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.”
Msgr. Walter Amaducci presents a copy of his book on the Holy Face of Manoppello to Pope Leo XIV
English edition of Msgr. Amaducci’s book “The Holy Face.”
First, some good news: This October, Msgr. Walter Amaducci, Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Care in the Diocese of Cesena in Emilia-Romagne, was received in a private audience by Pope Leo XIV. During their cordial meeting, Msgr. Amaducci presented the Pope with a copy of his book on the Holy Face of Manoppello. Msgr. Amaducci, who was once a skeptic of the relic veil known as “Il Volto Santo,” has now become its ardent defender, recognizing in the remarkable history, its importance for this millennium–dedicated to the Face of Christ by Pope St. John Paul II.
During his meeting with Pope Leo XIV, the gracious Msgr. Amaducci also advised the Holy Father to seek further information about the relic from Cardinal Louis Antonio Tagle, who has been personally involved in spreading the good news of the Holy Veil of Manoppello for many years.
Padre Carmine Cucinelli, the former Rector of Basilica Sanctuary of the Holy Face and Cardinal Tagle (2017)
On his first visit to see the Holy Face of Manoppello, on May 20, 2017, Cardinal Tagle, shared his experience: (Translation from the original Italian interview, which may be seen here.) — “I saw the Holy Face under the changing of the light, not only a Face of tenderness, but of welcoming. I saw a Face smiling at me, almost saying, “Welcome Luis Antonio!” It is a Face that speaks, it is alive, yes, it is the message, the Word is the Face. It is also a Face turned towards me, but I did not feel fear; fear in front of a judge, or of a face which condemns. A Face of Truth, and the Truth is love; love wins out over fear. I thought this afternoon perhaps this is the Last Judgement–it is not a judgement full of fear and dread, but in front of pure love–I do not want to hide myself. There is no reason to hide myself, but, there is only the reason to open my heart in front of a Face open to love, open to welcoming, open to pardoning my mistakes. It is an experience of liberation, and religious experience for me.”
Cardinal Tagle elevating the Body of Christ at the Basilica Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello, Italy (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
At the closing of Cardinal Tagle’s homily the next day, May 21, 2017, he said: “We see the Face of Jesus because He reveals His Face to us, the Face of the loving God. His is the Face of God turned towards us and not centered on Himself. His is the Face of the One who fulfilled the commandment of love. As we see and hear His Face may our faces be transformed into His Holy Face. Through the testimony of our faces, may the suffering people of the world know that Jesus sees them, listens to them, cares for them and loves them.”
A Blessed Encounter with the Holy Face of Jesus
(Photo: Patricia Enk)
Cardinal Tagle has also said, “What we have seen and heard we must share with others.”
Mountain “The Catholic Traveler” Butorac stands next to the Relic Veil of the Holy Face in the Basilica Shrine of Il Volto Santo in Manoppello, Italy. (Photo: Patricia Enk)
And so, I would like to share with tremendous gratitude in my heart, that I have just returned from a Jubilee Year of Hope pilgrimage, which brought me back to Rome, Assisi, Loreto and especially to Manoppello after far too many years–thanks to Mountain Butorac, a.k.a. “The Catholic Traveler.”
Earlier this year Mountain had led my husband and I on an exceptional pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and so now we have a great deal of confidence in the gifts and talents that God has given him to make even the most daunting pilgrimage journey happen–with as few bumps along the way as possible–and many joyful and holy surprises as well.
And speaking of joy and holy surprises… we saw the Pope!
Pope Leo XIV recognizing some very happy & shouting pilgrims from the “Windy City.” (Photo: Patricia Enk)
My last visit to the Basilica Shrine of “Il Volto Santo” was in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, in 2016–which we had traveled to on our own over nine years ago: (Pilgrimage — A Journey Toward the Face of God, Part 1 – Manoppello.) Much had happened in the following nine years which prevented our return; some good and some bad; including the loss of my eyesight for over a year, and after several surgeries–a gradual recovery–thanks be to God!
Sr. Petra-Maria, Cynthia Krystyna Simla reverencing the Holy Face relic. (Photo: Patricia Enk, 2016)
For this pilgrimage journey, our small group of fellow pilgrims were a continual source of unexpected blessing, help, and inspirations at each step along the way. Mountain shouldered the stress whenever “the best laid plans of mice and men” went a little astray, but with the end result always turning out even better than originally planned: such as the day that the Sistine Chapel was going to be closed to the public when we had been scheduled to visit. The reason was the historic meeting of King Charles with Pope Leo XIV. The King the the Pope would be praying together for the first time in 500 hundred years, under the backdrop of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgement.” Only a few hours before that grand event, after strolling peacefully alone through the Vatican Museum, we were surprised when our group had been allowed to enter the Sistine Chapel with no one else present–except some very diligent cleaning ladies preparing for the Pope and King, and a handful of very Vatican official-looking men in suits. (No photos in the Sistine Chapel, of course.)
Biographer of Carlo Acutis, and custodian of his relics, Mons. Anthony Figueiredo, gave the group a wonderful talk on St. Francis connecting to the spirituality of St. Carlo Acutis.
Miracles do happen! And there were many more to come… a surprise blessing with the relics of St. Carlo Acutis in Assisi, Mass in the dark silence of the Holy House of Loreto, the sight of the oldest Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano…and for myself; the tremendous grace to see, through grateful tears once again, the great gift the human Face of my Risen Lord on the Holy Veil of Manoppello, and with renewed Hope in the power of the Resurrection of Christ.
Pope St. John Paul has said: “Contemplation of Christ’s Face cannot stop at the image of the Crucified One. He is the Risen One!” The Holy Face of Manoppello is the Face of the Risen Christ; it is believed to be the “Cloth that Covered His Head” in the tomb.
“Those who gaze on it [the relic Veil of the Holy Face] are never satisfied with contemplating it, and wish to always have it before their eyes. And when they eventually leave it, with heavy sighs full of love, they are forced to leave Him their hearts, bathed in tears.” –Capuchin Donato da Bomba 1646. (Paul Badde’s beautiful photo of Il Volto Santo of Manoppello)
Continuing his catechesis on the Jubilee theme of Jesus Christ, Our Hope, Pope Leo XIV asks us “to consider how the Resurrection of Jesus fulfills the desires of every human heart. Our lives are marked by conflicting situations that reveal limitations and our desire to overcome them. We seek worldly recognition and whether we receive it or not, we still feel empty. This reveals that we are not truly satisfied with achievements and passing certainties of the world. This is because we are created in the image and likeness of God, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we recognize an inexhaustible longing in our hearts for something more. It is only the Resurrected Jesus who can give the only true and lasting peace that sustains and fills us. In a world struggling with fatigue and despair, let us be signs of hope, peace, and joy in the Risen Lord!” (Pope Leo XIV, October 15, 2025 Audience)
(Photo: Jerry Christopher) Entering the Holy Door Deo Gratias!
Illumina Domine Blog - Devotion to The Holy Face 