Manoppello

The Veil of Manoppello, Italy, known as “Il Volto Santo”

The Holy Face of Jesus and Lourdes

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Today is The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and The World Day of the sick.  There is also a special connection between Lourdes and The Holy Face of Jesus.

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Sanctuary Basilica Lourdes
The Most Reverend Bishop Perrier of Tarbes-Lourdes 2010 visit to Manoppello Shrine
The Most Reverend Bishop Perrier of Tarbes-Lourdes 2010 visit to Manoppello Shrine

France is known for it’s special devotion to The Holy Face of Jesus. (Sr. Marie St. Pierre, The Holy Man of Tours, St. Therese of The Child Jesus and the Holy Face, to name a few examples.)  In April of 2010, the bishop of the diocese of Tarbes-Lourdes, Monsignor Philippe Perrier, had visited the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello, accompanied by a delegation which included Francois Vayne, editor of the Lourdes Magazine and Doctor Alessandro De Franciscis, director of the organism which documents and investigates miracles which take place in the Lourdes. The French Bishop was welcomed by the Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto Bruno Forte and by the rector of the Shrine, Fr. Carmine Cucinelli.  Bishop Perrier celebrated the Mass in French, remaining in prayer before the Holy Face.  Deeply moved, the Bishop stated that he had “seen in the suffering Face of Manoppello the sufferings of the Madonna of Lourdes”, inviting those present to “be worthy of this extraordinary treasure of grace”.

After his encounter with The Holy Face at The Shrine of Manoppello, Bishop Perrier proposed an extraordinary event; an exhibition titled “L’IMAGE DU CHRIST A TRAVERS LE VISAGE DE LA VIERGE” – “The image of Christ through the face of the Virgin” which was  held in the exhibition hall of the famous Marian Shrine of Lourdes from September 1 – October 2 in 2011.   A significant part of the exhibition focused on the relationship between the Holy Face and the Face of the Madonna in the various expressions of devotion and faith that are common to Lourdes and Manoppello, the faces of sick, suffering and pilgrims.

Sixth Station of the Cross at Lourdes, Veronica wipes the Face of Jesus
Sixth Station of the Cross at Lourdes, Veronica wipes the Face of Jesus

As Pope Francis reminds us so often, “Every sick and fragile person can see in your face the Face of Jesus, and you can also recognize in the suffering person the body of Christ.”  He continually demonstrates that element of devotion to The Holy Face of discipleship in seeking the Face of Christ in the poor, the sick and the weak and by being the Face of Christ to them.

The world was stunned when Pope Francis embraced a severely disfigured man shown in the photo below.  What compassion! Today is the 4th day of the Holy Face Novena, which can be found in the previous post. As we lift up the sick before the Holy Face of Jesus this day let us also place them in the most compassionate, Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of Lourdes who sees in them the Face of her Son.  Remember, too, in our prayers doctors, nurses and all healthcare workers and caregivers, who make great sacrifices in order to show the loving Face of Christ to the sick. May God grant us all compassion for the sick and patience in suffering.

Pope Francis embracing the sick
Pope Francis embracing the sick

May God bless them and shine His Face upon them!

Grotto of Lourdes
Grotto of Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes
Prayer
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request.
(state your request)
Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

 

Look Closely – Our Lady of Guadalupe “Not made by Human Hands”

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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.

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The Holy Face on the Shroud of Turin

The 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.  Studying them has been my own personal passion.

Being an artist, (and near-sighted) I tend to look at things more closely.  I study each little detail, shape, line, form, color, and  value. I may spend hundreds of hours studying while I work.  I can’t help but know every little nuance by the time I am done 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

Her 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.”