the Pietà, for instance, there is such a person as Michelangelo who existed.
“In so far, therefore, as the human person is an entity whose being or particularity is realized by way of transcendence of its boundaries in an event of communion, its personhood reveals itself as presence.” ~ John Zizioulas
The one and only Elvis Presley
When AI produces something–for example an AI-generated Elvis Presley, singing new AI songs, generated by algorithm–it is not the true “presence in absence” of the human person known as Elvis; it is a perversion of truth and an assault on the dignity of his personhood, even in death.
In other words, human persons are capable of creating which enables the person’s presence to be revealed in absence. From the drawings of unknown artists on cave walls to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, great symphonies, or even the songs of Elvis Presley, art testifies to a unique human person’s presence–their presence is revealed in what they have created. When someone manipulates the creation of another through AI, it is a misrepresentation of the person–a false face; a distortion of their unique personhood, a degradation of their humanity.
The Pietà by Michelangelo, 1499
The great paradox is that death through and in Jesus Christ becomes life! Or as St. Paul has written: “When I am weak, I am strong.” ( 2 Cor 12:10)
Our relationship with God is also one of “presence in absence,” writes Zizioulas. When sin entered the world as idolatry, freedom led to slavery, and communion with God was ruptured. Before that rupture caused by sin can be healed, we must first in His absence seek God’s Face, that is, His Divine Presence. It is only through Jesus Christ, and in communion with Him, that our lives have meaning, and that the image of God may be restored in our souls.
As a result of sin, mankind’s greatest incapacity came through death. But because Christ became man at the Incarnation, he became both the source and meaning of the human person, and his very death– which “signifies human incapacity par excellence,” per Zizioulas–paradoxically reverses that incapacity.
God has a face and a name: by His Incarnation, Jesus Christ gave us a human face that revealed the face of God. In our Baptism, we are united to Christ and find our identity by living in Christ, in love, which cannot be isolated from presence. Christianity is a loving relationship with Christ, who transforms us in himself. Through the incapacity of death Jesus restores “the communion of natures in and through his personhood, turns the created realm into a presence of God,” writes John Zizioulas, thus lifting all creation up to communion with God through man.
In communion with an immortal God — when we come before the face of Christ (in His Presence) — we are then capable of everything. “I can do all things in Christ.” (Phil. 4:13); the capacity of the human person is found only in the incapacity of our creature-hood in communion with Christ. This is especially true even in striving for holiness, as St. Bernard has written, “In our incapacity we can only appropriate holiness from Jesus himself, since only God is holy.”
The human person’s greatest freedom is in Christ, which destroys the slavery to sin; and it is surprisingly the freedom to choose to suffer with him. Zizioulas writes: “It is the capacity of man to fully embrace his incapacity, that is, to turn weakness into strength or rather to realize his power in weakness. This paradox is nothing other than what St. Paul means when he writes in 2 Cor 12:10– after mentioning his full acceptance of suffering: ‘for when I am weak, I am strong.'”
Zizioulas explains further that “human freedom in its true meaning, abolishes the scheme ‘capacity versus incapacity’ and replaces it with the paradox of ‘capacity in incapacity.'” In man’s fallen state, even the greatest sinner is still a person created in the image and likeness of God and thus deserving of the greatest respect, during their life and after their death. In communion with Christ, man has the freedom to suffer, and therefore, in Christ, it is possible to be transformed in love in Him. Embracing our weakness in the suffering of the Cross is the way to the Resurrection.
“The weak can manifest the Power of God. So when you yell and scream over all your faults and weaknesses and imperfections, you’re fighting against the very tool that God wants to make us holy.” ~ Mother Angelica
This understanding of the human person has tremendous consequences for the world, in relation to the use of AI, which can lead to God or away from God. Because “it is only in relationship with God that man has meaning.” Man has a capacity for faith, which is experienced as a painful absence which makes us long for God’s presence — the deep longing within our souls to see God’s Face. “Seeking the face of God,” writes Pope Benedict XVI, “is an attitude that embraces all of life; in order for man to see God’s face at last, he must himself be illuminated entirely by God.”
“Artificial intelligence” is actually a misnomer–even the name falls short of the truth. AI can only simulate intelligence. AI cannot create, therefore, it cannot communicate God’s love; it is a tool that can only generate data by imitation, manipulating or altering the creations of man. AI is incapable of relationship, even though some misguided lonely souls are deceived into believing it can. AI can never enter into communion with a human being, with God, or act as images of God, as a human person can.
Through the misuse of AI we run the risk of losing sight of what makes us distinctly unique as human persons. Only a person made in the image and likeness of God can have the intelligence to understand, contemplate, and grasp reality or be capable of insights, moral judgments, or an understanding of beauty, truth and goodness, or the freedom “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13).
In his own suffering, St. Dismas, the Good Thief, turns to the Face of Jesus on the Cross.
The act of human creation is only done in imitation of our Creator. The freedom of choosing to suffer for love in union with Jesus Christ, in imitation of Christ, is the greatest mystery of what Zizioulas calls “capacity in incapacity.” Through that union with Christ, God, in His infinite mercy, will grant grace to the smallest, most humble, weakest, the very least capable human person; even the worst sinner who turns toward His Face, in a relationship of love, as did the Good Thief on Calvary; so they may enter into the joy of eternal life with Him forever.
“Let Your Face shine, that we may be saved!” (Ps 80:3, 7, 19)
*Benedict XVI has characterized devotion to the Holy Face as having three separate components: 1. Discipleship – an encounter with Jesus, to see Jesus in the Face of those in need. 2. The Passion of Jesus, and suffering expressed by images of the wounded Face of Jesus. 3. The Eucharist, “the great school in which we learn to see the Face of God”, which is woven between the other two. The eschatological element then builds on awakening to Christ by contemplating His Face hidden in the Eucharist.
Vilakannur Miracle. The Priest carefully holds in his hands the Holy Eucharist on which the Face of Christ miraculously appeared during Mass.
“On November 15, 2013, a face resembling that of Jesus appeared on the host during Mass at the Christ the King Church, Vilakkannur, a parish under the Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Tellicherry in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
The “Miracle” Host was sent to Rome for scientific study on January 10, 2020, through Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro who had come to the Syro-Malabar headquarters in Kochi, some 330 km south of Vilakkannur.
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.
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
Rector of the Sanctuary Basilica of “Il Volto Santo,” Padre Antonio Gentili (R), greets Prof. Lukas Murzyn (L), and participants of the unique conference on the “Metaphysics of the Image.” Promoted by the UKEN University of Krakow, held at the Sanctuary of the Holy Face in Manoppello, Italy, on May 2-3, 2025.
The Holy Veil of Manoppello –so sheer, and yet, without paint, an image my be seen of the Face of Jesus. (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
For those who may be unfamiliar with “Il Volto Santo,” it is a precious relic veil considered to be an “Acheiropoieta” — meaning that its existence is supernatural — made by the Hand of God. The sheer veil, in a miraculous way, bears an image that is seemingly “written in light” of the Holy Face of Jesus Christ. This extraordinary relic has been the subject of intense study and renewed devotion at the dawn of this new millennium dedicated by Pope St. John Paul II to the Holy Face of Jesus Christ.
Padre Antonio Gentili, Rector of the Sanctuary Basilica, “face to face” with the Holy Veil of Manoppello. (Photo:Alexandra Prandell)
Antonio Bini, who was also invited to make a presentation on the important research on the Holy Veil by Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer (1939-2021), has graciously provided a summary of a conference:
The Face of Christ on the Holy Veil becomes visible, according to the light, and at times appears to be a reflection of a living face. (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
Antonio Bini writes: The relic veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello was the main focus of the conference, as it [The Holy Face of Manoppello] is considered “the source and root of the representations contained in tradition and an element of intellectual and supernatural conquests of Christian art,” as Prof. Lukas Murzyn, dean of the Faculty of Art and head of the Art and Metaphysics Study Group, explained in his introduction.
The Group, which operates at the Institute of Painting and Artistic Education of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of the National Commission for Education in Krakow (UKEN), promoted the conference held on May 2nd and 3rd, 2025, in Manoppello, Italy, having conducted research for several years on the changes in contemporary iconography, operating in the field of visual anthropology, the history of the philosophy of art, both in the field of experimental artistic activities and in that of the language of visual arts.
The professors of UKEN University during a break (Photo: Antonio Bini)
The speakers were welcomed in the conference room of the Casa del Pellegrino by the Rector of the Sanctuary, Padre Antonio Gentili and by the Mayor of Manoppello, Giorgio De Luca.
The conference was intended to respond to the question of what remains today of those roots [of representations of the Holy Face], how they are understood and what the metaphysics of the image can open up today.
The Holy Face of Manoppello (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
From the “Relatione Historic, 1640, a description of the Face by Padre Donato da Bomba: “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.”
Historical-religious themes were also developed, with the intervention of Padre Ceslao Gedacz OfmCap, who recalled some important figures in the history of the Holy Face belonging to the Capuchin order, such as Padre Donato da Bomba, who was responsible for drafting the Relatione Historic (1640), following the donation of the veil to the Capuchins. Padre Fillipo da Tussio, author of the first essay on the Holy Face published in 1875, and then Padre Domenico da Cese, the first to convincingly spread the divine nature of the sacred image. There were also references to some scientific tests and the findings of two commissions of doctors; the first composed of Germans and Austrians, the second of Italian doctors, who worked at the Sanctuary in 2011 and 2012, which Padre Ceslao himself followed, being part of the community of religious men of Manoppello at that time.
Servant of God Padre Domenico da Cese (1915-1978, former Rector of the Shrine) prays before the Veil of Manoppello.
Metaphysics of the Image conference hall. (Photo: Antonio Bini)
These researches were recently published in the essay by Sr. Blandina Paschalis Schloemer, with the title “Sali al tramonto”(2025), her first book published in Italian after various essays published in Austria, Germany, Poland, and France. The German iconographer was present at the proceedings.
Sr. Monika Gutowska of the Ancelle dei Santissimo Sangue in Manoppello, summarized her experience of welcoming and contact with many pilgrims, presenting several cases, including non-believers, of people who have seen their lives transformed, but also the desire of many devotees to return to the Sanctuary several times a year, from Italy and abroad, for a deep need to periodically encounter again that Holy Face, whose reproductions are present in many Polish homes. [And many others, as well, around the world!]
Among those present was also Padre Carmine Cucinelli, former rector of the Sanctuary, involved in recent years in enthronements of the Holy Face in Poland, and also in the Sanctuary of Krakow dedicated to Pope St. John Paul II.
In addition to the aforementioned Prof. Lukas Murzyn, the following speakers then gave presentations: Sebastian Stankiewicz, Rafal Slewski, Kazimierz Piotrowski, Bernadeta Stano, Anna Grabczewska, Agnieszka Daca, Jacek Pasieczny and Stanisław Wójcicki from the Study Group of the Uken University of Krakow.
2006 – Pope Benedict XVI meets Sr. Blandina Paschalis Schlomer on his visit to the Sanctuary of the Holy Face in Manoppello, as Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer, and Paul Badde look on.
We summarize the papers presented, whose simultaneous translation was edited by Agnieszka Kiedzik, from the University of Warsaw. The same papers may be the subject of further study in the publication of the proceedings, which will be edited by Sebastian Stankiewicz, with the title “Beautiful God: The Veil of Manoppello and the Iconography of the Incarnation,” with reference to a theological reflection on the “Beautiful God” present in the Middle Ages, expressed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger during a conference held at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, later taken up by Pope Benedict XVI.
“Being struck and overcome by the beauty of Christ is more real, more profound knowledge than mere rational deduction…We must rediscover this form of knowledge; it is a pressing need of our time.” ~ Excerpt from “The Feeling of Things, the Contemplation of Beauty” by Card. Joseph Ratzinger
The Group’s commitment also led to the creation of a portal — https://diafanitas.uken.cracow.pl — which collects experiences and initiatives on the study of the transparency of bodies crossed by light in a Christian dimension.
Dirk Bouts, 1400? – 1475
Christ Crowned with Thorns,about 1470
Various interpretative readings of the Holy Face have been developed, with the assumption that “whoever has come into contact with the Veil of Manoppello attests to its uniqueness and mystery.”
For representatives of the art sciences, many questions remain open: the origin of the image and history, the relationship between the relic and image, the role of the Veil of Manoppello in the creation of iconographic models in Christian art and in the evolution of ways of representation in Western Culture, the role of the veil among other representations considered acheiropoieta or formal similarities with the images of Christ depicted in the art of old masters; for example Dirk Bouts, Leonardo Da Vinci and Albrecht Durer, among others, and in the Eastern tradition. For contemporary art scholars, philosophers, theologians and anthropologists, the encounter with the Holy Face raises questions such as the relationship between sensual beauty and transcendent beauty, the idea of transparency and lights, the Christian sources of the idea and concept of a person, the meaning of the gaze and the encounter, the presence and contemporary reception of religious themes in art and sacred art and the importance of metaphysical references in contemporary art.
Veronica’s Veil Flemish 15th Century This is a fine example of the “Veronica” as portrayed by artists who saw the original for themselves, before it disappeared from view from the Vatican in 1527.
In my [Antonio Bini’s] presentation, I recalled the studies of Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer (1939-2021), former professor of Christian history at the Gregorian University in Rome, who identified the Holy Face [of Manoppello] with the Veronica (vera icon), on the the occasion of the International Conference of the Institute for Research on the Face of Christ, chaired by Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, and then during a press conference held in Rome on May 31, 1999, on the eve of the Great Jubilee of 2000, which spread knowledge of the Abruzzo Sanctuary [of the Holy Face in Manoppello] throughout the world. Some sequences of that press conference with the interview of the German scholar, on Italian and foreign television, were repurposed in a video that the organizers wanted to show at the opening of the proceedings.
Fr. Pfeiffer’s position was then an isolated one, long contested, more or less openly. But his theses were later shared by Pope Benedict XVI, who visited the Shrine on September 1, 2006, composing a prayer that he dedicated to the “human face of God who entered history to reveal the horizons of eternity.”
Pope Benedict XVI contemplates the Face on the Veil of Manoppello. September 1, 2006. (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
Also under the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, a statement from the Holy See on July 11, 2011 reported that the “Veronica disappeared from St. Peter’s following the Sack of Rome in 1527.” This circumstance was confirmed by the (then) director of the Vatican Museums, Prof. Antonio Paolucci (Former Minister of Culture of the Italian Government), in an interview with the Bologna newspaper Il Resto del Carlino on August 11, 2011.
The admission [of the Director of the Vatican Museums] put an end to almost five centuries of silence that had fueled doubts and uncertainties for a long time, also through works of disinformation carried out also through modifications of the same original image, through reproductions that presented a “Veronica” with eyes closed. In this regard, the Veronica Route Project was started in recent years by a group of Milanese scholars, which led to a collective search, still ongoing, of 6200 ancient depictions of the true icon of Christ (Veronicas) with the eyes open, collected in a multimedia catalogue.
And yet, on April 6, an article published on the Vatican News website reported the presence of the “Veronica” in St. Peter’s (or, a copy of it, a black background. No image is seen.), while the Holy Face [of Manoppello] is indicated as a “shroud,” [A burial face-cloth] reiterating its acheiropoieta nature [As supernatural–made by the Hand of God]. Evidently, the writer was unaware of the painful path that led to the admissions [of the Director of the Vatican Museums] of 2011. Fr. Pfeiffer would still be busy arguing his reasons.
This is an example of a reproduction, made by Pietro Strozzi after 1527, when the original could no longer be viewed. The dark image of a dead man’s face bore no resemblance to previous descriptions and paintings of the Veil.
The dark cloth in a face-shaped frame that is currently presented, from a great distance, at the Vatican. (Photo: Daniel Ibanez)
Finally, during the conference, the exhibition of artist-teachers and students entitled “Face to Face” was presented, delicately entering the space of the Sanctuary, to offer a unique forum for interdisciplinary dialogue.
“At the basis of the concept of the exhibition,” declared the curator, Prof. Stanisla Wojcicki, “is the face-to-face encounter with the image of the Veil [Of the Holy Face of Manoppello], treated by scholars as a prototype of other representations of Christ. We would like our works to be considered a votive offering, something that we leave here to express gratitude, for the fact that we were able to meet in this place–particularly important to us.”
“Not matter but image,” a work by Jacek Pasieczny
“Not matter but image,” a work by Jacek Pasieczny, was exhibited in the Basilica as part of the “Face to Face” exhibition. The author described the work as “reflections of light, with the author” through the “use of glass of a particular color recalling golden byssus.” [of which the Holy Veil is believed to be woven.] The artist specified that it is not a copy of the original, but an attempt to paint a picture with light.
At the end of the conference we asked for an overall assessment from Don Arturo Alcántara Arcos, professor of spiritual theology and collaborator of the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, also in Manoppello for the occasion, who stated: “It is particularly interesting to consider multidisciplinary points of view from a secular university. Here one can appreciate the different areas in which theology can be present, both directly and indirectly. The Uken of Krakow, inspired by the National Commission for Education established in the eighteenth century by the Polish King Poniatowski, open doors to a new dialogue between theology and the different artistic and aesthetic disciplines of our days in the contemplation of the Face of the Lord.” From what emerged during the conference and on the basis of the same conclusions of Prof. Lukas Murzyn, the belief that the Holy Face can also represent today the reference to the contemporaneity of Christ for art appears to be shared. An analytical perspective that the professors of the University of Krakow — the first to organize a similar event in Manoppello — intended to offer the art world.
Grazie Mille! Antonio Bini for this beautiful summary of the Conference on the Metaphysics of the Image!
One last thought from the beloved Cardinal Ratzinger — and later — Pope Benedict XVI:
Holy Face of Manoppello, (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
“The encounter with the beautiful can become the wound of the arrow that strikes the heart and in this way opens our eyes…” “Inner perception must free itself from the impression of the merely sensible, and in prayer and ascetical effort acquire a new and deeper capacity to see, to perform the passage from what is merely external to the profundity of reality, in such a way the artist can see what the senses as such do not see, and what actually appears in what can be perceived: the splendor of the glory of God, the “glory of God shining on the face of Christ.” (11 For 4,6). –“The Feeling of Things, the Contemplation of Beauty” by Card. Joseph Ratzinger
Was there actually a St. Veronica? It is an important question, and a very personal one to me and many others. According to tradition, “Veronica,” is the compassionate woman who wiped the Face of Jesus, who is commonly depicted in every Catholic church, at the Sixth Station of the Cross, yet her name does not appear in the Gospels, and the legends did not appear until the Middle Ages.
Pope St. John Paul II pondered this very question many years before dedicating the Millennium to the Holy Face of Jesus. The fruit of his prayerful contemplation unveils a profound truth for every Christian as he answers another question; What does it mean to be “a Veronica?”
The Sixth Station on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem
Veronica’s Veil, Flemish 15th Century
“St. Veronica”
The Catholic Church tells us that a veil bearing a miraculous image of the Face of Jesus has existed since the earliest centuries, recorded in history and in art, such as the Camulia, or the Mandylion. Explanations for the existence of such a veil were all different (see “Four Stories, One Face“). About the time this miraculous veil first appeared in Rome, the name “Veronica” referred to the veil itself, and not a person–“Veronica” meaning “vera” or true, and “icon” meaning image, or even more precisely, “to be present.” Those who gazed upon the veil bearing the true Face of Jesus stood in God’s presence. They were turned toward His Face. The Veil became the greatest relic that Pilgrims traveled to see in the Vatican.
King of Edessa receiving the miraculous veil from St. Jude, and was healed of leprosy.
“Veronica” holding a sheer veil bearing the living Face of Christ on a sheer veil with distinctive folds.
Legends sprang up much later, in the Middle Ages, about a woman named “Veronica,” who was sometimes associated with the woman “Berenice” or “Bernice,” the bleeding woman who touches the hem of Jesus’s garment in the Gospel. There is a version, written in 1191 by Robert de Boron, that tells of a woman named “Veronica” wiping sweat from the Face of Jesus. The stories are many and varied, but the legend that most people are familiar with today is traced to a version by Roger d’Argenteuil in the 1300s, which tells of a woman “Veronica,” associated with the sixth station of the Cross–the compassionate woman, wiping the Face of Jesus on the way to Calvary with a cloth, upon which He leaves an image of His Face.
“These pious traditions cannot be documented, but there is no reason why the belief that such an act of compassion did occur should not find expression in the veneration paid to one called Veronica.” —The Catholic Encyclopedia
What did the Veil look like? A “living, changing, face” on a sheer veil, with distinctive folds, that could be viewed from either side; the eyes are open and glance to one side or the other; a lock of hair graces the center of the forehead; a sparse beard, wavy hair, as well as signs of bruising and trauma to the face are seen…. which despite the obvious suffering, remains peaceful and serene.
The Holy Veil of Manoppello- photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
Pope St. John Paul II expressed the answer to this profound question addressing the origin of the name of Veronica most beautifully in his poem, “The Name:”
The Name
In the crowd walking towards the place
[of the Agony]–
did you open up a gap at some point or were you
[opening it] from the beginning?
Veronica’s Veil by Hans Memling
And since when? You tell me, Veronica.
Your name was born in the very instant
in which your heart
became an effigy: the effigy of truth.
Your name was born from what you gazed upon.
–Karol Wojtyla
Miraculous Holy Face Veil Photo: Paul Badde (see “Manoppello Image” tab)
Since the detailed historical facts about the veil itself cannot be verified with absolute certainty in this life, the more important and answerable question is, “What does it mean to be a Veronica–a “true image?”
“Your name was born from what you gazed upon.”
When a soul performs an “act of compassion,” Jesus leaves His image on the “veil” of the soul. In other words, while contemplating the Face of Jesus in an image, in the Word of God in the Scriptures, in a person made in the image and likeness of God, or above all, in the Eucharist, the soul places itself in the Presence of God. When we are turned completely toward the Face of God, through a daily face-to-face encounter in prayer–by the power of the Holy Spirit–God gradually transforms the soul into the “True Image” of His Son, Jesus Christ. As Pope St. John Paul II says, our hearts must become an “effigy of truth,” a “true icon.” Then our name too will be born from what we gaze upon. It will be “Veronica.”
The Deepest Truth About St. Veronica
St. Veronica statue by Francesco Mochi, 1629
Within the center of St. Peter’s Basilica are four massive niches. In each niche there are four titanic statues of saints, standing 10 meters high: St. Andrew, the first disciple called by Christ, St. Longinus, the soldier who pierced Jesus’s side with his lance, St. Helena, who discovered the True Cross. The fourth statue depicts “St. Veronica,” an unknown woman, not mentioned in the Bible, yet immortalized in every Catholic church at the Sixth Station of the Cross, for her act of compassion to Jesus who left the image of His Face on her veil. (The relic that is now in the Veronica Pilar is quite different in description than what was previously recorded–a mystery yet to be solved. More may be read on the subject here: The Church, Testing of Relics, and the Holy Face)
Pope St. John Paul II wrote this beautiful meditation on St. Veronica in 2000, the same year in which he dedicated the millennium to the Face of Christ:
Sixth Station, St. Theresa Church, Ashburn, Virginia
“Veronica does not appear in the Gospels. Her name is not mentioned, even though the names of other women who accompanied Jesus do appear. It is possible, therefore, that the name refers more to what the woman did. In fact, according to tradition, on the road to Calvary a woman pushed her way through the soldiers escorting Jesus and with a veil wiped the sweat and blood from the Lord’s face. That face remained imprinted on the veil, a faithful reflection, a “true icon”. This would be the reason for the name Veronica. If this is so, the name which evokes the memory of what this woman did carries with it the deepest truth about her.
One day, Jesus drew the criticism of onlookers when he defended a sinful woman who had poured perfumed oil on his feet and dried them with her hair. To those who objected, he replied: “Why do you trouble this woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me . . . In pouring this ointment on my body she has done it to prepare me for burial” (Mt 26:10, 12). These words could likewise be applied to Veronica. Thus we see the profound eloquence of this event.
The Redeemer of the world presents Veronica with an authentic image of his face. The veil upon which the face of Christ remains imprinted becomes a message for us.
In a certain sense it says: This is how every act of goodness, every gesture of true love toward’s one’s neighbor, strengthens the likeness of the Redeemer of the world in the one who acts that way. Acts of love do not pass away. Every act of goodness, of understanding, of service leaves on people’s hearts an indelible imprint and makes us ever more like the One who “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:7). This is what shapes our identity and gives us our true name.” –Pope St. John Paul II
This is the deep meaning and call to every Christian revealed in the presence of the unknown woman we call “St. Veronica”– each act of charity, every act of compassion will leave the imprint of the Face of Jesus in our souls, transforming us into His own Image.
Pope Benedict XVI looks at the ‘Veronica’s Veil’ during a visit to the Holy Veil monastery in Manoppello, central Italy, September 1, 2006.
Pope Benedict wrote, “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, the Pope says, is the foundation of our Peace, which nothing can take from us.
Benedict XVI has characterized devotion to The Holy Face as having three separate components: 1. Discipleship – an encounter with Jesus, to see Jesus in the Face of those in need. 2. The Passion of Jesus, and suffering expressed by images of the wounded Face of Jesus. 3. The Eucharist, “the great school in which we learn to see The Face of God”, which is woven between the other two. The eschatological element then builds on awakening to Christ by contemplating His Face hidden in The Eucharist.
“Our whole life should be directed toward encountering Him,” writes Benedict, “toward loving Him; and in it, a central place must be given to love of one’s neighbor, that love that in the light of The Crucified One, enables us to recognize the Face of Jesus in the poor, the weak, the suffering.” The pope goes on to explain the fruits of this contemplation: “From contemplation of the Face of God are born, joy, security, PEACE.”
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!
Illumina Domine Blog - Devotion to The Holy Face 