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Pope Francis has written the archbishop of Turin to thank him for making the Holy Shroud of Turin available to viewers on Holy Saturday through live-streaming.
The live-stream will begin on the evening of Holy Saturday at 4:30 pm local time (10:30 EST).
The pope expressed his “most sincere thanks” for responding to this desire of the people of God, “sorely tried by the Coronavirus pandemic.”
The pope said that he himself joins in the desire of the faithful, “directing my gaze to the Man of the Holy Shroud, in whom we recognize the characteristics of the Suffering Servant, which Jesus took on in his Passion: ‘a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity … he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; … he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed’ (Isaiah 53: 3, 4-5).”
In the face of the Man of the Holy Shroud we see as well the faces of many ill brothers and sisters, especially those who are most alone and with least care; but as well, all the victims of wars and violence, of slavery and persecution.
The pope reflected that as Christians with the light of Scripture “we contemplate on this cloth the icon of the crucified Lord Jesus, dead and risen. To him we entrust ourselves; in him we trust. Jesus will give us the strength to confront every test of faith, with hope and with love, with the certainty that the Father always hears his children who cry to him, and saves them.”
The Holy Father concluded with an invitation to “live these days in intimate union with the Passion of Christ, to experience the grace and joy of the Resurrection.”
Read more:
Get to know the Shroud of Turin’s companion cloth
On Holy Saturday, the pope also sent a pair of Tweets about the event:
This Face disfigured by wounds communicates great peace. His gaze is directed not to our eyes but to our heart, as if to say: Have faith, do not lose hope. The power of the love of God, the power of the Risen One overcomes all things. #HolyShroudpic.twitter.com/9LfmSCtf18
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 11, 2020
Let us direct our gaze to the Man of the Shroud, in whom we recognize the features of the Servant of the Lord, which Jesus accomplished in His Passion. Participate in the prayer before the Holy Shroud through the media at 5 PM: https://t.co/mfPrQND5HJ
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 11, 2020
And today we celebrate...