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phenomenaSt. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City; Sanctuary of the Holy Face, Manoppello, Italy (rival cloths also in Jaen, Spain and the Hofburg, Vienna)·Legend set at Christ's Passion (1st c.); relic first firmly documented in Rome c. 1199-1207; Manoppello cloth first attested c. 1508·5 min read

The Veil of Veronica and the Holy Face of Manoppello

A faint face-image on cloth, venerated as the veil Veronica used to wipe Jesus on the road to Calvary. The "Veronica" legend is late and likely grew from the phrase vera icon ("true image"); several rival cloths claim the title (the Vatican veil, Manoppello, Jaen, the Hofburg copy in Vienna). None has provenance reaching the first century, and the much-publicized "sea-silk" (byssus) claims about Manoppello remain disputed.

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A faint face-image on cloth, venerated as the veil Veronica used to wipe Jesus on the road to Calvary. The "Veronica" legend is late and likely grew from the phrase vera icon ("true image"); several rival cloths claim the title (the Vatican veil, Manoppello, Jaen, the Hofburg copy in Vienna). None has provenance reaching the first century, and the much-publicized "sea-silk" (byssus) claims about Manoppello remain disputed.

A fuller write-up of the documentation and analysis is in progress.

#acheiropoieton#holy-face#veronica#manoppello#relic#provenance-gap#byssus#passion-relic

Sources

Tagged by proximity to the event. Primary sources are direct or contemporaneous; tertiary are downstream retellings.

  1. 1.
    Tertiarywebsite

    "Veil of Veronica", Wikipedia

    Etymology (vera icon), earliest sources, 1199-1207 documentation, 1300 Jubilee, 1527 Sack uncertainty, rival copies.

  2. 2.
    Tertiarywebsite

    "Manoppello Image", Wikipedia

    c.1508 first appearance, De Fabritiis/Capuchin provenance, Pfeiffer 1999 claim, Benedict XVI 2006, byssus debate, Falcinelli 'manmade painted artifact', no substantiated link to Rome or the crucifixion.

  3. 3.
    Primaryacademic

    "Imaging Analysis and Digital Restoration of the Holy Face of Manoppello — Part I", Heritage (MDPI), 2018

    High-resolution scanning; pigment circumscribed within threads, no color residue found in interspaces between warp and weft.

  4. 4.
    Secondarywebsite

    "Historical Origins of Veronica's Veil", EWTN Vatican

    Devotional source that nonetheless concedes 'the exact origins of the relic are uncertain' and traces documented presence only to the medieval period; vera icona etymology.

  5. 5.
    Tertiarywebsite

    "Veil of Veronica", New World Encyclopedia

    Wilpert 1907 inspection (faded cloth, two rust stains, no clear image); Strozzi's six 1617 copies; Hofburg/Vienna copy; Paul V 1616 and Urban VIII 1629 bans/destruction of copies.

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