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Ostension of the Holy Shroud on televisions worldwide

Holy Saturday (30 March 2013) in Easter week is going to be a highly spiritual day, with the Holy Shroud being exhibited to the whole world in a live television broadcast. A new app for the Holy Shroud is due out soon
Domenico Agasso Jr.
Turin
In these epic and mystery-filled days, Benedict XVI gives his final gift to the Archdiocese of Turin and to the world: a televised ostension of the Holy Shroud on Holy Saturday (30 March). The Archbishop Emeritus of Turin, Cardinal Severino Poletto, told Italy’s 3rd biggest daily La Stampa, that in his last personal greeting to him as Pope, Benedict XVI reminded him of his visit to Turin on 2 May 2010, to see the Holy Shroud.

“I hope that this international event will bring a little bit of light and peace in these complicated times to the hearts of all who experience it and that it brings strength and hope to the poor and sick and also to families and those facing hardship,” the Archbishop of Turin, Mgr. Cesare Nosiglia said. He recalled that “we had spent a lot of time reflecting on this project alongside the relevant Holy See authorities” and that Benedict XVI had given the green light which encouraged them, giving the event an evangelisation and contemplation slant so as to inspire a deep spirituality in faithful during Holy Week.”

hat particular occasion he said: “This pilgrimage, this visit, is a particularly intense experience for me: maybe because with the passing of the years I have become more sensitive to the message of this extraordinary Icon; perhaps and I would say above all, because I am here as the Successor of Peter and I carry the entire Church, the whole of humanity, in fact, within my heart.” Benedict XVI defined the Shroud as the “Icon of Holy Saturday”.

Having stood for some time before this fascinating and mysterious Shroud and observed it in silence, he said: “If thousands and thousands of people come to venerate it without counting those who contemplate it through images it is because they see in it not only darkness but also the light; not so much the defeat of life and of love, but rather victory, the victory of life over death, of love over hatred. They indeed see the death of Jesus, but they also see his Resurrection; in the bosom of death, life is now vibrant, since love dwells within it.”

“This is the power of the Shroud: from the face of this "Man of sorrows", who carries with him the passion of man of every time and every place, our passions too, our sufferings, our difficulties and our sins Passio Christi. Passio hominis from this face a solemn majesty shines, a paradoxical lordship.”

“This face, these hands and these feet, this side, this whole body speaks. It is itself a word we can hear in the silence. How does the Shroud speak? It speaks with blood, and blood is life! The Shroud is an Icon written in blood; the blood of a man who was scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified and whose right side was pierced. The Image impressed upon the Shroud is that of a dead man, but the blood speaks of his life. Every trace of blood speaks of love and of life. (…) It is like a spring that murmurs in the silence, and we can hear it, we can listen to it in the silence of Holy Saturday.” On Holy Saturday (the day of the Lord’s hiding, as Benedict XVI called it) this year, we will hear the Shroud speak to the world again. It must be heard in silence, in memory of that historic visit which took place in communion with the entire world and with St. Peter’s new successor. This will be the second televised ostension of the sacred cloth since its first live exhibition in the Hall of the Swiss, in the Royal Palace of Turin, in 1973. This time, the Shroud will be exhibited in the Cathedral of Turin during a prayer session led by Mgr. Nosiglia and attended by around 300 faithful.

During the ostension, the Shroud will not be removed from the “bed” on which it lies and this will only be removed from the reliquary and raised so it can be viewed easily. It will remain in the chapel which will in turn become a sort of large reliquary that will ensure best conservation conditions.

This year, Benedict XVI’s Year of Faith, a special app is going to be released, making it possible to view the Shroud on Smartphones and tablets for the first time. The app will also include access to special contents, with a zoom function to look at the various parts of the relic in more detail.

The app will be available in four languages: Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese and will have four different sections allowing users to embark on an in-depth exploration of the Holy Shroud: biblical connotations; details of the shroud; the man on the Shroud and scientific findings. More details about the app which should be available by the end of the month will be provided at a later date.

vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/…/sindone-22791