Shroud professor praises Vancouver exhibit

Professor Emanuela Marinelli has made the Shroud of Turin her life’s work. She has written books about the Shroud, and regularly travels around the world speaking about the cloth that a long tradition says covered Christ’s body after His death.

Marinelli has been so struck by what is becoming an annual Lenten tradition in the Archdiocese of Vancouver that she’s enthusing about it in an article for Catholic Insight magazine, describing the Man of the Shroud Exhibit in Good Shepherd Church in Surrey.

The article appears in the February issue, and organizers are hoping it will bring attention to the Shroud exhibit just as it prepares for its annual tour.

The Vancouver Shroud Association is also unveiling a new web site, www.manoftheshroud.org, just in time for the Shroud’s Lenten appearance.

Organizers hope the site will help make Catholic, Christian, and other faith communities aware that the Shroud exhibit is available for bookings at schools and churches.

The high praise from Marinelli won’t hurt, as she commends the area exhibit for its professionalism.

Marinelli, credentialled by the Vicariate of Rome as an expert Catechist of the Passion, gives her impressions of the exhibit through expert eyes, comparing it with other exhibits she has viewed over the years.

She describes the archdiocese as being blessed to have the exhibit, from its interesting text and high-quality pictures to a full-size photographic reproduction of the Shroud.

“To enrich the exhibition and to give visitors some idea of the suffering of Jesus Christ, many artefacts, reconstructed according to features found on the Holy Shroud, are also on display: the scourge, the crown of thorns, nails, and the lance that pierced His side. Several beautiful icons of the face of Jesus are also aids to meditation and prayer.”

Marinelli confessed to having difficulty saying farewell to the exhibit at the end of her 2004 visit.

“Every day I had difficulty in leaving it to give one of my lectures in a different area. The last day, of course, was the hardest. I asked myself: ‘Where and when will I see another exhibition again, so beautifully prepared and so well organized?’”

She recounted her excitement at returning a year later when the exhibit returned, drawing recognized Shroud speakers from around the world.

“Since my interest was first aroused in this relic in 1977, I have participated in hundreds of exhibitions on the Holy Shroud, but I have not seen another that matches this one.”

The ability of the Shroud group to repeat the exhibit a year later speaks to its accuracy and value, she said, closing with her comments on the place of the Shroud in people’s hearts.

“The Holy Shroud is a magnet not only for Catholics, but also for the Orthodox, Protestants, Jews, and even those who have no particular faith. For this reason I don’t call it The Holy Shroud of Turin, as if its importance were limited to one city, but simply The Holy Shroud of Jesus. That means also the Holy Shroud for all Mankind. Let us spread the knowledge of this sacred relic!”

Mini-exhibits of the shroud are currently booked for April 1 and 2 at two high schools. The exhibit is available to museums, schools, galleries, churches, and schools, and can be tailored to space restrictions and needs of all sizes of venues.

To book the exhibit, contact The Vancouver Shroud Society web site at www.manoftheshroud.org. Letters and donations can be sent to Mrs. Wharton c/o 2250-150 St., Surrey, BC V4A 6R4. E-mails can be sent to Phillip Wiebe at pwiebe@twu.ca.