Paul Badde discusses the Holy Veil of Manoppello ...

... with ZENIT:

Subtitled "From the Shroud of Turin to the Veil of Manoppello," the book complements Badde's earlier work in "The Face of God" and a documentary called "The Holy Face" (both also published by Ignatius.)

Badde believes that the rediscovery of the Holy Veil of Manoppello answers questions that have kept some from acknowledging the Shroud of Turin as the cloth Joseph of Arimathea used to enwrap Christ's body for burial. ...

ZENIT: Tell us what you understand the shroud and the "veil" to be -- the veil, or napkin, above all is less well-known, but it is not Veronica's veil?

Badde: The Shroud and the napkin are referring to the very same shroud and the napkin St. John is referring to in his Gospel of the Resurrection, naming in them in Greek Othonia and Soudarion. Having said this, the expression Soudarion is the first name of the napkin. Later, it attracted many other names since nobody could explain where it came from -- realizing at the same time that it must have come into being in an inexplicable way. Therefore, it had for instance the name: acheropoieton (not made by man's hands), Image of King Abgar, Camuliana veil, Mandylion, True Icon (Vera Icon) and Veronica's veil. In fact, all these names meant the same piece of cloth. Last year, Professor Antonio Paolucci, the director of the Vatican Museums, accepted that it had been kept as the "True Icon" in St. Peter's Basilica from the year 706 through 1527. And that year, it got away during the confusion of the Sack of Rome. Until that date it had been the most precious treasure of the popes. 

[The relationship between the two cloths] is very well described in the Gospel of St. John. The shroud had been used to wrap Jesus' dead body. And the napkin had been laid over his face, although we do not know by whom? Was it Mary? Or Mary Magdalene, or Joseph of Arimathea or even Pilatus' wife? We just do not know. We just know that it had been extremely delicate and precious and expensive – just as the ointments the women brought to the grave as if they would bury a king.

Read the entire interview. Learn more about Badde's new book, The True Icon: From the Shroud of Turin to the Veil of Manopello.