Thursday, January 31, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:
Shroud, Hebrews 10:19-26, Psalms 24:1-6, Mark 4:21-25, Saint John Bosco, Turin, Italy, Shroud of Turin, Catholic Catechism Chapter 3:3 In Brief, CredoGood Day Bloggers! Happy Mardi Gras!
Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Purgatory and/or Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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January 25, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May your prayer be as strong as a living stone, until with your lives you become witnesses. Witness the beauty of your faith. I am with you and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May your prayer be as strong as a living stone, until with your lives you become witnesses. Witness the beauty of your faith. I am with you and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
January 02, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children, with much love and
patience I strive to make your hearts like unto mine. I strive, by my example,
to teach you humility, wisdom and love because I need you; I cannot do without
you my children. According to God's will I am choosing you, by His strength I am
strengthening you. Therefore, my children, do not be afraid to open your hearts
to me. I will give them to my Son and in return, He will give you the gift of
Divine peace. You will carry it to all those whom you meet, you will witness
God's love with your life and you will give the gift of my Son through
yourselves. Through reconciliation, fasting and prayer, I will lead you.
Immeasurable is my love. Do not be afraid. My children, pray for the shepherds.
May your lips be shut to every judgment, because do not forget that my Son has
chosen them and only He has the right to judge. Thank you."
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Today's Word: shroud shroud [shroud]
Origin: before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English scrūd; cognate with Old Norse skrūth; akin to shred; (v.) Middle English shrouden, derivative of the noun; replacing Middle English shriden, Old English scrȳdan, derivative of scrūd
noun
1. a cloth or sheet in which a corpse is wrapped for burial.
2. something that covers or conceals like a garment: a shroud of rain.
3. Nautical . any of a number of taut ropes or wires converging from both sides on the head of a lower or upper mast of the outer end of a bowsprit to steady it against lateral sway: a part of the standing rigging.
4. Also called shroud line. Aeronautics . any of a number of suspension cords of a parachute attaching the load to the canopy.
5. Also called shroud·ing. Machinery .
a. (on a nonmetallic gear) an extended metal rim enclosing the ends of the teeth on either side.
b. (on a water wheel) one of two rings of boards or plates enclosing the buckets at their ends.
6. Rocketry. a cone-shaped shield that protects the payload of a launch vehicle.
verb (used with object)
7. to wrap or clothe for burial; enshroud.
8. to cover; hide from view.
9. to veil, as in obscurity or mystery: They shrouded their past lives in an effort to forget.
10. to provide (a water wheel) with a shroud.
11. Obsolete . to shelter.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 24:1-6
1 [Psalm Of David] To Yahweh belong the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live there;
2 it is he who laid its foundations on the seas, on the flowing waters fixed it firm.
3 Who shall go up to the mountain of Yahweh? Who shall take a stand in his holy place?
4 The clean of hands and pure of heart, whose heart is not set on vanities, who does not swear an oath in order to deceive.
5 Such a one will receive blessing from Yahweh, saving justice from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the people that seeks him, that seeks your presence, God of Jacob.Pause
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Today's Epistle - Hebrews 10:19-25
19 We have then, brothers, complete confidence through the blood of Jesus in entering the sanctuary,
20 by a new way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his flesh.
21 And we have the high priest over all the sanctuary of God.
22 So as we go in, let us be sincere in
heart and filled with faith, our hearts sprinkled and free from any
trace of bad conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the one who made the promise is trustworthy.
24 Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works.
25 Do not absent yourself from your own
assemblies, as some do, but encourage each other; the more so as you see
the Day drawing near
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Today's Gospel Reading - Mark 4:21-25
He also said to them, 'Is a lamp brought in to be put under a tub or under the bed? Surely to be put on the lamp-stand? For there is nothing hidden, but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light. Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!' He also said to them, 'Take notice of what you are hearing. The standard you use will be used for you -- and you will receive more besides; anyone who has, will be given more; anyone who has not, will be deprived even of what he has.'
Reflection
• The lamp which gives light. At that time, there was no electric light. Imagine all that follows. The family is at home. It begins to get dark. The father lifts up the small lamp, he lights it and places under the tub or under the bed. What will the others say? They will began to scream: “Father, place it on the table!” This is the story that Jesus tells. He does not explain. He only says: Anyone who has ears to listen, should listen! The Word of God is the lamp which should be lit in the darkness of the night. If it remains closed up in the closed Book of the Bible, it is like a small lamp under the tub. When it is united to the life in community, there it is placed on the table and it gives light!
• Be attentive to preconceptions. Jesus asks the disciples to become aware of the preconceptions with which they listen to the teaching which he offers. We should be attentive to the ideas which we have when we look at Jesus! If the colour of the eyes is green, everything seems to be green. If they are blue, everything will be blue! If the idea with which we look at Jesus were mistaken, everything which I think about Jesus will be threatened of being an error. If I think that the Messiah has to be a glorious King, I will understand nothing of what the Lord teaches and I will see that everything is mistaken.
• Parable: a new way of teaching and of speaking of Jesus. Jesus used parables, above all, to teach: this was his way. He had an enormous capacity to find very simple images to compare the things of God with the things of the life which people knew and experienced in the daily struggle to survive. This presupposes two things: to be inside, involved in the things of life, and to be inside, involved in the things of the Kingdom of God.
• The teaching of Jesus was diverse from the teaching of the Scribes. It was a Good News for the poor, because Jesus revealed a new face of God, in which people could recognize themselves and rejoice. “I bless you, Father, Lord of Heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do!” (Mt 11, 25-28).
Personal questions
• The Word of God, a lamp which gives light. What place does the Bible have in my life? What light do I receive?
• Which is the image of Jesus that I have within me? Who is Jesus for me and who am I for Jesus?
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: St John Bosco
Feast Day: January 31
Patron Saint: Christian apprentices, editors, publishers, schoolchildren, young people, magicians
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| St John Bosco |
Bosco established a network of organizations and centres to carry on his work. Following his beatification in 1929, he was canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI in 1934.
Life
Bosco was born in the evening of 16 August 1815 in Becchi, Italy.[11] He was the youngest son of Francesco Bosco (1784–1817) and Margherita Occhiena. He had two elder brothers, Antonio and Giuseppe (1813–1862).[11] The Boscos of Becchi were farmhands of the Moglia Family. John Bosco was born into a time of great shortage and famine in the Piedmontese countryside, following the devastation wrought by the Napoleonic wars and a drought in 1817.[12]Margherita, his mother, played a strong role in Bosco's formation and personality,[13] and was an early supporter of her son's ideals.[14][15] When he was young, he would put on shows of his skills as a juggler, magician and acrobat[16] with prayers before and after the performance.[17]
In 1825, when he was nine, Bosco had the first of a series of dreams which would play an influential role in his outlook and work.[18] This first dream "left a profound impression on him for the rest of his life", according to his own memoirs.[18] Bosco apparently saw a man, who "appeared, nobly attired, with a manly and imposing bearing".[18] The man said to him:
You will have to win these friends of yours not with blows, but with gentleness and kindness. So begin right now to show them that sin is ugly and virtue beautiful.[18][19]Poverty prevented any serious attempt at schooling. Nevertheless, it is suggested that the idea to become a priest came from his childhood experiences.[20] At the time, being a priest was generally seen as a profession for the privileged classes, rather than farmers, although it was not unknown.[20] Some biographers portray his brother Antonio as the main obstacle for Bosco's ambition to study, protesting that John was just "a farmer like us!"[21] Nevertheless, Margaret gave her support to John and he finally left home in February 1828 at the age of twelve.[20] Having to face life by himself at such a young age may have developed his later sympathies to help abandoned boys. After begging unsuccessfully for work, Bosco ended up at the wine farm of Louis Moglia.[20] However, although Bosco could pursue some studies by himself, he was unavailable to attend school for two more years. In 1830 he met Joseph Cafasso, an elderly priest who identified some natural talent and supported his first schooling.[22]
Priesthood and first apostolates
A growing group of boys would come to Rifugio on Sundays and feast days to play and learn their catechism. They were too old to join the younger children in regular catechism classes in the parishes. This was the beginning of the "Oratory of St. Francis de Sales". Bosco and his oratory moved around town for a number of years and were turned out of several places in succession. After only two months based in the church of St. Martin, the entire neighborhood expressed its annoyance with the noise coming from the boys at play. A formal complaint was lodged against them with the municipality. Rumors also circulated that the meetings conducted by the priest with his boys were dangerous; their recreation could be turned into a revolution against the government. The group was evicted.[23]
In 1846, Bosco rented a shed in the new Valdocco neighborhood on the north end of town from Mr. Pinardi. This served as the oratory's new home. His mother moved in with him and in 1844, he and "Mamma Margherita" began taking in orphans.
Even before this, Bosco had the help of several friends at the oratory. These included priests like Joseph Cafasso and Borel, some older boys like Giuseppe Buzzetti, Michael Rua, Giovanni Cagliero and Carlo Gastini.[citation needed]
One influential friend was the Piedmontese Justice Minister Urbano Rattazzi, who despite being anticlerical, nevertheless saw some value in Bosco’s work.[24][25] While Rattazzi was pushing a bill through the Sardinian legislature to suppress religious orders, he advised Bosco on how to get around the law and found a religious order to keep the oratory going after its founder’s death.[24] Bosco had been thinking about that problem, too, and had been slowly organizing his helpers into a loose "Congregation of St. Francis de Sales". He was also training select older boys for the priesthood. Another supporter of the religious order's idea was the reigning pope, Blessed Pius IX.[26]
Bosco disliked the ideals that had been exported by revolutionary France, calling Rousseau and Voltaire "two vicious leaders of incredulity",[27] favouring an ultramontane view of politics that acknowledged the supreme authority of the pope. In 1854, when the Kingdom of Sardinia was about to pass a law suppressing monastic orders and confiscating ecclesiastical properties, Bosco reported a series of dreams about "great funerals at court", referring to politicians or members of the Savoy court.[28] In November 1854, he sent a letter to King Victor Emmanuel II, admonishing him to oppose the confiscation of church property and suppression of the orders, but the King failed to respond.[29] His actions, which had been described by Italian historian Erberto Petoia as having "manifest blackmailing intentions",[30] ended only after the intervention of Prime Minister Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour. Despite such criticisms, the king's family did in fact suffer a number of deaths in a short period. From January to May 1855, the king's mother (age 54), wife (32), newborn son (Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Genoa; nearly four months old), and his only brother (32) all died.[28][29]
Opposition to Bosco and his work came from various quarters. Traditionalist clergy accused him of stealing a lot of young and old people away from their own parishes. Nationalist politicians (including some clergy) saw his several hundred young men as a recruiting ground for revolution. The Marquis de Cavour, chief of police in Turin, regarded the open-air catechisms as overtly political and a threat to the State, and was highly suspicious of Bosco's support for the powers of the papacy. Bosco was interrogated on several occasions, but no charges made. Closure may have been prevented by orders from the king that Bosco was not to be disturbed.[31]
Several attempts were also made on Bosco's life, including a near-stabbing, bludgeoning and a shooting. Early biographers put this down to the growing influence of the Waldensians in opposition to Catholic clergy.[23]
Foundation of the Salesians of Don Bosco
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| Basilica Don Bosco in Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Ast |
Next, he worked with estarino, Mary Mazzarello and a group of girls in the hill town of Mornese. In 1871, he founded a group of religious sisters to do for girls what the Salesians were doing for boys. They were called the "Daughters of Mary Help of Christians." In 1874, he founded yet another group, the "Salesian Cooperators." These were mostly lay people who would work for young people like the Daughters and the Salesians, but would not join a religious order.[32]
The first Salesians departed for the United States of America in 1875. After his ordination, Bosco himself would have become a missionary had not his director, Joseph Cafasso, opposed the idea. He nevertheless eagerly read the Italian edition of the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith and used this magazine to illustrate his Cattolico Provveduto (1853) and his Month of May booklets (1858).
When Bosco founded the Salesian Society, the thought of the missions still obsessed him, though he completely lacked the financial means at that time. Bosco claimed he had another dream where he was on a vast plain, inhabited by primitive peoples, who spent their time hunting or fighting among themselves or against soldiers in European uniforms. Along came a band of missionaries, but they were all massacred. A second group appeared, which Bosco at once recognized as Salesians. Astonished, he witnessed an unexpected change when the fierce savages laid down their arms and listened to the missionaries. It seems the dream made a great impression on Bosco, because he tried hard to identify the men and the country of the dream – and for three years collected information about different countries. A request from Argentina, turned him towards the Indians of Patagonia, and a study of the people there convinced him that the country and its inhabitants were the ones he had seen in his dream. Towards the end of 1874, John Bosco received letters from the Argentine consul at Savona requesting that he accept an Italian parish in Buenos Aires and a school for boys at San Nicolas de los Arroyos.
Bosco regarded it as a sign of providence and started to prepare a mission. Adopting a way of evangelization that would not expose his missionaries to wild, "uncivilized" tribes, he proposed setting up bases in safe locations from which missionary efforts were to be launched. Negotiations started after Archbishop Aneiros of Buenos Aires had indicated that he would be glad to receive the Salesians. In a ceremony held on 29 January 1875, Bosco was able to convey the great news to the oratory. On 5 February he announced the fact in a circular letter to all Salesians asking volunteers to apply in writing. He proposed that the first missionary departure start in October. There were many volunteers.
Preventive System
Bosco's capability to attract numerous boys and adult helpers was connected to his "Preventive System of Education". He believed education to be a "matter of the heart" and said that the boys must not only be loved, but know that they are loved. He also pointed to three components of the Preventive System: reason, religion and kindness. Music and games also went into the mix.Bosco gained a reputation early on of being a holy man and miracle worker. For this reason, Michael Rua, Giuseppe Buzzetti, Giovanni Cagliero and several others chronicled his sayings and doings. These are preserved in the Salesian archives. Later on they were combined into 77 scrapbooks with oral testimonies and Bosco’s own Memoirs of the Oratory. His aim was to write a detailed biography. This project eventually became a nineteen-volume enterprise, carried out by him and two other authors. These are the Biographical Memoirs.
Death and legacy
Bosco died on 31 January 1888. His funeral was attended by thousands. Soon after there was popular demand to have him canonized. The Archdiocese of Turin investigated and witnesses were called to determine if Bosco was worthy to be declared a saint. The Salesians, Daughters and Cooperators gave supportive testimonies. But many remembered Bosco’s controversies in the 1870s with Archbishop Gastaldi and some others high in the Church hierarchy thought him a loose cannon and a "wheeler-dealer". In the canonization process, testimony was heard about how he went around Gastaldi to get some of his men ordained and about their lack of academic preparation and ecclesiastical decorum. Political cartoons from the 1860s and later showed him shaking money from the pockets of old ladies or going off to America for the same purpose. These cartoons were not forgotten. Opponents of Bosco, including some cardinals, were in a position to block his canonization and many Salesians feared around 1925 that they would succeed.Pope Pius XI had known Bosco and pushed the cause forward. Bosco was declared blessed in 1929 and canonized on Easter Sunday of 1934, when he was given the title of "Father and Teacher of Youth".[33] While Bosco had been popularly known as the patron saint of illusionists, on 30 January 2002, Silvio Mantelli petitioned Pope John Paul II to formally declare St. John Bosco the Patron of Stage Magicians.[34] Catholic stage magicians who practice Gospel Magic venerate Bosco by offering free magic shows to underprivileged children on his feast day.
Bosco's work was carried on by his early pupil, collaborator and companion, Michael Rua, who was appointed rector major of the Salesian Society by Pope Leo XIII in 1888.
References
- ^ Pope Pius IX 1929
- ^ Pope Pius IX 1934
- ^ Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, 1815 – 1840, p. 26
- ^ Coulter, Myers & Varacalli 2012
- ^ Saint of the Day, 31 January: John Bosco SaintPatrickDC.org. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
- ^ Morrison 1999, p. 51
- ^ Farmer 2004, p. 121
- ^ "Salesian Cooperators". Salesians of Don Bosco, Province of Mary Help of Christians, Melbourne. http://www.salesians.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72&Itemid=95. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ a b "The Salesian Bulletin in the World". Eircom.net, Dublin. http://homepage.eircom.net/~sdbmedia/bulletin/sdb_bull_world.htm. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume XIII (1877–1878), p. 191
- ^ a b Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, Chapter 3, pp. 20–28
- ^ The Piedmont drought lasted from 1817 to 1819. See The Majesty of Charleston by Peter Beney, p.64, 2005 edition.
- ^ Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, Chapter 7, pp. 44–49
- ^ "Venerable Margaret Occhiena". Salesian Society of Don Bosco. 8 February 1995. http://www.sdb.org/ENG/Pagine/_2_12_19_25_.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ^ Steve Whelan. "Mamma Margaret". Salesian Bulletin, Don Bosco West. http://www.donboscowest.org/salesian_family/salesian_bulletin/199801/mamma_marg.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ^ Willey, David, Magician priest wants patron saint of magic BBC News 2 June 2002
- ^ 31 January: Saint John Bosco Magnificat.ca. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
- ^ a b c d Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, Chapter 15, pp. 95–96
- ^ St. Giovanni Melchior Bosco Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2., New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907, accessed June 9, 2009
- ^ a b c d Lemoyne et al. 1965, Volume I, Chapter 22, pp. 142–152
- ^ "Don Bosco, Friend of the Youth". Salesians of Australia. http://www.donbosco.org.au/DonBoscoStory.htm. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, Chapter 24, pp. 159–163
- ^ a b Charles D'Espiney, Don Bosco: A Sketch of His Life and Miracles, 1884
- ^ a b Craughwell, Thomas J. This Saint's for You!, pp. 156–157, Quirk Books, 2007
- ^ Jestice, Phyllis G., Holy People of the World, p. 138, ABC-CLIO, 2004
- ^ Villefranche, Jacques-Melchior, The Life of Don Bosco: Founder of the Salesian Society, pp. 15–16, Burns & Oates, 18??
- ^ Giovanni Bosco: « Storia ecclesiastica ad uso delle scuole », in Giovanni Bosco: Opere edite. Prima serie: Libri e opuscoli, vol. 1 : 1844–1855, Rome, Editrice LAS, 1976 (37 vol. : 19600 p. ), p. 496
- ^ a b Mendl, Michael The Dreams of St. John Bosco Journal of Salesian Studies 12 (2004), no. 2, pp. 321–348.
- ^ a b Memoirs of the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales 1815 – 1855: The autobiography of Saint John Bosco Translated by Daniel Lyons, SDB, with notes and commentary by Eugene Ceria SDB, Lawrence Castelvecchi SDB, and Michael Mendl SDB, Ch. 55, fn. 802
- ^ Petoia, Erberto (June 2007). "I sinistri presagi di Don Giovanni Bosco". Medioevo: p. 70.
- ^ Butler 1999, Volume I
- ^ "Saint John Bosco". Saints.SQPN.com. 12 August 2010. http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-john-bosco/. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ Matz, Terry (2000). "St. John Bosco". Catholic Online. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=63. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ Magicians Want Don Bosco Declared Their Patron 2002-01-29 Zenit News Agency
Bibliography
- Butler, Alan (1999). Butler's lives of the saints.. Tunbridge Wells: Burns & Oates. ISBN 0860122522. http://books.google.it/books?id=rFGTRItJVi0C&lpg=PA88&dq=%22John%20Bosco%22&pg=PA88#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- Farmer, David Hugh (2004). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (5 ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0198609493. http://books.google.it/books?id=lsNT9eUEzaIC&pg=PT121&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TsS0T9OWAaSC4gTVl8zHDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22John%20Bosco%22&f=false.
- Coulter, Michael L.; Myers, Richard S.; Varacalli, Joseph A. (2012). "Bosco, St. John (1815–1888)". Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy Supplement. 3. Scarecrow Press. pp. 36–38. ISBN 0810882663. http://books.google.it/books?id=N3zM1injK8QC&lpg=PA37&pg=PA37#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- Saxton, E.F. (1913). "St. Giovanni Melchior Bosco". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8540590902020777207#editor/target=post;postID=8818826307521843407
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Today's Snippet I: Turin, Italy
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| Royal Palace of Turin |
The city has a rich culture and history, and is known for its numerous art galleries, restaurants, churches, palaces, opera houses, piazzas, parks, gardens, theatres, libraries, museums and other venues. Turin is well known for its baroque, rococo, neo-classical, and Art Nouveau architecture. Much of the city's public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi such as Palazzo Madama,
were built in the 16th and 18th century, after the capital of the Duchy
of Savoy (later Kingdom of Sardinia) was moved to Turin from Chambery (nowadays France) as part of the urban expansion.
Turin is sometimes called the "cradle of Italian liberty", for having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento, such as Cavour.
The city currently hosts some of Italy's best universities, colleges,
academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the six-century-old University of Turin and the Turin Polytechnic. Prestigious and important museums, such as the Museo Egizio and the Mole Antonelliana
are also found in the city. Turin's several monuments and sights make
it one of the world's top 250 tourist destinations, and the tenth most
visited city in Italy in 2008.
The city used to be a major European political centre, being Italy's first capital city in 1861 and being home to the House of Savoy, Italy's royal family. Even though much of its political significance and importance had been lost by World War II,
it became a major European crossroad for industry, commerce and trade,
and currently is one of Italy's main industrial centres, being part of
the famous "industrial triangle", along with Milan and Genoa. Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Milan and Rome, for economic strength With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the world's 78th richest city by purchasing power, and as of 2010 has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma- world city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry.
Turin is well known as the home of the Shroud of Turin, the football teams Juventus F.C. and Torino F.C., the headquarters of automobile manufacturers FIAT, Lancia and Alfa Romeo, and as host of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Several International Space Station modules, such as Harmony and Columbus, were also manufactured in Turin. It was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy from 1563, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy.
It is often referred to as "the Capital of the Alps". Turin is also known as "the Automobile Capital of Italy" or the Detroit of Italy as it is home of FIAT; in Italy it is also called "[La] capitale Sabauda"
History
Ancient origins
The tribe of the Taurini is the origin of the city of Torino: Celtic in origin (most likely from the Austrian halstatt Celtic tribe within which all celts descended from), they joined the ligurian tribes peacefully. The city symbol and coat of arms is the rampant bull - Torino literally means "young bull". The Salassi, another Celtic Italian tribe, was also part of the Piemonte area which was eventually destroyed by the Romans. The language of the Piemonte region, Piemontese, still to this day contains many words of Celtic origin and is more than a dialect: it is indeed a separate language spoken to this day by the people of Torino and the Piemonte region, giving them a unique sense of identity and affinity with their ancient ancestral heritage.
Roman times
In the 1st century BC, probably 28 BC, the Romans created a military camp (Castra Taurinorum), later dedicated to Augustus (Augusta Taurinorum). The typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, but especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the exact path of the Decumanus of the Roman City which began at the Porta Decumani which was later incorporated into the Castello or Palazzo Madama. The Porta Palatina, on the north side of the district is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral. Turin reached about 5,000 inhabitants at the time, all living inside the high walls.Middle Ages
Early modern
Emmanuel Philibert, known with the nickname "Iron Head", made Turin the capital of the Duchy of Savoy in 1563. Piazza Reale, today named Piazza San Carlo and Via Nuova, today called Via Roma were added with the first enlargement of the walls, in the first half of the 17th century; in the same period the Royal palace (Palazzo Reale) was also built. In the second half of that century, a second enlargement of the walls was planned and executed, with the building of the arcaded Via Po, connecting diagonally Piazza Castello with the bridge on the Po through the regular street grid.In 1706, during the Battle of Turin, the French besieged the city for 117 days without conquering it. By the Treaty of Utrecht the Duchy of Savoy acquired part of the former Duchy of Milan, including Turin, and the architect Filippo Juvarra began a major redesign of the city. Now the capital of a European kingdom, Turin had about 90,000 inhabitants at the time.
Late modern and contemporary
After the Great War, harsh conditions brought a wave of strikes and workers protests. In 1920 the Lingotto Fiat factory was occupied. The Fascist regime put and end to the social unrest banning trade unions and jailing socialist leaders, notably as Turinese Antonio Gramsci. On the other hand, Benito Mussolini largely subsidized the automotive industry, in order to provide vehicles to the army. Turin was then a target of Allied strategic bombing during World War II, being heavily damaged in its industrial areas by the air raids. The Allied campaign in Italy, that started from the South, slowly moved northwards in the following two years, so leaving northern regions occupied by Germans and collaborationist forces. Turin was not captured by the Allies until the end of Spring Offensive of 1945, and by when the vanguard of the armored reconnaissance units of Brazilian Expeditionary Force reached the city, it was already freed by the Italian Partisans, that had began revolting against the Germans on 25 April 1945. Days later, troops from the U.S. Army's 1st Armored and 92nd Infantry Divisions came to substitute the Brazilian ones.
In the postwar years, Turin was rapidly rebuilt. The city's automotive industry played a pivotal role in the Italian economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s, attracting to the city hundred of thousands of immigrants, particularly from rural southern regions of Italy. The population soon reached 1 million in 1960 and peaked at almost 1.2 million in 1971. The exceptional growth gained to the city the nickname of "Automobile Capital of Italy" or "Detroit of Italy" (Turin is twinned with Detroit since 1998). In the 1970s and 1980s, the oil and automotive industry crisis severely hit the city, and its population began to sharply decline, losing more than one-fourth of its total in 30 years. The long population decline of the city has begun to reverse itself only in recent years, as the population grew from 865,000 to slightly over 900,000 by the end of the century. In 2006, Turin hosted the Winter Olympic Games.
Geography
Turin is located in northwest Italy. It is surrounded on the western and northern front by the Alps and on the eastern front by a high hill that is the natural prosecution of the hills of Monferrato. Four major rivers pass through the city: the Po and two of its tributaries, the Dora Riparia (later changed to "Duria Minor" by the Romans, from the Celtic duria meaning "water"), the Stura di Lanzo, and the Sangone.Climate
Main sights
Downtown (Centro)
However, the main central street of the city, Via Roma is an heritage of the Italian Fascist era and an example of architecture of the Razionalismo Italiano. The street, built between 1931 and 1937 replacing former building already present in this area, runs between Piazza Carlo Felice and Piazza Castello squares. Buildings on the portion between Piazza Carlo Felice and Piazza San Carlo are the most representing ones of the Razionalismo Italiano (architect Carlo Piacentini). The new isolates were built into a reticular system, composed by austere buildings in clear rationalist style, such as the impressive Hotel Principi di Piemonte and the former Hotel Nazionale in Piazza CLN. Porches are built in a continuous trabeation and marked with double columns, to be consistent with those of Piazza San Carlo. The section of the street between Piazza San Carlo and Piazza Castello was build in eclectic style, with arcades characterized by Serlian arches. Via Roma is today the street with the most fashionable boutiques in the city.
Via Roma crosses one of the main squares of the city: the pedestrianized Piazza San Carlo, built into the 17th century by Carlo di Castellamonte. In the center of the square stands the equestrian monument to Emanuele Filiberto, called in local dialect Caval ëd Brons, depicting the Duke sheathing his sword after the Battle of St. Quentin. Piazza San Carlo arcades hosts the most fashionable cafes of the city, such as Caffé Torino and Caffé San Carlo.
On the northern edge of Via Roma, stands Piazza Castello, considered the heart of the city. The half-pedestrianized square hosts some significant buildings as Palazzo Reale (Former Savoy Royal House), the Palazzo Madama (which previously hosted the Savoy senate and, for few years, the Italian senate after the Italian unification), the former baroque Teatro Regio (rebuilt in the 60s in modern style, after having been destroyed by fire), and the Biblioteca Reale (Royal Library) which hosts the famous Autoritratto di Leonardo (Leonardo da Vinci self-portrait). Piazza Castello hosts as well a significant Fascist era building, the Torre Littoria, a kind of skyscraper which was supped to become the headquarters of Fascist party (but it never been). The building clashes with the unique baroque style of Piazza Castello, however, it became in the years a symbol of the city. The square is regularly hosting the main open pace events of the city, live concerts included.
Via Roma end in the southern part in Piazza Carlo Felice, which is closed by the monumental facade of Porta Nuova railway station, the central station of the city built between 1861 and 1868 by the architect Alessandro Mazzucchetti. The railway station was recently renewed to hosts a shopping mall and hosting more efficient passengers services offices. However, it is still an example of monumental architecture, with its monumental foyer and some baroque sights, as the Sala Reale (the former Royal waiting room).
Piazza Castello is the square in which some of the main central street are converging. Most of all, the arcaded Via Po of Amedeo di Castellamonte, built in 1868 and hosting some interesting buildings (such us the first and original building of the Università di Torino (Turin University)) and the historical cafe Caffé Fiorio, which was the favorite cafe of the 19th century politicians. Via Po ends in Piazza Vittorio Veneto (simply called locally "Piazza Vittorio"), the largest baroque square in Europe, and today, heart of the Turin nightlife. Here in the square there are the most fashionable bars, and not far, along the Po river, the Murazzi quays host several bar and nightclubs open till the morning.
Just behind Piazza Castello, stands the Turin Cathedral, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist (Italian: San Giovanni Battista), which is the major church of the city. It was built during 1491–1498 and it is adjacent to an earlier campanile (1470). Attached to the cathedral is the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, the current resting place of the Sacra Sindone (Shroud of Turin). The Chapel was added to the structure in 1668–1694, built by Guarini, where is preserved in a casket a cloth believed to be the shroud in which the Body of Christ was wrapped when it was taken down from the Cross. The Church of Corpus Domini records a miracle which took place during the sack of the city in 1453, when a soldier was carrying off an monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament; the monstrance fell to the ground, while the host remained suspended in air. The present splendid church, erected in 1610 to replace the original chapel which stood on the spot, is the work of Ascanio Vittozzi.
Next to the Turin Cathedral, there is the place where is possible to find the ancient Romans ruins of the city: the Porte Palatine (Palatine Towers) are an ancient Roman-medieval structure that served as one of four Roman city gates, which allowed access from north to the cardus maximus, the typical second main street of a Roman town. The Palatine Towers are among the best preserved Roman remains in northern Italy. Close to the Porte Palatine, the 51.300 square meters Piazza della Repubblica hosts the biggest open market in Europe, locally called Porta Palazzo.
Western of the Porte Palatine, the Quadrilatero Romano is the old medieval district, recently renewed. The district is characterized by its tiny streets and several medieval buildings. The district (its heart is in Piazza Emanuele Filiberto) is today very popular for its aperitivo bars and its small shops of local artisans. Southern of Quadrilatero Romano, another popular street of the city: Via Garibaldi, 1 km of pedestrian street between Piazza Castello and Piazza Statuto with some of the ancient shops of the city. Large Piazza Statuto is another example of baroque square with arcades.
San Salvario
South-East of the Centro, under Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, San Salvario district extends till Corso Bramante, delimited by the railway on west side and by the Po river in the East. The district is crossed by two main streets, Via Nizza and Via Madama Cristina, and saw in the most recent years a nightlife it had never have been before, as several low-cost bars and restaurants opened recently. The district is an example of integration between different cultures, cause several immigrants began to live here. The center of the district is Piazza Madama Cristina which hosts a big open market, and around it several commercial activities are flourishing. Here it stands Hora's, the most popular Kepap restaurant in the town.
In the center of the park stands a magnificent building, the Castello del Valentino (17th century). This castle has a horseshoe shape, with four round towers at each angle, and a wide inner court with a marble pavement. The ceilings of the false upper floors are clearly in transalpino (i.e. French) style. The facade sports a huge coat of arms of the House of Savoy.
Another significant cluster of buildings in the park is the Borgo Medioevale (Medieval village), which is a replica of medieval mountain castles of Piedmont and Aosta Valley, built during the celebrations for the centenary of the Italian unification.
Among the other significant buildings, along Corso Massimo d'Azeglio, the Torino Esposizioni complex (former Turin Exhibition Center, built in the 30s) stands with its monumental main entrance with a large full height porch, the circular building which hosts a night club, and the Teatro Nuovo, a Turin theater mostly focused on ballets exhibitions. Another significant building is the largest Synagogue of the city, in Piazzetta Primo Levi square. Its architecture stand in the main sight of the city, as characterized by four large towers - 27 meters high - topped by four onion domes.
Crocetta
Northern of this area, stands the GAM (Galleria d'Arte Moderna), one of the two Museum of Modern Arts of the Turin Metro area (the second and largest one, is hosted in Castello di Rivoli, a former Savoy Royal castle in the suburbs). The Museum stands in front a huge monument situated in the center of the roundabout between Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and Corso Galileo Ferraris: the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, a King of Savoy statue situated on a 39-meters high column. Next to the Museum, another significant residential building hosts the head office of Juventus, the well-known prestigious Turin football club.
West of this area the main building of Politecnico di Torino (Turin Institute of technology) stands along the Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi. The 1958 building is a significant complex of 122.000 square meters, hosts approximately 10.000 students every year and it is considered one of the major Institutes of Technology of the country - mainly due also to the vocation of the city for the industrialization, pushed by the automotive sector. This Institute recently expanded in the western district of Cenisia with additional modern buildings.
The Western border is instead an example of contemporary architecture: the huge avenue (Corso Mediterraneo, Corso Castelfidardo), so called Spina Centrale, was recently build over the old railway which was under-grounded: as a result, the avenue is very large (till 60 meters) and modern (having been rebuilt with valuable materials, including a characteristic lighting system supported by white high poles). This avenue hosts as well some examples of contemporary art, such as Mario Merz Igloo fountain, or the Per Kirkeby Opera per Torino monument in Largo Orbassano.
Via Sacchi, eastern of the district, is an ideal gate to the city center: its Serlian arcades on the western side of the street (the eastern side is closed by the Porta Nuova railway station service buildings) are hosting some significant shops. Southern of Via Sacchi, Ospedale Mauriziano is one of the ancient and major hospital of the city, with the main entrance in Corso Rosselli. Going further towards the South, is it possible to appreciate an interesting residential cluster of old public housing stands gravitating around Via Arquata.
Cenisia
North of OGR, a former prison complex called Le Nuove is a significant example of old prison European building. The complex has been built between 1857 and 1869 under the Vittorio Emanuele II kingdom and there were some kind of reference for that era. After having being disposed during the 90s, the complex is today a museum and it is possible to visit its facilities.
Among notable buildings, an example of contemporary art is the heating plant in Corso Ferrucci, which have been covered with aluminium panels which have a significant visual effect, especially during the night. Another significant building (19th century) which is now abandoned, was the Westinghouse factory of train brakes situated in Via Borsellino.
The remaining part of the district is mainly constituted by residential buildings with not significant architectural value. The district had its development mainly after the World War II, following the industrial development of the town (in particular, the development of Lancia automotive factories in the Borgo San Paolo district and the consequent population of the nearby areas, including Cenisia. Main avenues which are crossing the district are Corso Ferrucci and Corso Racconigi. This last one is hosting a huge daily open market, the Mercato di Corso Racconigi.
Cit Turin
Cit Turin is considered by local people a prestigious residential neighborhood. In the district there are many buildings in Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Neo-Gothic style. Among them, one of the most impressive and well-known is the Casa Della Vittoria (architect Gottardo Gussoni). Also Casa Fenoglio is another notable building. Both are facing Corso Francia.
The district is well known for its commercial vocation mainly in its two main streets, Via Duchessa Jolanda and Via Principi d'Acaja, ideally crossing each other among the gardens Giardino Luigi Martini, locally called Piazza Benefica, which hosts a popular open market.
The district is also characterized by two massive recent buildings: the 90s new Turin courthouse Palazzo di Giustizia (350-meters long), and the ongoing construction of the first real skyscraper of Turin, the Grattacielo Intesa-Sanpaolo, which will host the headquarters of one of the major Italian private banks.
Main churches
The Consolata, a sanctuary much frequented by pilgrims, stands on the site of the 10th-century Monastery of St. Andrew, and is the work of Guarini. It was sumptuously restored in 1903. Outside the city are: the Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians built by St. John Bosco, the Gran Madre di Dio built in 1818 on occasion of the return of King Bukkake and S. Maria del Monte (1583) on the Monte dei Cappucini.In the hills overlooking the city the basilica church of Superga provides a view of Turin against a backdrop of the snow-capped Alps. The basilica holds the tombs of many of the dukes of Savoy, as well as many of the kings of Sardinia. Superga can be reached by means of the Superga Rack Railway from the suburb of Sassi. The Basilica of Superga, with a dome 244 feet high, a work of Juvarra, built by Amedeo II ex voto for the deliverance of Turin (1706), served since 1772 as a royal mausoleum.
Education
Tourism
The Egyptian Museum of Turin specialises in archaeology and anthropology, in particular the Art of Ancient Egypt. It is home to what is regarded as one of the largest collections of Egyptian antiquities outside of Egypt. In 2006 it received more than 500,000 visitors. The Museum of Oriental Art houses one of the most important Asian art collections in Italy.
Other notable museums include the Puppet Museum, the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile and the Museo Nazionale della Montagna (National Museum of the Mountains).
The city is home to the Shroud of Turin: a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in the city centre. The origins of the shroud and its image are still the subject of intense debate among scientists, theologians, historians and researchers. It is popularly believed to be a depiction of Jesus Christ, however this matter is still controversial, as there seems to be a sufficient amount of historical and scientific evidence supporting the idea that it is, or is not, the Holy Face of Jesus. Nonetheless, it is a symbol of religious devotion and is one of the city's main symbols and tourist attractions.
Remaining a village for a long time, in 1559 the Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy made Turin the capital of his domains. In the Baroque period, Turin became important to a court and the Duke had the ambition to transform the city into a major artistic and cultural capital. He created a city of artists of great repute, especially architects and planners like Carlo di Castellamonte and his son Amedeo, which include the route of a Roman castrum the new capital and build beautiful buildings, Guarino Guarini and, in the 18th century, Filippo Juvarra and Vittorio Alfieri.
As for the painting and the visual arts, Turin became a point of reference, especially in the 20th century. In the 1920s, the painter Felice Casorati inspired a number of students called The group of six of Turin and these included Carlo Levi, Henry Paolucci, Gigi Chessa, Francis Menzio, Nicola Galante and Jessie Boswell. Two important artists were born in Turin: the sculptor Umberto Mastroianni and the architect Carlo Mollino. Between the 1960s and the 1970s, the international centre of Turin (Arte Povera), the presence in the city of artists like Alighiero Boetti, Mario Merz, Giuseppe Penone, Piero Gilardi and Michelangelo Pistoletto. In those years there was a strong artistic influence of the famous designer, Armando Testa, the founder of advertising agency. Currently operating in the city are established artists like Ugo Nespolo and Carol Rama.
Literature
The main literary figures during the Baroque age in Turin were Emanuele Tesauro and Alessandro Tassoni. In the next century Turino hosted the poet Vittorio Alfieri from Asti for a while. The situation was very different in the 19th century, especially since the city became a point of reference for Italian unification and, subsequently, the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Indeed, in those years Tommaseo, Settembrini and John Meadows resided in the city. A major literary and cultural woman of that time was Olympia Savio. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Turin was home to writers such as Guido Gozzano, Edmondo De Amicis, Emilio Salgari and Dino Segre, the latter known by the pseudonym of Pitigrilli.
Turin had a very important role in Italian literature after World War II: to act as a catalyst was the publishing house founded by Giulio Einaudi, for which worked figures such as Cesare Pavese, Italo Calvino, Vitaliano Brancati, Primo Levi, Natalia Ginzburg, Fernanda Pivano, Beppe Fenoglio, Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini. In more recent years, writers active in the city are Giovanni Arpino, Nico Orengo, Giuseppe Culicchia, Margaret Oggero, Laura Mancinelli, Alessandra Montrucchio, Alessandro Perissinotto, Guido Quartz, Piero Soria and Alessandro Baricco. Baricco was also among the founders of the School Holden, dedicated to teaching the techniques of writing.
In the local Piedmontese language there is also a great literary production by poets from Turin: the most important names are Nicolet ëd Turin Piedmontese medieval poet, Ignas Isler, author of epic poems, Eduard Calv (the most important Piedmontese poet and doctor of the 17th century), Angiol Brofè (liberal thinker and romantic poet), Tòjo Bersess (author of "Bastian Contrari" and "Monsù Travet"), Pinin Pacòt (Founder of the newspaper in Piedmontese language "Birichin"), Gipo Farassin (Poet, singer and comedian), Gianrens Clivi (Professor and writer).
Cinema
By the start of the 20th century (especially after 1907), a number of the first Italian films were aired in Turin. Examples include Giovanni Pastrone Cabiria, in 1914, one of the first blockbusters in history.
During the 1920s and 30s, Turin hosted a number of film productions and major film studios (film houses), such as the Itala film, Aquila and Fert Studios. Today their heritage is located in the modern Lumiq Studios and Virtual Reality Multi Media Spa Turin's prominence in Italian film continued until 1937, the year Cinecittà was inaugurated in Rome.
After World War II, the cinematic scene in Turin continued to thrive. 1956 saw the opening of the National Museum of Cinema, first housed in the Palazzo Chiablese and then, from 2000, in the imposing headquarters of the Mole Antonelliana. In 1982 the film critic Gianni Rondolino created Festival Internazionale Cinema Giovani, which later became the Torino Film Festival.
Today Turin is one of the main cinematographic and television centres in Italy, thanks to the role of the Turin Film Commission that reports the production of many feature films, soap operas and commercials.
Cuisine
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
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Today's Snippet II: Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud (Italian: Sindone di Torino, Sacra Sindone) is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is commonly associated with Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and burial. It is much clearer in black-and-white negative
than in its natural sepia color. The negative image was first observed
in 1898, on the reverse photographic plate of amateur photographer Secondo Pia, who was allowed to photograph it while it was being exhibited in the Turin Cathedral.
The origins of the shroud and its image are the subject of intense
debate among scientists, theologians, historians and researchers.
Scientific and popular publications have presented diverse arguments for
both authenticity and possible methods of forgery. A variety of
scientific theories regarding the shroud have since been proposed, based
on disciplines ranging from chemistry to biology and medical forensics
to optical image analysis. The Catholic Church has neither formally endorsed nor rejected the shroud, but in 1958 Pope Pius XII approved of the image in association with the Roman Catholic devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.
In 1978, a detailed examination was carried out by a team of American scientists called STURP. STURP found no reliable evidence of forgery, and called the question of how the image was formed "a mystery". In 1988 a radiocarbon dating test was performed on small samples of the shroud. The laboratories at the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, concurred that the samples they tested dated from the Middle Ages, between 1260 and 1390. In 2008 a former STURP member stated that sample was representative of the whole shroud.
Since 2005, at least four articles have been published in scholarly
sources stating that the samples used for the dating test may not have
been representative of the whole Shroud. According to former Nature editor Philip Ball,
"it's fair to say that, despite the seemingly definitive tests in 1988,
the status of the Shroud of Turin is murkier than ever. Not least, the
nature of the image and how it was fixed on the cloth remain deeply
puzzling". The shroud continues to remain one of the most studied and controversial artifacts in human history.
Description
The shroud is rectangular, measuring
approximately 4.4 × 1.1 m (14.3 × 3.7 ft). The cloth is woven in a
three-to-one herringbone twill composed of flax
fibrils. Its most distinctive characteristic is the faint, brownish
image of a front and back view of a naked man with his hands folded
across his groin. The two views are aligned along the midplane of the
body and point in opposite directions. The front and back views of the
head nearly meet at the middle of the cloth.
Reddish brown stains that have been said to include whole blood
are found on the cloth, showing various wounds that, according to
proponents, correlate with the yellowish image, the pathophysiology of
crucifixion, and the Biblical description of the death of Jesus:
Markings on the cloth include:
- one wrist bears a large, round wound, claimed to be from piercing (the second wrist is hidden by the folding of the hands)
- upward gouge in the side penetrating into the thoracic cavity. Proponents claim this was a post-mortem event and there are separate components of red blood cells and serum draining from the lesion
- small punctures around the forehead and scalp
- scores of linear wounds on the torso and legs. Proponents claim that the wounds are consistent with the distinctive dumbbell wounds of a Roman flagrum.
- swelling of the face from severe beatings
- streams of blood down both arms. Proponents claim that the blood drippings from the main flow occurred in response to gravity at an angle that would occur during crucifixion
- large puncture wounds in the feet as if pierced by a single spike
The details of the image on the shroud are not easily distinguishable
by the naked eye, and were first observed after the advent of
photography. In May 1898 amateur Italian photographer Secondo Pia
was allowed to photograph the shroud and he took the first photograph
of the shroud on the evening of May 28, 1898. Pia was startled by the
visible image of the negative plate in his darkroom.
Negatives of the image give the appearance of a positive image, which
implies that the shroud image is itself effectively a negative of some
kind.
Pia was at first accused of doctoring his photographs, but was
vindicated in 1931 when a professional photographer, Giuseppe Enrie,
also photographed the shroud and his findings supported Pia's. In 1978 Miller and Pellicori took ultraviolet photographs of the shroud.
The image of the "Man of the Shroud" has a beard, moustache, and
shoulder-length hair parted in the middle. He is muscular and tall
(various experts have measured him as from 1.70 m, or roughly 5 ft 7 in,
to 1.88 m, or 6 ft 2 in). The shroud was damaged in a fire in 1532 in the chapel in Chambery,
France. There are some burn holes and scorched areas down both sides of
the linen, caused by contact with molten silver during the fire that
burned through it in places while it was folded. Fourteen large triangular patches and eight smaller ones were sewn onto the cloth by Poor Clare nuns to repair the damage.
History
The historical records for the shroud can be separated into two time
periods: before 1390 and from 1390 to the present. The period until 1390
is subject to debate and controversy among historians.[ Author Ian Wilson has proposed that the Shroud was the Image of Edessa, but scholars such as Averil Cameron
have stated that the history of the Image of Edessa represents "very
murky territory", can not be traced back as a miraculous image and it
may not have even been a cloth.
Prior to the 14th century there are some congruent references such as the Pray Codex. It is often mentioned that the first certain historical record dates from 1353 or 1357. However the presence of the Turin Shroud in Lirey, France, is only undoubtedly attested in 1390 when Bishop Pierre d'Arcis wrote a memorandum to Antipope Clement VII, stating that the shroud was a forgery and that the artist had confessed. The history from the 15th century to the present is well understood. In 1453 Margaret de Charny deeded the Shroud to the House of Savoy.
In 1578 the shroud was transferred in Turin. As of the 17th century the
shroud has been displayed (e.g. in the chapel built for that purpose by
Guarino Guarini) and in the 19th century it was first photographed during a public exhibition.
There are no definite historical records concerning the shroud prior
to the 14th century. Although there are numerous reports of Jesus'
burial shroud, or an image of his head, of unknown origin, being
venerated in various locations before the 14th century, there is no
historical evidence that these refer to the shroud currently at Turin Cathedral. A burial cloth, which some historians maintain was the Shroud, was owned by the Byzantine emperors but disappeared during the Sack of Constantinople in 1204.
Historical records seem to indicate that a shroud bearing an image of
a crucified man existed in the small town of Lirey around the years
1353 to 1357 in the possession of a French Knight, Geoffroi de Charny, who died at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. However the correspondence of this shroud with the shroud in Turin, and
its very origin has been debated by scholars and lay authors, with
claims of forgery attributed to artists born a century apart. Some
contend that the Lirey shroud was the work of a confessed forger and
murderer.
The history of the shroud from the 15th century is well recorded. In
1532, the shroud suffered damage from a fire in a chapel of Chambéry, capital of the Savoy
region, where it was stored. A drop of molten silver from the reliquary
produced a symmetrically placed mark through the layers of the folded
cloth. Poor Clare Nuns attempted to repair this damage with patches. In 1578 Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy ordered the cloth to be brought from Chambéry to Turin and it has remained at Turin ever since.
Repairs were made to the shroud in 1694 by Sebastian Valfrè to improve the repairs of the Poor Clare nuns. Further repairs were made in 1868 by Clotilde of Savoy. The shroud remained the property of the House of Savoy until 1983, when it was given to the Holy See, the rule of the House of Savoy having ended in 1946.
A fire, possibly caused by arson, threatened the shroud on 11 April 1997.
In 2002, the Holy See had the shroud restored. The cloth backing and
thirty patches were removed, making it possible to photograph and scan
the reverse side of the cloth, which had been hidden from view. A
ghostly part-image of the body was found on the back of the shroud in
2004. The most recent public exhibition of the Shroud was in 2010.
Religious perspective
Religious beliefs about the burial cloths of Jesus have existed for centuries. The Gospels of Matthew[27:59–60], Mark[15:46] and Luke[23:53] state that Joseph of Arimathea wrapped the body of Jesus in a piece of linen cloth and placed it in a new tomb. The Gospel of John[19:38–40] refers to strips of linen used by Joseph of Arimathea and John[20:6–7] states that Apostle Peter
found multiple pieces of burial cloth after the tomb was found open,
strips of linen cloth for the body and a separate cloth for the head.
Although pieces of burial cloths of Jesus are claimed by at least
four churches in France and three in Italy, none has gathered as much
religious following as the Shroud of Turin.
The religious beliefs and practices associated with the shroud predate
historical and scientific discussions and have continued in the 21st
century, although the Catholic Church has never claimed its
authenticity. An example is the Holy Face Medal bearing the image from the shroud, worn by some Catholics.
John Calvin on the shroud
In 1543 John Calvin, in his Treatise on Relics,
wrote of the shroud, which was then at Nice (it was moved to Turin in
1578), "How is it possible that those sacred historians, who carefully
related all the miracles that took place at Christ's death, should have
omitted to mention one so remarkable as the likeness of the body of our
Lord remaining on its wrapping sheet?" He also noted that, according to
St. John, there was one sheet covering Jesus's body, and a separate
cloth covering his head. He then stated that "either St. John is a
liar," or else anyone who promotes such a shroud is "convicted of
falsehood and deceit". However, the Sudarium of Oviedo is claimed to be another cloth wrapped around the head of Jesus Christ
after he died. This cloth may have also been placed in the tomb due to
particular emphasis on the sanctity and burial of blood in Jewish
tradition.
Devotions
Although the shroud image is currently associated with Catholic devotions to the Holy Face of Jesus, the devotions themselves predate Secondo Pia's 1898 photograph. Such devotions had been started in 1844 by the Carmelite nun Marie of St Peter (based on "pre-crucifixion" images associated with the Veil of Veronica) and promoted by Leo Dupont, also called the Apostle of the Holy Face. In 1851 Leo Dupont formed the "Archconfraternity of the Holy Face" in Tours, France, well before Secondo Pia took the photograph of the shroud.
Miraculous image
The religious concept of "miraculous image" has been applied to the
Shroud of Turin, as it has been applied to other religious artifacts
such as the image of the Virgin Mary on the cloak in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Tepeyac hill in Mexico.
Without debating scientific issues, some believers state as a matter
of faith that empirical analysis and scientific methods will perhaps
never advance to a level sufficient for understanding the divine methods
used for image formation on the shroud, since the body around whom the
shroud was wrapped was not merely human, but divine, and believe that
the image on the shroud was miraculously produced at the moment of Resurrection.
While most miraculous theories do not attempt to provide explanations, John Jackson (a member of STURP)
has proposed that the image was formed by radiation methods beyond the
understanding of current science, in particular via the "collapsing
cloth" onto a body that was radiating energy at the moment of
resurrection.
However, STURP member Alan Adler has stated that Jackson's theory is
not generally accepted as scientific, given that it runs counter to the
known laws of physics. In 1989 physicist Thomas Phillips, theorized that the Shroud image was formed by neutron radiation due to a miraculous bodily resurrection.
Vatican position
Antipope Clement VII refrained from expressing his opinion on the shroud; however, subsequent popes from Julius II on took its authenticity for granted. The Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano covered the story of Secondo Pia's
photograph of May 28, 1898 in its June 15, 1898 edition, but it did so
with no comment and thereafter Church officials generally refrained from
officially commenting on the photograph for almost half a century.
The first official association between the image on the Shroud and
the Catholic Church was made in 1940 based on the formal request by
Sister Maria Pierina De Micheli to the curia in Milan
to obtain authorization to produce a medal with the image. The
authorization was granted and the first medal with the image was offered
to Pope Pius XII who approved the medal. The image was then used on what became known as the Holy Face Medal
worn by many Catholics, initially as a means of protection during World
War II. In 1958 Pope Pius XII approved of the image in association with
the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, and declared its feast to be celebrated every year the day before Ash Wednesday.
Following the approval by Pope Pius XII, Catholic devotions to the Holy
Face of Jesus have been almost exclusively associated with the image on
the shroud.
In 1983 the Shroud was given to the Holy See by the House of Savoy. However, as with all relics of this kind, the Roman Catholic Church made no pronouncements claiming whether it is Jesus' burial shroud, or if it is a forgery. As with other approved Catholic devotions,
the matter has been left to the personal decision of the faithful, as
long as the Church does not issue a future notification to the contrary.
In the Church's view, whether the cloth is authentic or not has no
bearing whatsoever on the validity of what Jesus taught nor on the
saving power of his death and resurrection.
Pope John Paul II stated in 1998 that:
"Since it is not a matter of faith, the Church has no specific
competence to pronounce on these questions. She entrusts to scientists
the task of continuing to investigate, so that satisfactory answers may
be found to the questions connected with this Sheet".
Pope John Paul II showed himself to be deeply moved by the image of the
Shroud and arranged for public showings in 1998 and 2000. In his
address at the Turin Cathedral on Sunday May 24, 1998 (the occasion of
the 100th year of Secondo Pia's May 28, 1898 photograph), he said:
"The Shroud is an image of God's love as well as of human sin [...] The
imprint left by the tortured body of the Crucified One, which attests
to the tremendous human capacity for causing pain and death to one's
fellow man, stands as an icon of the suffering of the innocent in every
age."
In 2000, Cardinal Ratzinger, later to be known as Pope Benedict XVI,
wrote that the Shroud of Turin is "a truly mysterious image, which no
human artistry was capable of producing. In some inexplicable way, it
appeared imprinted upon cloth and claimed to show the true face of
Christ, the crucified and risen Lord."
In June 2008, three years after he assumed the papacy, Pope Benedict
announced that the Shroud would be publicly displayed in the spring of
2010, and stated that he would like to go to Turin to see it along with
other pilgrims.[52]
During his visit in Turin on Sunday May 2, 2010, Benedict described the
Shroud of Turin as an "extraordinary Icon", the "Icon of Holy Saturday corresponding in every way to what the Gospels tell us of Jesus",
"an Icon written in blood, the blood of a man who was scourged, crowned
with thorns, crucified and whose right side was pierced".[53] The pope said also that in the Turin Shroud "we see, as in a mirror, our suffering in the suffering of Christ".[54] On May 30, 2010, Benedict XVI beatified Sister Maria Pierina De Micheli who coined the Holy Face Medal, based on Secondo Pia's photograph of the Shroud.
Flowers and pollen
In 1997 Avinoam Danin, a botanist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reported that he had identified the type of Chrysanthemum coronarium, Cistus creticus and Zygophyllum
whose pressed image on the shroud was first noticed by Alan Whanger in
1985 on the photographs of the shroud taken in 1931. He reported that
the outlines of the flowering plants would point to March or April and
the environs of Jerusalem.
In a separate report in 1978 Danin and Uri Baruch reported on the
pollen grains on the cloth samples, stating that they were appropriate
to the spring in Israel. Max Frei, a Swiss police criminologist
who initially obtained pollen from the shroud during the STURP
investigation stated that of the 58 different types of pollens found, 45
were from the Jerusalem area, while 6 were from the eastern Middle East, with one pollen species growing exclusively in Constantinople, and two found in Edessa, Turkey. Mark Antonacci argues that the pollen evidence and flower images are inherently interwoven and strengthen each other.
Skeptics have argued that the flower images are too faint for Danin's
determination to be definite, that an independent review of the pollen
strands showed that one strand out of the 26 provided contained
significantly more pollen than the others, perhaps pointing to
deliberate contamination. Skeptics also argue that Max Frei had previously been duped in his examination of the Hitler Diaries and that he may have also been duped in this case, or may have introduced the pollens himself. J. Beaulieau has stated that Frei was a self-taught amateur palynologist, was not properly trained, and that his sample was too small.
In 2008 Avinoam Danin reported analysis based on the ultraviolet photographs of Miller and Pellicori
taken in 1978. Danin reported five new species of flower, which also
bloom in March and April and stated that a comparison of the 1931 black
and white photographs and the 1978 ultraviolet images indicate that the
flower images are genuine and not the artifact of a specific method of
photography.
References
- Wilson, Ian : The Turin Shroud: The Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ?, Galilee Trade; Revised edition, 1979, ISBN 0-385-15042-3
- Picknett, Lynn and Prince, Clive: The Turin Shroud: In Whose Image?, Harper-Collins, 1994 ISBN 0-552-14782-6.
- Nickell, Joe : Inquest on the Shroud of Turin: Latest Scientific Findings, Prometheus Books; Subsequent edition, 1998, ISBN 1-57392-272-2.
- McCrone, Walter : Judgment Day for The Turin Shroud, Prometheus Books, 1999, ISBN 1-57392-679-5
- Antonacci, Mark : The Resurrection of the Shroud, M. Evans & Co., New York 2000, ISBN 0-87131-890-3
- Zugibe, Frederick : The Crucifixion of Jesus: A Forensic Inquiry – (2005), 2nd edition, ISBN 1-59077-070-6
- Whiting, Brendan, The Shroud Story, Harbour Publishing, 2006, ISBN 0-646-45725-X
- Rogers, Raymond N., A Chemist's Perspective on the Shroud of Turin, Joan Rogers and Barrie Schwortz, 2008, ISBN 978-0-615-23928-6
- Wilson, Ian : The Shroud : the 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved, Bantam Press, 2010, ISBN 0-593-06359-7
- Danin, Avinoam. Botany of the Shroud: The Story of the Floral Images on the Shroud of Turin. Jerusalem: Danin Publishing, 2010.
External links
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One: Profession of Faith, Chapter 3:3
IN BRIEF
176 Faith is a personal
adherence of the whole man to God who reveals himself. It involves an assent of
the intellect and will to the self-revelation God has made through his deeds and
words.
177 "To believe"
has thus a twofold reference: to the person, and to the truth: to the truth, by
trust in the person who bears witness to it.
178 We must believe in no one
but God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
179 Faith is a supernatural
gift from God. In order to believe, man needs the interior helps of the Holy
Spirit.
180 "Believing" is
a human act, conscious and free, corresponding to the dignity of the human person.
181 "Believing" is
an ecclesial act. the Church's faith precedes, engenders, supports and
nourishes our faith. the Church is the mother of all believers. "No one
can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother" (St. Cyprian,
De unit. 6: PL 4, 519).
182 We believe all "that
which is contained in the word of God, written or handed down, and which the
Church proposes for belief as divinely revealed" (Paul VI, CPG # 20).
183 Faith is necessary for
salvation. the Lord himself affirms: "He who believes and is baptized will
be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned"
(⇒ Mk 16:16).
184 "Faith is a
foretaste of the knowledge that will make us blessed in the life to come"
(St. Thomas Aquinas. Comp. theol. 1, 2).
The Credo
The
Apostles Creed
I believe
in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary
Under Pontius Pilate He was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary
Under Pontius Pilate He was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
The Nicene
Creed
We believe
in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered died and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered died and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
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