Day 15: The Shroud of Turin

As I mentioned yesterday, we visited the Shroud of Turin in Turin. Pope Benedict XVI authorized the Shroud for public display to a two month period this year - the first time since 2000. We booked our reservation about three months ago and received our first choice date. The ticket said to arrive an hour prior but we really didn't expect the line snaking around the block. It was easy to find the end - hundreds of pilgrims led the way. After about an hour and a half in line, we finally made it into the church. Technically, no photography was allowed (and definitely no flash) but after I realized that, aside from the praying nuns, I was the only one not taking photos, I whipped out the camera for a shot as our line filed out of the church. Clearly, it didn't turn out well but I think you can at least see the outline.

The mystery of the Shroud of Turin has been debated for centuries. According to many of the faithful, it's the cloth used to wrap Christ's body in period between the crucifixion and the resurrection. According to the skeptical, it's not. Seems like the only thing that the majority can agree on is that stains that resemble blood outline a figure that appears to have been crucified - and that the fabric is really really old. Whatever your belief is, it was hard not to be moved by the story of the Shroud and of the deep religious significance. While there were plenty of tourists using FLASH photography DURING the priest's prayer (seriously - that irritated the heck out of me), there were plenty of the truly faithful and the interested academics. Since it could be another decade or more before the Shroud is brought out for public viewing, we felt very grateful to have been in the right place, at the right time, in 2010.