Holy Face of Manoppello

The History of the Angelic Visitor to Manoppello, Italy

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Relic of the Veil of the Holy Face, procession in Manoppello, Italy. Photo: Alexandra Prandell — May 2026

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!

This 15th c. painting detail shows the relic veil of “Veronica,” as portrayed by the artist who saw the original at the Vatican before it disappeared from view after the Sack of Rome in 1527. Note the light transparency of the veil and its characteristic folds, the open eyes that gaze to one side or the other. Witnesses at that time described the Face on the Holy Veil as a changing, living image: “transparent, light, dark, bluish, or golden.”
The Vatican Museum now displays the broken Rock Crystal reliquary that held the “Veronica Veil” prior to the Sack of Rome in 1527.

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 beautiful Basilica Shrine of “Il Volto Santo” –The Holy Face — nestled in the Abruzzo mountains. (Photo: by Paul Badde)

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.” 

Holy Face "Il Volto Santo" of Manoppello
Holy Face “Il Volto Santo” of Manoppello, Photo by the late Paul Badde

“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

"Come and see"--Pope Benedict XVI
 “Come and you will see”(Jn 1:39) Pope Benedict XVI and the Holy Face of Manoppello

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!

Roses lovingly dropped from balconies upon the relic veil of the Holy Face “Il Volto Santo” as it is processed through the streets. May 2026, (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
May 2026 “Il Volto Santo” relic procession. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Precious little Angels join in the procession, May 2026. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Face barely seen through the delicate fibers of the Holy Veil of Manoppello, May 2026 (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Procession with the relic of the Holy Face through the town. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
May Procession 2026, Holy Veil of Manoppello, Italy
May 2026 Procession in beautiful Manoppello, Italy. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
The Holy Face Veil of Manoppello is an Achieropoieta; “made without human hands,” but by the Hand of God. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)

May 2026 Procession in Manoppello, Italy (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
May 2026 Procession in Manoppello, Italy with the relic Veil of the Holy Face. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
May 2026 Procession in Manoppello, Italy (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
The ever-changing Holy Veil of Manoppello! (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Padre Antonio Gentili gazes at “Il Volto Santo”–the True Image. May we too, be transformed into His likeness. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
“Il Volto Santo” Procession. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
“Il Volto Santo” Procession, Mary 2026. Both locals and pilgrims from all over the world came to honor His Holy Face. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
“Lord, God of Hosts, restore us; let your Face shine upon us, that we shall be saved!” (Psalm 80) (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
May the gentle, merciful, peaceful and loving gaze of Our Lord bless you always. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
With grateful thanks for all God’s blessings, especially His great gift of the Holy Face Veil of Manoppello! (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)

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.

Mary, Mother of the Church, and Spouse of the Holy Spirit

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Pentecost, 14th c., National Library of Wales
Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit

The Apostles “with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary, the Mother of Jesus.” (Acts 1:14)

As an infant is inseparable from its mother, so the infant Church was inseparable from Mary, the loving Mother of the Church. An infant must be loved and nurtured in order to learn, grow, and mature, taking its first steps while holding tightly to the hands of its mother.

Mary, conceived without sin, was already filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and therefore she is a perfect reflection of the Face of God. So, the Apostles looked to Mary, “Full of Grace,” as their model perfectly formed in the image of God, as they prayed for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Come, Divine Guest of our souls, and dwell in our hearts; transform us in your image! (Photo: Patricia Enk)

This is the work of the Holy Spirit of Love– to sanctify our souls, shining upon us the radiance of His light, transforming us into the image of God, as we gaze on God’s Face in prayer.

“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)

In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father…filled with the Holy Spirit she makes the Word of God, Jesus Christ, visible in order to make Him known to us. Like all good mothers, our Mother Mary will obtain all the good gifts that her children will need from her Spouse, the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. The Holy Spirit then perfects the soul with the first fruits of eternal glory: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity — so we may more closely resemble Jesus Christ.

Let us remain “with one accord in prayer” with Mary, as the Apostles did, for it is “through Mary the Holy Spirit begins to bring men, the objects of God’s merciful love, into communion with Christ.” (CCC 725)

Prayer to Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit:

Daughter of the Most High, Mother of God, faithful Spouse of the Holy Spirit– yet also Mary of Nazareth, Joseph’s wife, my mother– hear my prayer for grace, O Full of Grace. Pray your Spouse the Holy Spirit to come upon me– to shelter from all ill, to strengthen me to do what is right, to teach me all truth. Pray him come to me, and abide with me, and be within me a fountain springing up unto eternal life. May he sustain me in sorrow, sanctify me in life, and receive me at the hour of my death. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church, pray for us. 

Holy Spirit Window in Loreto, Italy.           (Photo: Patricia Enk)

The life of a Christian should be the faithful reproduction of Jesus in their soul — this radiant transformation is the work of love of the Holy Spirit. “Those whom He had foreknown He has also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” (Rom 8:29) He who loves will resemble the thing loved.

The Holy Veil of Manoppello — believed to be an “achieropoieta,” — made “by the Hand of God” — of the Face of the Risen Christ. (Photo: Paul Badde)

Prayer to Reproduce the Image of God in Our Souls

I salute You! I adore You and I love you, Oh adorable face of my beloved Jesus, as the noble stamp of The Divinity! Completely surrendering my soul to You, I most humbly beg You to stamp this seal upon us all, so the image of God may once more be reproduced in our souls. Amen.

“He saw and Believed” The Burial Cloths of Jesus

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“The glory of Jesus’ resurrection;
bright angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting.
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he goes before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining.
Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia.”

There were several burial cloths of Christ that were found in the tomb; and among them: the Shroud of Turin, the Cloth of Oviedo, and the precious byssus veil that was believed to cover the Face of Christ in the tomb – known as “Il Volto Santo” – The Holy Face of Manoppello. Possibly the very reason that St. John “Saw and believed.”

The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection, Eugene Burnand, 1898

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.  (John 20: 1-9)

At the time of Jesus, the Jewish law required several “cloths” to be used for burial, and as many as six for someone who had died a violent death. Christian tradition has preserved six cloths as relics that are associated with the burial of Jesus – 1.) The Shroud of Turin, Italy 2.) the Sudarium of Oviedo in Spain, 3.) The Sudarium Veil of Manoppello, Italy 4.) The Sudarium of Kornelimunster in Germany, 5.) The Sindon Munda of Aachen, Germany, 6.) The Cap of Cahors in France.

Three  of the cloths in particular stand out as extraordinary “witnesses” to the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, and together they bear a powerful testimony to the truth of the Gospels. Each one bearing an imprint or image of the Face of Jesus. They are: The Sudarium of Oviedo, The Shroud of Turin, and the Sudarium Veil of Manoppello. The remarkable relationship between these three “cloths” leave little doubt that each came in contact with the face of the same man at the time of burial.

The Sudarium of Oviedo directly touched Jesus’s head following His Crucifixion. Blood was considered sacred to the Jews, so this cloth was used to soak up the Precious Blood of Jesus, by wrapping it around Jesus’s Head, as He was taken down from the Cross. The largest bloodstains are from the nose, other stains are from the eyes and other parts of the face.  There is also an imprint on the sudarium of the hand of the person who held this cloth to Jesus’s Face to staunch the flow of blood. It takes one’s breath away to see that the bloodstains on the Sudarium of Oviedo, when overlaid with the Face on the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium Veil of Manoppello, correspond perfectly. The blood type is AB, the same as on the Shroud of Turin.

Photo of the Face on the Shroud of Turin

(An excellent, and beautifully done EWTN documentary on the Shroud of Turin may be viewed by clicking here.)

“He went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there.“

The Shroud of Turin; the sindone, or linen burial shroud, was believed to have been used to wrap the entire body of Christ. It is the most famous and studied of the three cloths. The faint but visible imprint on the Shroud of Turin gives witness to the violent torture of a man as described in the Passion and Death of Jesus in the Scripture. The world was amazed when Secondo Pia first photographed the Face on the Shroud in 1898; the negative of the photo incredibly became visible as a positive image. The Shroud of Turin caused an entire branch of science to be dedicated to its research called Sindonology.

Photo: Holy Face Veil of Manoppello, Italy (Paul Badde/EWTN)

‘…and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.‘

Reliquary containing the transparent veil on which the image of the Holy Face becomes visible, according to the light and position of the viewer. Photo: Paul Badde

The Sudarium Veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello, Italy is perhaps the least known of the three burial “cloths.” The Veil bears the image of the living Face of Jesus. This “miracle of light,” “not made by human hands,” was protected and hidden in an isolated church in the Abbruzzi Mountains for centuries. It is believed to be the “cloth” that covered the Face of Jesus in death, showing traces of the Passion: Bruises, swelling, wounds from the Crown of Thorns, and plucked beard.  But, it is also believed to have recorded in light the Face of Jesus at the moment of His Resurrection. No, this is not a contradiction. Yes, the image changes. It shows suffering, but it also shows life! It is believed to be “The cloth that covered His head.”

“Il Volto Santo” The Holy Face Veil of Manoppello.
Photo: Patricia Enk

An explanation about the tradition of a face cloth for burial may be helpful in understanding its profound significance:  In the funeral rites for priests in some Eastern churches, the veil which was used to cover the chalice and paten were placed on the face of the deceased priest. (The cloth used to cover the chalice and paten had a particular liturgical symbolism linked to the Face of Christ as well.) It was done as a symbol of both the strength and protection of God, and also of the tomb of Christ–an expression of belief in the Resurrection. In Jewish burial custom, a deceased priest’s face would be anointed with oil and then covered with a white cloth, and would have been done for Jesus.

Funeral of Pope St. John Paul II, Archbishop Dziwisz covers the pope’s face with a veil.

When Pope St. John Paul II was being laid in his coffin, Archbishops Marini and Stanley Dziwisz had the honor of placing a white silk veil over the face of the pope. Poignantly, the choir sang the words from Psalm 42, “My soul thirsts for God, the living God; when will I come and see the Face of the Lord?” Many wondered about the action of covering the pope’s face with a veil because this was the first time it had been done, but was at the request of Pope John Paul II, who had dedicated the millennium to the Face of Christ.

Byssus “Pinna Nobilis” fit for a King! Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN

The cloth that would cover the Face of Christ would have to be made of a material fit for a King, a High Priest, and a God. Byssus, mentioned in the Bible forty times, also known as “sea-silk,” is more rare and precious than gold and it has an exceedingly fine texture which can be woven. Made from the long tough silky filaments of Pinna Nobilis mollusks that anchor them to the seabed, it is strong enough to resist the extreme hydrodynamic forces of the sea. Byssus has a shimmering, iridescent quality which reflects light. It is extremely delicate, yet strong at the same time. It resists water, weak acids, bases, ethers, and alcohols. Byssus cannot be painted, as it does not retain pigments, it can only be dyed; and then, only purple.  It can also last for more than 2000 years.

Kurt Cardinal Koch contemplates the Veil “not made by human hands” of Manoppello. Sheer and delicate, yet the Face is visible. Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN

The Sudarium Veil of Manoppello is also made of rare, precious, byssus silk.  The skill needed to weave a byssus veil as fine as the Veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello is exceedingly great.  Chiara Vigo, known as “the last woman who weaves byssus,” has said that neither she nor anyone alive today could duplicate the gossamer-thin veil, which is sheer enough to read a newspaper through.  The weave is so delicate, she says, that only the nimble fingers of a very skillful child could weave something so fine.

Photo: Paul Badde

It is only through light that this shimmering image of the Face of Jesus may be seen, and at times appears as a “living image” as though it were reflected in a mirror, at other times the image completely disappears.  Although no camera can adequately capture the image, thanks to the many amazing photos of journalist Paul Badde, the changes that occur when viewing the veil may be better appreciated.  (Click here for more photos, and information about Paul Badde’s books and videos about the Holy Face.)

While the Face on the Shroud of Turin clearly shows the Face of Jesus in death with eyes closed, the Sudariam of Manoppello has eyes open–bearing witness to the Resurrection. That was the ardent belief of the former Rector of the Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face, Servant of God Padre Domenico da Cese.  

Sevant of of God Padre Doemnico da Cese, former Rector of the Shrine of “Il Volto Santo.”
L to R: Pope Benedict XVI came as a pilgrim to Manoppello on September 1, 2006, Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer, S.J., Paul Badde, and Sr. Blandina Schlomer

There are many physiological reasons too for believing that the Face Cloth captures the first breath of the Resurrection. Sr. Blandina Paschalis Schlomer, who shares that belief, has provided meticulous research about the Veil in her book JESUS CHRIST, The Lamb and the Beautiful Shepherd, The Encounter with the Veil of Manoppello.  Sr. Blandina together with Paul Badde, and Fr. Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer, S.J., Professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, have each demonstrated that the Holy Face on the Veil of Manoppello is the proto-image of the earliest icons, and other works of art depicting the Face of Jesus.

“…and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead.”

What did St. John see in the tomb that would cause him to believe? A cloth of blood, such as the Oviedo? The Shroud of Turin? The Shroud bears a miraculous image, but it shows the Face of a dead man. A third witness was needed in order for the disciple to believe. It could only have been evidence of something as astounding as the Resurrection; proof that Jesus was alive!

Holy Veil of Manoppello. Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN

It is human nature to want to see things for ourselves. Many pilgrims, humble and great, have felt called to make the journey to visit the miraculous relic. If it is God’s handiwork, and I believe that is true, then one can only wonder at its existence, and gaze in silent contemplation, giving thanks for this tremendous gift of God… so we too may “see and believe.”

As the first rays of light entered the tomb, John and Peter, upon entering, “saw and believed.”   Sudarium Veil of Manoppello, Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
Pope Benedict XVI contemplates the ‘Veronica’s Veil’ during a visit to the Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello, central Italy, September 1, 2006.

“While we too seek other signs, other wonders, we do not realize that He is the real sign, God made flesh; He is the greatest miracle of the universe: all the love of God hidden in a human heart, in a human face.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI
Holy Face of Jesus of Manoppello (photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)

“We cannot stop at the image of the Crucified One; He is the Risen One!”

~ Pope St. John Paul II

Pope Leo XIV called the peace of the Risen Christ “The most silent revolution:” (read more here)

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Feast Day of the Holy Face 2026

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The Veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello, (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN) Unique among other images of the Holy Face, in that it is an “achieropoeta” (as is the Shroud of Turin), not made by human hands. This “living image” of the Suffering and Risen Face of Jesus, bears traces of the Passion, and is believed to have been created at the moment of the Resurrection. It could be said that it is an “Icon of Easter”–the “Face of the Risen Christ” which we look forward to in Hope at the beginning of Lent.

“I wish that all the world could celebrate the Face of my Beloved. If I could at least honor Him for all those who honor Him not.” –Bl. Mother Maria Pierina De Micheli

Consecration to the Holy Face

O Lord Jesus, we believe most firmly in You. You are 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 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.

The Holy Face on the Shroud of Turin

“Christ’s response, ‘Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father, lead us into the heart of Christological faith.'” — Pope Benedict XVI

The Veronica — Derick Baegert, 1470

St. Pope John Paul II
“In the Eucharist, the Face of Christ is turned towards us.”

“Thy Face is my only Homeland” by P. Ioannes Maria, O.S.B. (with permission)

The sources of devotion to the Most Holy Face of Jesus are found, first of all, in the Sacred Scriptures. One might say that the entire Bible, from beginning to end, glows with the light that shines from the Face of God. “Scripture,” writes Maurice Zundel, “is a person. Scripture is Jesus. Before or after His advent, it is full of Him.”1 The Greek word for person (πρόσωπο) also means face or countenance. Nothing, in fact, is more personal than a man’s face, for a man’s face reveals the movements of his heart. So often as the Church, in her liturgy, opens the Sacred Scriptures, she contemplates “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the Face of Christ Jesus.” Only in the light of the human Face of God”2 can believers chant, read, and hear the Scripture rightly, compelling Maurice Zundel to say: “Scripture can be understood only on our knees, as we feed upon it and become aware of an invisible current of air that moves all its leaves in an unconstrainable aspiration towards the glorious Countenance of Jesus Christ.”3

The features of a child’s face are formed very early in pregnancy, at about the same time as the heart begins to beat. The face and the heart are inseparable, even from the womb. Just as the Heart of Jesus was “formed by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mother,” so too was His Face. We can, therefore, pray, Vultus Jesu, in sinu Virginis Matris a Spiritu Sancto formatus, miserere nobis. Face of Jesus, formed by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy on us.” The human Face of God,” hidden in His Mother’s womb as in a tabernacle, sanctifies John, the son of Zachary and Elizabeth; eight days after his birth, his father addresses him, saying: “Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High: for thou shall go before the Face of the Lord to prepare his ways.”4

In Advent, the Divine Office makes us sing every evening at Vespers, Ostende faces tuam, et salvo erimus, Domine. “Show us Thy Face, O Lord, and we shall be saved.”5 And then, we open the First Vespers of Christmas, singing, Rex Pacific’s magnificatus set, jujus vultum desiderat universa terra. The King of Peace shines forth, whose Face all the world desires to see.”6 The first adorers of the “human Face of God” were His Virgin Mother and Saint Joseph. Then the shepherds “came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the Infant lying in the manger.”7 What would the shepherds have desired to see more than the Face of the Saviour whose birth was announced to them by an angel? Wise men, coming from the East, were guided to the Infant King by a star, “and entering into the house, they found the Child with Mary His mother, and falling down, they adored Him.”8 What must have been their joy at beholding the Face of the Child!

“And when the time had come for purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem, to present Him before the Lord there.”9 Simeon, “led by the Spirit into the temple,”10 took the Infant Jesus into his arms, and gazing at “the human Face of God,” said, “Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.11 An antiphon for the feast of Candlemas sings: “The ancient carried the Infant, but the Infant guided the steps of the ancient.”12 Simeon, the image of all that in us has grown old with waiting, carries Divine Mercy in his arms, but Divine Mercy, by the light that shines on his Face, guides the old man’s steps. Let anyone guided by Divine Mercy follow the example of Simeon by fixing his gaze on the Face of Christ.

Simeon, beholding the Face of God made visible, was “borne aloft to the love of things invisible.”13 Illumined by the Holy Face, the old priest recognised the new High Priest, “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.”14 In this, Simeon models the holiness of every priest who, taking the Host into his hands, raises it for the faithful to see. By looking at the “Eucharistic Face of Christ,”15 day after day, the priest, like Simeon, becomes capable of bearing witness to “things no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human heart conceived, the welcome God has prepared for those who love Him.”16

At the same time, there entered the Prophetess Anna the daughter of Phanuel, whose name means “Face of God.” Anna had made the temple her home. Abiding day and night in the temple, Anna served God with fasting and prayer. Drawn by the radiance of the Face of Christ and by a mysterious operation of the Holy Ghost, Anna emerged from the shadowy recesses of the temple to praise God and speak of the Child to all that patiently waited for the deliverance of Israel. Anna of the Face of God models the vocation of every consecrated woman.

When Jesus, at the age of twelve, remained in Jerusalem after the solemn feast of the Pasch, the greatest sorrow of His Mother and of St, Joseph was that, for three days, they lost sight of His Holy Face. There is, in the Office for the Feast of the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple,17 an antiphon that expresses the anguish of the Most Holy Virgin and Saint Joseph as they sought Jesus: Quasi illum, et non inveni: vocaviet non responded mini. “I sought Him, and found Him not: I called, and He did not answer me.”18 If the finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple numbered among the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, rather than the Sorrowful, it is because the sight of the Holy Face filled His Mother and Saint Joseph with surpassing gladness.

Nearly two decades later Jesus “took Peter and John and James with Him, and went up into a mountain to pray.”19 And He was transfigured before them, and His Face shone like the sun.”20 Saint John beheld the same Face on the island of Patmos; “His Face,” he testifies, “was like the sun when it shines at its full strength.”21 Between these two manifestations of the Holy Face of Jesus shining like the sun, Saint John beheld the same adorable Face darkened and disfigured in the agony of Gethsemane and on Calvary, without “form or comeliness that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him, despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces.”22

In the glory of the Resurrection, the divine majesty of the Holy Face of Jesus remained mysteriously veiled. Mary Magdalene took Him for the gardener,23 and the disciples on the road to Emmaus, for a stranger,24 and when He showed Himself to the disciples at the sea of Tiberius, standing at daybreak on the shore, “the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.”25 It was only after Jesus said, “Cast to the right of the boat, and you will have a catch,” causing them to catch a prodigious shoal of fish, that “the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord.”26

The same adorable Face remains mysteriously veiled in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, the Deus absconditus,27 unrecognised by most and forsaken in the abandoned tabernacles of the world. Saint Gaetano Catanoso, canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, at the conclusion of the Year of the Eucharist, said, “If we wish to adore the real Face of Jesus…, we can find it in the divine Eucharist, where the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the Face of Our Lord is hidden under the white veil of the Host.”28

The Feast of the Ascension, the Sunday that follows it, and the Feasts of the Epiphany and Transfiguration have long been kept as days particularly suited to the contemplation and adoration of the Holy Face of Jesus. With the mystery of the Ascension, “the human Face of God” fills the heavenly sanctuary with a new brightness. God prays to God with a human voice. God having a human Face, intercedes with God on behalf of men.

Saint John Henry Newman remarked that there is a certain sadness about the Ascension of Our Lord, the last glimpse of His adorable Face. 29 At the same time, there is a joy in knowing that the Holy Face of Our High Priest, forever turned to His Father in the heavenly sanctuary, is no less turned towards us in the tabernacles of our churches, where, silent and hidden, He waits. “We see Him not,” says the new Doctor of the Church, “but we are to believe that we possess Him, that we have been brought under the virtue of His healing hand, of His life-giving breath, of the manna flowing from His lips, and of the blood issuing from His side.”30 We see Him not, but one who tarries close to the tabernacle will go away a changed man, for the Eucharistic Face of Jesus will have shone in the innermost places of his soul, purifying what is clean, warming what is cold, and healing what is sick.

The “modern” feast of the Holy Face, instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1958, at the request of Blessed Maria Pierina De Micheli31 and Venerable Abbot Idldebrando Gregori,32 synthesises all that the great Christological feasts of the liturgical year and the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary pass in review: the human Face of God in Bethlehem, in Jerusalem, and in Egypt; on Mount Thabor, in Gethsemani, and on Calvary; on the road to Emmaus and, finally on the Mount of Olives. All these converge in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. The Holy Face of Jesus is in the Sacrament of His Love as it was in His life on earth: as it was in nearly every moment of His Passion; as it was in the agony of His death upon the Cross; and as it is now and for all eternity, in the glory of heaven. To contemplate and adore the Holy Face of Jesus, “hidden under the white veil of the Host,” is to enter into His own priestly work of reparation to the Father and reparation of the ravages of sin in souls.

Italy is stupendously rich in sanctuaries of the Holy Face of Jesus: the Veil of Manoppello, the Shroud of Turin, the Volto Santo of Lucca, that of Sansepolcro (Arezzo), the Mandylion of Genoa, and the Casa of Madre Flora De Santis at Capodimonte, among others. It is not, however, necessary to undertake pilgrimages far from home. It is enough to go, quietly and humbly, to the nearest tabernacle, and to remain there in adoration and reparation, repeating the Royal Prophet’s heartfelt plea: “Thy Face, O Lord, do I seek; hide not Thy Face from me.” One who prays in this way, adoring the Deus absconditus, will, at length, begin to say with Saint Therese: Ta Face set ma seule Patrie. “Thy Face is my only Homeland.”

  1. Maurice Zundel, The Splendor of the Liturgy (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1939), 284. ↩︎
  2. “The human Face of God that has burst into history to reveal the horizons of eternity. The silent Face of Jesus, suffering and risen, when loved and accepted, changes our hearts and lives.” Pope Benedict XVI, Prayer at Manoppello, 1 September 2006. ↩︎
  3. Zundel, Splendor of the Liturgy, 284 ↩︎
  4. Luke 1:76. ↩︎
  5. Psalm 79:8 ↩︎
  6. See 3 Kings 10:23-24, “And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the earth desired to see Solomon’s face.” ↩︎
  7. Luke 2:16 ↩︎
  8. Matthew 2:11. ↩︎
  9. Like 2:22 ↩︎
  10. Luke 2:27 ↩︎
  11. Luke 2: 29-32. ↩︎
  12. Senex puerum portabat, Puer autem senem regebat: quem Virgo pepent, et post partum Virgo permansit: Ipsum quem genuit, adoravit. “The old man bore the Child, but the Child ruled the old man’s steps; even the Child Whom a Virgin bore, and remained a Virgin as before; and when that Virgin had brought Him the world, bowing low, she adored Him.” (Antiphon of the Magnificat at First Vespers. ↩︎
  13. This is expressed in the Preface of the Nativity: Quia per incarnati Verbi mysterium nova mantis nostril oculus lux tuae claritatis infulsit: ut dum visibiliter Deum cognoscimus, per hunch in invisibilum amorem rapiamur. “Because by the mystery of the Word made flesh the light of Thy glory hath shone anew upon the eyes of our mind: that while we acknowledge Him to be God seen by men, we may be borne aloft to the love of things unseen.” ↩︎
  14. Hebrews 7:26 ↩︎
  15. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharista, encyclical letter (Holy See, 17 April 2003), 7. ↩︎
  16. 1 Corinthians 2:9. ↩︎
  17. Celebrated in some Benedictine monasteries on 19 January. ↩︎
  18. Canticle 5:6 ↩︎
  19. Luke 9:28. ↩︎
  20. Mattthew 17:2 ↩︎
  21. Apocalypse 1:16. ↩︎
  22. Isaias 53: 2-3 ↩︎
  23. John 20:15. ↩︎
  24. Luke 24:18 ↩︎
  25. John 21:4 ↩︎
  26. John 21: 6-7. ↩︎
  27. The hidden God, following the word of the Prophet Isaias, who says, “Verily thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel the Saviour” (Isaias 45:15). ↩︎
  28. Homily of Pope Benedict XVI, Saint Peter’s Square, 23 October 2005. ↩︎
  29. John Henry Newman, “Sermon 10: The Spiritual Presence of Christ in the Church,” in Parochial and Plain Sermons (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1918), 121. ↩︎
  30. John Henry Newman, “Sermon 10,” 133-134. ↩︎
  31. Blessed Maria Pierina De Micheli (1890-1945) of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception. ↩︎
  32. Venerable Abbot Ildebrando Gregori (1894-1895), Abbot General of the Silvestrine Congregation of the Order of Saint Benedict. ↩︎

Happy Feast of the Holy Face and a Blessed Lent to all!

The Veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello. (Photo: Paul Badde)

Omnis Terra in Manoppello

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Sanctuary Basilica of the Holy Face of Manoppello, (photo: Sr. Blandina Pachalis Schloemer, from the 2017 Omnis Terra Feast Day.)

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

“The Veronica Veil” Face of Jesus from the precious manuscript “Liber Regulae Sancti Spiritus in Saxia,” which was first carried in public procession by Pope Innocent III, beginning in 1208.

“Omnis Terra,” Latin for “All the Earth,” is celebrated on the second Sunday after Epiphany, which falls on January 18th for 2026. The entire Community of the Capuchin Friars of Manoppello will be celebrating this years “Omnis Terra” feast day in the Basilica of the Holy Face. The bishop of Chieti-Vasto, Mons. Bruno Forte will preside over the Eucharistic Celebration, in the presence of the Provincial Minister of the Capuchin Friars’ Father Simone Calvarese. There will be a brief procession of religious and faithful and a solemn blessing will be imparted to “All the Earth”, lifting in his hands–the precious of the Holy Face Veil of Manoppello.

Bishop Forte, before the relic veil of Manoppello — (Omnis Terra, Jan. 19, 2025)

(This event will begin at 11:00 am in Italy. It has been live-streamed in recent years, for more details on the Eucharistic Celebration and Procession, visit: Basilica Volto Santo Sanctuary Facebook — Basilica Volto Santo website )

The late Rev. Daren J. Zehnie in Roman Procession of Holy Face in Rome, 2016 photo: Edward Pentin

“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, giving alms to the poor along the way. 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!

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)

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 deep desire of pilgrims to Rome, 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. Soon 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, and where they may be found throughout the world.)

Portrait of a Young Man, 1450-60, Petrus Christus, London National Gallery. Seen on the wall, above the prayerful young man, is 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.

Detail from “Portrait of a Young Man” of the Hymn “Salve, Sancta, Facies.”

Hymn in Honor of the Holy Face by Pope John XXII (translated from the original Latin)

Salve! Sancta Facies

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 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.

“Changeless through the ravages of time,” the “tints” of the image, “have never altered or faded” through the centuries. Holy Face Veil of Manoppello,( photo: Patricia Enk)

Pope Benedict XVI contemplates the Face on the Veil of Manoppello. September 1, 2006. (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)

Prayer of Pope Benedict XVI

Lord Jesus, as the first Apostles, whom you asked: “What do you seek?” accepted your invitation to “Come and See,” recognizing you as the Son of God, the Promised Messiah for the world’s redemption, we too, your disciples in this difficult time, want to follow you and be your friends, drawn by the brilliance of Your Face, much desired, yet hidden. Show us, O Lord, we pray you, Your Face ever new; that mirror, mystery-laden, of God’s infinite mercy. Grant that we may contemplate it with the eyes of our mind and our hearts: the Son’s Face, radiance of the Father’s glory and the imprint of His Nature (cf. Hb 1:3), the human Face of God that has burst into history to reveal the horizons of eternity. The silent Face of Jesus, suffering and risen, when loved and accepted, changes our hearts and lives. “Your Face, Lord, do I seek, do not hide Your Face from me.” (Ps. 27:8ff) How many times through the centuries and millennia has resounded the ardent invocation of the Psalmist among the faithful! Lord, with faith, we too repeat the same invocation: “Man of suffering, as one from whom other hide their faces.” (Is. 53:3) Do not hide your Face from us! We want to draw from your eyes that look on us with tenderness and compassion the force of love and peace which shows us the way of life, and the courage to follow you without fear or compromise, so as to be witnesses of your Gospel with concrete signs of acceptance, love and forgiveness. O Holy Face of Christ, Light that enlightens the darkness of doubt and sadness, life that has defeated forever the force of evil and death, O inscrutable gaze that never ceases to watch over mankind. Face concealed in the Eucharistic signs and in the faces of those that live with us! Make us God’s pilgrims in this world, longing for the infinite and ready for the final encounter, when we shall see you, Lord, “face to face” (Cor. 13:12) and be able to contemplate you forever in heavenly Glory. Mary, Mother of the Holy Face, help us to have “hands innocent and a heart pure,” hands illumined by the truth of love and hearts enraptured by divine beauty, that transformed by the encounter with Christ, we may gift ourselves to the poor and the suffering, whose face reflect the hidden presence of your Son Jesus. Amen. Pope Benedict XVI Sept. 1, 2007, written in memory of his pilgrimage to the Sanctuary Basilica of the Holy Face in Manoppello, Italy, the year before, on Sept. 1, 2006.

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 “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.”

“While we too seek other signs, other wonders, we do not realize that He is the real sign, God made flesh; He is the greatest miracle of the universe:  all the love of God hidden in a human heart, in a human Face.”

~Pope Benedict XVI

(The relic of the Holy Face has recently been tested and was proven to radiate light energy–see post here.)

Find “The Peace of the Risen Christ” for New Year 2026

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Paul Badde’s beautiful photo of Il Volto Santo of Manoppello — the Face of the Risen Christ, the Prince of Peace! A sign for our time…

The message of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for the LIX World Day of Peace, 1st January 2026, begins with the first words of Jesus to His Apostles after His Resurrection:

“Peace be with you”

The liturgical distance between Christmas Day and the glory of the appearance of the Risen Christ on Easter are as short as a flash of lightening! The readings move swiftly from darkest night of the year, into which the light of the Face of the Infant Jesus first appears on Christmas Day, to the readings about the martyrdom of St. Stephen; his forgiveness of his murderers, and the Feast of St. John (Jn 20:1, 2 & 8) where we hear about St. John racing ahead of Peter to the tomb, where they find “the cloth that covered HIs Head;” the sight of which caused St. John “to see and believe.” Through the power of the Resurrection, God moves hearts swiftly from the darkness of sin, death, sorrow, and unbelief — to the radiant light of grace — new life, faith, joy and peace shining on the Face of the Risen Christ.

Pope Leo calls the peace of the risen Christ “the most silent revolution:” “The Good Shepherd, who gives his life for the flock and has other sheep not of this fold (John 10:11,16) is Christ, our peace,” he writes, “who has conquered death and broken down the walls of division that separate humanity (cf. Eph 2:14). His presence, his gift and his victory continue to shine through the perseverance of many witnesses through whom God’s work carries on in the world, becoming even more visible and radiant in the darkness of our time.” Peace is revolutionary, and takes tremendous courage and trust for a Christian to live as they truly believed — as did the martyrs of the past and the present — through trust in the power of the Risen Christ!

Pope Leo writes that the “contrast between darkness and light” is also “an experience that unsettles us and affects us amid trials we face in our historical circumstances. In order to overcome the darkness, it is necessary to see the light and believe in it.” We need to “see and believe” as St. John did when he saw the face of Risen Christ on the cloth; this is why I believe the Face of the Risen Christ on the Veil of Manoppello is a tangible sign for our time — a great gift to us from God! The world needs to turn to His Face once again if it desire to have peace.

We can begin by following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary in contemplation of the Face of Jesus:

“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

Peace is possible! When “we forget the light,” Pope Leo writes, “we lose our sense of realism and surrender to a partial distorted view of the world, disfigured by darkness and fear. ” Pope Leo recalled how St. Augustine urged Christians “to forge an unbreakable bond with peace, so that by cherishing it deeply in their hearts, they would be able to radiate its luminous warmth around them.” St. Augustine wrote: “If you wish to draw others to peace, first have it yourselves; be steadfast in peace yourselves. To inflame others, you must have the flame burning within.” Pope Leo reminds us that “Peace is more than just a goal; it is a presence and a journey.”

So, as we begin the New Year, I wish to all, and pray for “God’s greatest gift” of Peace. “Peace, wrote Pope Benedict XVI, for the World Day of Peace, 2013, “is God’s most sublime gift in which He turns towards us the splendor of His Face.”

“May the Lord bless and keep you; may He make His Face shine upon you and be merciful to you; may He turn His countenance toward you and grant you His peace.” (Numbers 6:24)

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of God’s glory shining on the face of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6)

Adoration of the Magi,
Fra. Angelico & Fra. Lippi

“May the Lord, grant, in the New millennium, the Church will grow ever more in holiness, that she may become in history a true epiphany of the merciful and glorious face of Christ the Lord.” ~Pope St. John Paul II

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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.”

Look Closely–Our Lady of Guadalupe, “Not Made by Human Hands” Drawn by Love.

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“Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the LORD God, the creator of heaven and earth.” (Judith 13:18)

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Miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Shroud of Turin, and “Il Volto Santo,” the veil of Manoppello all have something in common.  They are all Acheiropoieta, a Greek word meaning: “made without hand.”  They are said to have come into existence miraculously, not created by a human painter.

The relic Veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello, faintly seen in the light, through both sides.

Extensive research that has been done on these three images, and the results are astounding.  Although I have not been to Mexico to view the miraculous tilma of Our Lady, I have seen both the Holy Shroud of Turin and the Veil of Manoppello in person, and have been deeply affected by them both.  Studying them has been my own personal passion over the years.

Holy Face Veil of Manoppello, Italy (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)

Being an artist, (and near-sighted) I tend to look at things more closely. I love this photo above sent to me many years ago by the late author Paul Badde–The detail is incredible! Zoom in and you will see each fiber of the Veil of Manoppello; examine closely His eyes, nose, lips, teeth, and hair. One never tires of looking! To paint a human face an artist studies each little detail, shape, line, form, color, and  value, and may spend hundreds of hours studying as they work.  One can’t help but know every little nuance by the time one has finished painting.  Sr. Blandina Paschalis Schloemer, a Trappist nun from Germany, is also an artist, a painter of icons.  Icon painting is very exact when it is done in the traditional manner.  Sr. Schloemer began to notice striking similarities between ancient icons and images of the Face of Christ, and the images on the Shroud of Turin and the Veil of Manoppello.  With the permission of her order the research has become her life’s work as well as part of her vocation.

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Pope Benedict meets Sr. Blandina at the Sanctuary Basilica for the Holy Face of Manoppello
The Holy Face on the Shroud of Turin

Sr, Blandina’s research indicates that both images on the Shroud of Turin and the Manoppello Image are of the same man.  I agree with her, wholeheartedly, although it is not at first glance apparent. There are also many similarities between these two images  of Jesus’ Face and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  First, all are on a cloth. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is on cactus fiber, which should have disintegrated hundreds of years ago according to scientists. The Shroud of Turin is on linen and the Manoppello Image is on woven sea-silk, called byssus.

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Our Lady of Guadalupe, pilgrim image beside the Veronica Altar, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Photo: Paul Badde, author of The Face of God: The Rediscovery of the True Face of Jesus, Ignatius Press.

Byssus  is more rare and more precious than gold.  Mentioned in the Bible, byssus, has a shimmering, iridescent quality which reflects light. Byssus is extremely delicate, yet strong at the same time. It  resists water, weak acids, bases, ethers or alcohols. It can’t be painted, as it does not retain pigments, it can only be dyed; and then, only purple.  Did I mention that it can last for more than 2000 years?

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The veil of Manoppello, woven with byssus, is so sheer that you can read through it. Photo: Paul Badde

Another similarity between the Guadalupe image and the Manoppello image is the changeability of the images.  Pilgrims  have related how the image of Our Lady on the tilma appears to change in color, brightness and depth.  Scientists can’t explain how the Guadalupe image appears on the tilma, it is not painted… it is “just there.”  The Shroud of Turin has been described similarly. The veil of Manoppello, or “Il Volto Santo” as it is also known,  is even more incredible, if that can be possible, because in addition to the image being on a veil so sheer that it can be read through; it also changes in detail, color,  and shape.  It even disappears… entirely. It is called a “living image” and so it is.  No two people will see it in the same way.  No single person will see it in the same way twice.

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“Il Volto Santo of Manoppello”

Julian of Norwich, the English mystic of the 14th century,  mentions changeability as a characteristic of the Veil of Veronica in Rome, “the diverse changing of color and countenance, sometime more comfortably life-like, sometime more rueful and death-like.” The Veil of Veronica, it is now believed, was most likely stolen a hundred years later, during the sack of Rome.  But, Julian of Norwichs’ description of the Veil of Veronica certainly fits “Il Volto Santo” of Manoppello.

But, there is more.  There is something about the faces… if you study the faces in particular, especially  the eyes, as one opthamalogist did. On the eyes of Our Lady of Guadalupe, you will notice that something.  Similar research has been done on the eyes of “Il Volto Santo.”  There are delicate, natural, details in all three images that cannot be accomplished without the aid of paint or brush, on a rough, cactus cloth, or on a linen burial shroud or on gossamer-thin sea-silk.  If you have an opportunity, look closely.  Yes, there is something about the faces, and it is something supernatural.  They are not made by human hands, but by the Hand of God.

“O Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe,

By your presence you made the desert bloom with flowers

may your love transform us into the image of Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.”

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Roses in Winter

“A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child…” (Rev. 12) 

This story of Your Lady of Guadalupe begins in a very dark place.  It was time of sin, suffering, and death, when the Aztecs sacrificed human beings to an idol that required human blood. In other words, a time not so different from our own, when millions of unborn children are sacrificed on the altar of “choice” to the idol of death. It was in this dark period of history, in the sixteenth century, that the Blessed Virgin Mary intervened for humanity. She was sent by God to defeat the culture of death at that time in Mexico. Like the “Woman” in Revelation, “clothed in the sun, with moon at her feet,” on December 9, 1531, she appeared to a poor man of no importance or influence, one of Mary’s “little ones,” Juan Diego. The beautiful young woman, whose clothing indicated that she was pregnant, called him by name as a mother would, “Juanito” – “little Juan.”   She spoke to Juan:

Virgin Mother Our Lady of Guadalupe “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.” (Rev. 11:19)

“I want you to know for certain, my dear son, that I am the perfect and always Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God from Whom all life comes, the Lord of all things, Creator of heaven and earth.”  

The Blessed Mother then requested that Juan Diego go to his bishop and ask that a church be built in her honor, in which she would show —

“…all my love, compassion and protection. I am your Mother full of mercy and love for you and all those who love me, trust in me, and have recourse to me. I will hear their complaints, and I will comfort their affliction, and their sufferings.”   

However, when Juan repeated her words to Bishop Zumarraga, the bishop, fearing an illusion, was skeptical, and sent Juan away. But in his heart Bishop Zumarraga prayed, asking God for a sign of Castillian Roses, which only grew in the bishop’s native country of Spain.

She appeared again to Juan Diego and finally, early in the morning of December 12th, the Blessed Mother asked him to return to the bishop. She instructing him first to go to the top of Tepeyac Hill “and pick the flowers that you find there and bring them to me.” Although, it was too cold and dry for flowers to grow, Juan obediently climbed the hill and discovered beautiful, sweet-smelling roses growing there, which he gathered up into his tilma – a sort of working cloak made of cactus fiber. Our Lady then, with her own hands, carefully arranged the roses in his tilma. She told Juan to give them to the bishop as a sign that he should build the church.

After running all the way to the bishop’s residence, Juan was made to wait for hours by some servants, who, curious about what he held so closely in his tilma, tried to force Juan to show them. Finally, they informed the bishop that Juan was waiting, and Juan rushed to the bishop, who was meeting with other people in the room, and he unfolded his cloak. The roses, still covered with dew, tumbled to the floor, revealing on the tilma the beautiful image of the Blessed Mother.  The bishop and the others fell to their knees.

The Indians, upon seeing the miraculous image, recognized  the rich symbolism  contained within it as coming from heaven. Thus, they converted by the millions, and their religion of human sacrifice was ended.

The tilma miraculously exists to this day, though the cactus fiber should have disintegrated after forty years. In the past century, even when a load of dynamite was exploded just below it the blast severely damaged everything around it, but did not touch the image. There is no paint or pigment on the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is an “Acheiropoieta,” a Greek word meaning: “made without human hands.” Like other acheiropoieta, such as the Shroud of Turin, and the Veil of Manoppello,  there is no scientific explanation for the image’s existence, except, that it was made by the hand of God, “the true God, from Whom all life comes, the Lord of all things, Creator of Heaven and earth.”  Images such as these are ongoing miracles – tangible signs of God’s mercy and love. Let us ask Him then, through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to redeem this generation, mired in the deep darkness of sin, death, and idolatry, to bring Light and roses of life into the cold darkness — to save the lives of the unborn, and convert souls by turning them, once again, away from idols and back to the Face of her Son and her God; who suffered, died and rose from the dead.

Relic veil of the Holy Face of Manoppelllo (Photo: Patricia Enk)

These three miraculous images created by God have something else in common–They draw us by love, and not by fear to God. He condescends towards mankind to draw us to himself, inviting us to look more closely at the pure and lovely face of His own mother, and his own Holy Face; to contemplate his great humility, goodness, mercy and love.

From a sermon by Saint Peter Chrysologus — Love desires to see God:

“When God saw the world falling to ruin because of fear, he immediately acted to call it to himself by his love. He invited it by his grace, preserved it by his love, and embraced it with compassion. When the earth had become hardened in evil, God sent the flood both to punish and to release it. He called Noah to be the father of a new era, urged him with kind words, and showed that he trusted him; he gave him fatherly instruction about the present calamity, and through his grace, consoled him with hope for the future.

But God did not merely issue commands; rather with Noah sharing the work, he filled the art with the future seed of the whole world. The sense of loving fellowship thus engendered removed servile fear, and a mutual love could continue to preserve what shared labor had effected.

God called Abraham out of the heathen world, symbolically lengthened his name, and made him the father of all believers. God walked with him on his journeys, and protected him in foreign lands, enriched him with earthly possessions, and honored him with victories. He made a covenant with him, saved him from harm, accepted his hospitality, and astonished him by giving him the offspring he had despaired of. Favored with so many graces and drawn by such great sweetness of divine love, Abraham was to learn to loved God rather than fear him, and love rather than fear was to inspire his worship.

God comforted Jacob by a dream during his flight, roused him to combat upon his return, and encircled him with a wrestler’s embrace to teach him not to be afraid of the author of the conflict, but to love him. God called Moses as a father would, and with fatherly affection invited him to become the liberator of his people. In all these events we have recalled, the flame of divine love enkindled human hearts and its intoxication overflowed into men’s senses.

Wounded by love, they longed to look upon God with their bodily eyes. Yet how could our narrow human vision apprehend God, whom the whole world cannot contain? But the law of love is not concerned with what will be, what ought to be, what can be. Love does not reflect; it is unreasonable and knows no moderation. Love refuses to consoled when its goal proves impossible, despises al hindrances to the attainment of its object.

Love destroys the lover if he cannot obtain what he loves; love follows its own prompting, and does not think of right or wrong. Love inflames desire which impels it toward things that are forbidden. But why continue?

It’s intolerable for love not to see the object of its longing. That is why whatever reward they merited was nothing to the saints if they could not see the Lord. A love that desires to see God may not have reasonableness on its side, but it is the evidence of filial love. It gave Moses the temerity to say: If I have found favor in your eyes, show me your face. It inspired the psalmist to make the same prayer:

Show me your face.

Even the pagans made their images for this purpose: they wanted actually to see what they mistakingly revered.”

Fr. Daren Zehnle –May he gaze on God’s Face

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Rev. Daren J. Zehnle in the historic Roman Procession of Holy Face of Manoppello, celebrating “Omnis Terra” in Rome, in 2016.
(photo: Edward Pentin)

Fr. Daren Zehnle, a 47-year old Roman Catholic priest from the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, passed away on November 27th after suffering a stroke. He was born on March 26, 1978, in Quincy, Illinois. His short life was marked by profound loss–he was a twin, but had lost his brother Matthew shortly after birth. By the age of ten he had already lost both his parents; his father, Bill, at eight, and his mother, Pat, at the age of ten to brain cancer. Fr. Zehnle found solace in his faith, “It might seem strange to say that my parents’ death led me to God, but they did, I realized somehow that I needed to draw close to — and stay close –to God. I felt safe, at peace, and comforted when I prayed.” Fr. Daren was ordained a priest on May 28, 2005, by Bishop George J. Lucas.

Relic Veil of the Holy Face in Manoppello, Italy
(Photo: Patricia Enk)
Fr. Daren Zehnle at the altar. (sent by Antonio Bini)

Fr. Zehnle had a deep love and devotion to the Holy Face of Manoppello in Italy, which he wrote about often on his “Servant and Steward” blog. (link is to a conference talk, in which he gave a beautiful reflection, on the Face of Mercy–the Holy Face of Manoppello.) It was through a shared devotion of the Holy Face that I was fortunate enough to get to know him while he was pursuing a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He went on to hold various positions, including Parochial Vicar at St. Anthony of Padua Parish. Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, and director of campus ministry at Quincy University. Fr. Daren also had a very special devotion to Venerable Augustus Tolton, and St. Damien of Molokai. He was known as an extraordinary priest, and a faithful and good shepherd, and will be very missed by all who knew him. In an interview with “Catholic Times” last year, when asked what he would say to his loved ones when he meets them in heaven, he replied with moving simplicity: “I expect they will say to me what I will probably say to them, “I’ve missed you.”

Please remember him in your prayers. The Joy of Heaven is the Face of God — May Fr. Daren Zehnle gaze on God’s Face for all eternity!

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. Through the mercy of God, may he Rest In Peace. Amen.

Fr. Zehnle sent Antonio Bini this photo as well. Antonio had met Fr. Zehnle many times when he visited The Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello–he remembers him as “Always smiling, positive, and deeply devoted to the Holy Face, which he enthroned on April 9, 2023, Easter Sunday, in St. Augustine Church in Ashland, Illinois, where he was a parish priest.

Paul Badde, Rest In Peace

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Photo: by Paul Badde, of the Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello, Italy.

Paul Badde, beloved friend of so many around the world, passed away last night in his home. He died just a short distance from his beloved Holy Face held in the Basilica Shrine of Il Volto Santo, in Manoppello, Italy. Paul passionately believed in, studied, and sacrificed to spread the word of the “re-discovery” of the miraculous Veil of the Holy Face. May he rest in peace, and may God reward Paul for all he has done for love of Christ Jesus and His Blessed Mother.

The Holy Face of Manoppello and Paul Badde(CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Please pray for the repose of his soul and for the consolation of his wife, Ellen and their family.

May Paul, our brother in Christ, gaze on God’s Face for all eternity! Holy Face of Manoppello, (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
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 a very happy Paul Badde look on.

A statement from the Basilica Volto Santo di Manoppello:

” Paul Badde has returned to the Father’s House.

Born in Germany, near Aachen, in 1948, a former teacher of political history, Badde worked as a journalist at the prestigious German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” and from 2000 to 2013 was the Jerusalem and Rome correspondent for “Die Welt,”

Since discovering the existence of the Holy Face, Paul has never had any doubts that it was the authentic image of the human and divine Face of Christ, and as a scholar, he has authored numerous pioneering volumes of historic and theological studies on the important relic preserved in the Abruzzo town. Among others, we recall “The Second Shroud”[his first book about the Sudarium] in 2006, which, translated into several languages, was a veritable springboard for knowledge of the Holy Face throughout the world and consequently for the spread of devotion to it; as well as the Manoppello treasure of 2017 and the important booklet, “Jesus in His Burial Cloths.”

Paul Badde, along with his wife Ellen, his great supporter and ever-present companion in his travels and research, had spent many years in Manoppello, right near the Basilica of the Holy Face, thus becoming not only part of the community but a true point of reference for all.

The Capuchin Friars of the Sanctuary and all the faithful, grateful for his kind and discreet presence, will always remember Paul with great affection and gratitude and extend their deepest sympathies to his wife Ellen and his entire family.

Dear Paul, after having venerated Him so much on this earth, you are now finally contemplating the Face of God in Heaven. Lord, we pray with all our hearts that the light of Your endless glory may shine upon Paul eternally and console the family in this moment of grief following the earthly separation from their beloved relative.”

–Seraphic Province of the Immaculate Conception OFM Cap., Municipality of Manoppello.

Pope Benedict XVI with Paul Badde on the occasion of the Pope’s pilgrimage to see The Holy Veil in 2006.
Paul Badde contemplating the Holy Veil of Manoppello Photo: Alan Holdren
What an honor it has been to know Paul Badde; God bless his memory!

+A little more… Links to some of Pauls books:Maria of Guadalupe, The Face of God: The Rediscovery of the True Face of Jesus, The Holy Veil of Manoppello: The Human Face of God, The True Icon: From the Shroud of Turin to the Veil of Manoppello, and Benedict Up Close: The Inside Story of Eight Dramatic Years, and also information about Paul’s last book, “The Luke Icon — Rome’s Hidden Wonder of the World;” which is, in part, Paul’s German autobiography–beginning and ending with his great love for the Blessed Mother and his search for the earliest, and most hauntingly beautiful “Luke Icon.” It was Mary who led Paul to seek the Face of Jesus on the Holy Veil of Manoppello. A summary of this wonderful book may be read about in this post “Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us.”

“Advocata Nostra” Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN

The Scholar Who Recognized “the Veronica”

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Antonio Bini presenting a book on the Holy Face to Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco on the occasion of his pilgrimage to the Basilica Shrine of Il Volto Santo in 2019.

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.)

The Relic was recently removed from the glass enclosure for viewing and procession, on the Feast of the Transfiguration (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)

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.

Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer and Paul Badde look on as Pope Benedict XVI greets Sr. Blandina Paschalis Schloemer, whose forensic study comparisons of the Face of the Shroud of Turin and the Face on the Manoppello Veil were key to its rediscovery. Historic visit to the Shrine of Il Volto Santo in 2006.

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:

Holy Veil of Manoppello, Photo: Alexandra Prandell
Relic of the Holy Face carried in procession through the streets. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
(Transfiguration procession of the relic) Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
Fireworks explode in the sky as the relic of the Holy Face Veil returns to the Basilica Shrine. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)
The serene gaze of the Holy Face of Jesus, of Manoppello. (Photo: Alexandra Prandell)