Veil of Veronica
The Veil of Veronica, or Sudarium (Latin for sweat-cloth), also known as the Vernicle and often called simply the Veronica, is a Christian relic consisting of a piece of cloth said to bear an image of the Holy Face of Jesus produced by other than human means (an acheiropoieton, "made without hand"). Various existing images have been claimed to be the original relic, as well as early copies of it; representations of it are also known as vernicles.
The story of the image's origin is related to the sixth
The first written evidence of the story is from the
Evolution of the story
There is no reference to the story of Veronica and her veil in the canonical
Origin of the name
According to the
History of the veil
That there was a physical image venerated as the Veil of Veronica and displayed in Rome from the 14th century on is clear, but the provenance of this image is uncertain.
It has often been assumed that the Veil of Veronica was present in the
Firm records of the Veil begin only in 1199, when two pilgrims, Gerald de Barri (
On the right hand is a pillar as high as a small tower, and in it is the holy Veronica. When it is to be exhibited an opening is made in the roof of the church and a wooden chest or cradle is let down, in which are two clerics, and when they have descended, the chest or cradle is drawn up, and they, with the greatest reverence, take out the Veronica and show it to the people, who make concourse there upon the appointed day. It happens often that the worshippers are in danger of their lives, so many are they and so great is the press.Pedro Tafur, Andanças e viajes.
After the Sack of Rome in 1527, some writers recorded that the Veil had been destroyed: Messer Unbano tells the Duchess of Urbino that the Veronica was stolen and passed around the taverns of Rome.[11] Other writers however, testify to its continuing presence in the Vatican and one witness to the sacking states that the Veronica was not found by the looters.[12]
Many artists of the time created reproductions of the Veronica, again suggesting its survival, but in 1616,
As there is no conclusive evidence that it ever left St Peter's, the possibility exists that it remains there to this day; this would be consistent with such limited information as the Vatican has provided in recent centuries.
Images traditionally connected with the Veil of Veronica
There are at least six images in existence which bear a marked resemblance to each other, one which is traditionally claimed to be the original Veil, others direct copies of the first and, in two cases, the
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The Vatican Veronica
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The Holy Face of Vienna
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The Holy Face of Alicante
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The Holy Face of Jaén
St. Peter's Basilica
There is an image kept in St. Peter's Basilica purported to be Veronica's veil.[13] This image is stored in the chapel that lies behind the balcony in the southwest pier supporting the dome.[citation needed]
In the 19th century, Xavier Barbier de Montault privately viewed the veil. His account is presented by Adolphe Napoléon Didron in Volume 23 of Annales Archéologiques.[14] He confers, "Unfortunately, by one of these too frequent customs in Italy, a metal blade covers the interior and leaves only the figure, from which it draws the contours. To these contours, frankly accused, we suspect long hair that falls on the shoulders, and a short beard that turns into two little-supplied wicks. The rest of the features are so vaguely drawn, or rather so completely erased, that I needed the best will in the world to see the trace of the eyes or the nose."
In 1907, Jesuit art historian Joseph Wilpert was allowed to remove two plates of crystal to inspect the image.[15][16] He describes only a square fabric of penny hue, yellowed with age, with two large, faint rust-brown stains. He then says the object corresponds to the oldest documents, and cites two of them.
Nevertheless, the face is still displayed each year on the occasion of the 5th Sunday of Lent,
The Hofburg Palace, Vienna
In the Hofburg Palace in Vienna there is a copy of the Veronica, identified by the signature of P. Strozzi in the right hand corner of the inner frame. He was the secretary of Pope Paul V, and a man referred to by Vatican notary Jacopo Grimaldi as making a series of six meticulous copies of the veil in 1617.[21]
The outside of the frame is relatively modern, while the inner frame is roughly made and corresponds to the cut-out pattern of earlier copies. The face within is very unclear, more a series of blotches in which only the bare elements of a nose, eyes and mouth can be identified. This argues for the authenticity of the copy as there is clearly no attempt at artistic enhancement. Furthermore, the fact of its being copied from the Vatican copy after the
It is kept in the
Monastery of the Holy Face, Alicante, Spain
The Holy Face of Alicante was acquired by Pope Nicholas V from relatives of the Byzantine Emperor in
The monastery was extensively restored between 2003 and 2006, together with the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas and the Basilica of St Mary in the city centre. The three buildings housed an exhibition in 2006 about the relic, titled 'The Face of Eternity'.[22]
Jaén Cathedral, Jaén, Spain
The cathedral of Jaén has a copy of the Veronica which probably dates from the 14th century, and originated in Siena. It is kept in a shrine by the high altar and is annually exhibited to the people on Good Friday and on the Feast of the Assumption. It is exhibited in a chapel to the side of the Cathedral every Friday from 11.30 a.m. to 1 p.m., when visitors are allowed to kiss the glass that protects the image. Known as the Santo Rostro, it was acquired by Bishop Nicholas de Biedma in the 14th century.[23]
Similar images
Holy Face of Genoa
Kept in the modest Church of St Bartholomew of The Armenians,
The image was studied in detail in 1969 by Colette Dufour Bozzo, who dated the outer frame to the late 14th century,[24] while the inner frame and the image itself are believed to have originated earlier. Bozzo found that the image was imprinted on a cloth that had been pasted onto a wooden board.[25] The similarity of the image with the Veil of Veronica suggests a link between the two traditions.
Holy Face of San Silvestro
The Holy Face of San Silvestro was kept in Rome's church of San Silvestro until 1870, and is now kept in the Matilda chapel in the Vatican. It is housed in a Baroque frame donated by one Sister Dionora Chiarucci in 1623.[26] The earliest evidence of its existence is 1517, when the nuns were forbidden to exhibit it to avoid competition with the Veronica. Like the Genoa image, it is painted on board, and therefore is likely to be a copy.
It was exhibited at Germany's Expo 2000 in the pavilion of the Holy See.
The Manoppello Image
In 1999, German Jesuit
According to local tradition, an anonymous pilgrim arrived in 1508 with the cloth inside a wrapped package. The pilgrim gave it to Dr. Giacomo Antonio Leonelli, who was sitting on a bench in front of the church. The doctor went into the church and opened the parcel containing the Veil. At once, he went out of the church, but could not find the pilgrim who had donated it.
The Veil was owned by the Leonelli family until 1608. Pancrazio Petrucci, a soldier married to Marzia Leonelli, stole the Veil from his father-in-law's house. A few years later, Marzia sold it for 400 scudi to Doctor Donato Antonio De Fabritiis to pay a ransom demand for her husband, who was then a prisoner in Chieti. The Veil was given by De Fabritiis to the Capuchins, who still hold it today. This history was documented by Father Donato da Bomba in his Relatione historica following research started in 1640.
House of Veronica in Jerusalem
On the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem there is a small chapel, known as the Chapel of the Holy Face.[29] Traditionally, this is regarded as the home of Saint Veronica and site of the miracle.[30]
Representative art
There are two main traditions for the iconography of the face depicted on the veil. One tradition (Type I), common in Italian art, shows the face of Christ as full-bearded, in pain, scourged and perhaps crowned with thorns. Another (Type II), common in Russian and Spanish art, shows Christ's face more often in repose, hair extending to shoulder length and a bifurcated beard, often surrounded by a halo quartered in a cross.
Type I
- Veronica's Veil Domenico Fetti, c. 1620.
- Holy Face Giambono, 15th century. Civic Museum, Pavia, Italy.
- Holy Face Held by Two Angels Juan Sánchez Cotan, 1620–1625. Monastery of Cartuja, Granada.
- Holy Face Domenikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco). Convent of Capuchin Nuns, Toledo.
- Veronica's Veil Francisco de Zurbarán, 17th century. Parish Church of St Peter, Seville.
Type II
- Head of Christ on the Sudarium Claude Mellan, 1649.
- Diptych of Saint Veronica with Christ and the Virgin Mary Bernardo Martorelli, 15th century. Museum of Mallorca.
- Holy Face, anonymous, early 17th century. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
- Holy Face Simon Ushakov, 1678. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
- Miracle of the Tear Juan Conchillos, 1680. Lady Chapel of the Monastery of the Holy Face, Alicante.
- Miracle of the Three faces Juan de Miranda, 1767. Alicante Ayuntamiento.
- Saint Veronica Antonio Castillo Lastrucci, 1946. Basilica of St Mary, Alicante.
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The Holy Towel by Emmanuel Tzanes 1659
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St Veronica with the Sudarium
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The Veil of Veronica by theMaster of the Legend of St. Ursula
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Domenico Fetti, The Veil of Veronica
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St. Veronica with the Holy Kerchief
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The veil of St. Veronica (Vera Icon), c. 1450
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Head of Christ on the Sudarium, engraving by Claude Mellan (1649), a famous virtuoso piece consisting of a single line beginning on the tip of Christ's nose.
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The Veil of Veronica by Francisco de Zurbarán
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Image of the Saviour, a traditional Orthodox iconography in the interpretation of Simon Ushakov (1658).
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Correggio, 1521
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St. Veronica with the Holy Kerchief, by Mattia Preti
See also
- Acheiropoieta
- Black Madonna of Częstochowa
- Image of Camuliana
- Image of Edessa
- Relics associated with Jesus
- Shroud of Turin
- Sudarium of Oviedo
References
- ISBN 0-563-55111-9.
- ^ "Stations of the Cross". Trinity UMC. 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
This tradition began most prominently with St. Francis of Assisi (1182–1226) and spread to other churches in the medieval period. It is also observed by a growing number of Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans. It is most commonly done during Lent, especially on Good Friday.
- ^ Vatican Website Sixth Station
- ^ Religious Literacy (Stephen Prothero), HarperCollins Publishers, page 284
- ^ Matthew 9:20–22; Mark 5:25–34; Luke 8:43–48
- ISBN 0-85331-324-5
- ^ G Schiller, op. & page cit
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Veronica". newadvent.org.
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 175
- ^ a b Duffy, Patrick. "St Veronica's Towel", Catholic Ireland, July 12, 2012
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 112
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 113
- ^ "Saint Veronica's Veil", Philadelphia Museum of Art
- ^ 'Anales Archéologiques' Volume XXIII, Paris, 1844, p. 232.
- ^ Wilpert, Joseph [Editor] Die römischen Mosaiken und Malereien der kirchlichen Bauten vom IV. bis XIII. Jahrhundert (Band 2): Text: 2. Hälfte, Freiburg i.Br., 1916, p. 1123
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 36
- ^ Mauro, J.P., "Does this Italian hilltop shrine have the true relic of Veronica’s veil?", Aleteia, May 5, 2019
- ^ "Fifth Sunday of Lent, veneration of Veronica’s Veil", Catholic News Service, April 9, 2019
- ^ Dipippo, Gregory. "Passion Sunday - The Veil of St. Veronica and the Stational Liturgy at St. Peter's", New Liturgical Movement, March 26, 2012
- ^ "The Holy Veil of St. Veronica". flickr. Yahoo Co. Retrieved 25 September 2014.[dead link]
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 157
- ^ Visitor's Guide to the Exposición La Luz de las Imagenes – La Faz de la Eternidad, Alicante 2006.
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 94
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 162
- ^ Wilson, ibid, page 88
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 193
- ^ http://holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com/2008/05/fr-heinrich-pfeiffer-sj-teaches-about.html Excerpt of Il Volto Santo di Manoppello (The Holy Face of Manoppello), published by Carsa Edizioni in Pescara (page 13) access date March 2013
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 161
- ^ "Via Dolorosa – Jerusalem". sacred-destinations.com.
- ^ "Via Dolorosa". Via Dolorosa. 26 December 2007. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007.
Further reading
- Bennett, Janice (2001). Sacred Blood, Sacred Image: The Sudarium of Oviedo, New Evidence for the Authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. ISBN 0-9705682-0-7.
- ISBN 0-89555-496-8
- ISBN 0-631-17813-9
- ISBN 0-552-13590-9
External links
- The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
- official website of Capuchin Friars of Manoppello
- St. Veronica in St. Peter's
- "Clip of the Catholic News Service featuring the relic in St. Peter's Basilica"
- "Polish website Volto Santo di Manoppello"
- "English version of Polish website Volto Santo di Manoppello"
- Sudarium Christi The Face of Christ online audio visual featuring texts by sudarium expert Sr. Blandina Paschalis Schlömer et al.
- The Rediscovered Face – 1 first of four installments of an audiovisual presentation relating the holy image with a number of ancient predecessors, YouTube, access date March 2013.
- Exposition of the relic, St. Peter's Basilica, 2008