Archives 2013

December 8, 2013

A 2015 exposition of the Shroud has been announced by the Archbishop of Turin, Cesare Nosiglia, who is also the Papal Custodian of the Shroud. This exposition will be the third one since 2000, the previous one was in 2010. The exposition will be held at the Cathedral of Turin, Italy, where the Shroud has been kept for the last 400 years. The exposition will last about 45 days, from mid-April 2015 to August 16, 2015.

The following photographs were taken at the 2010 exposition in the Turin Cathedral showing how the Shroud is displayed for everyone to see. The first photograph presents the entire Shroud in its protective, climate-controlled case, illuminated by dimmed front lights. Note that the Shroud is not regularly on display and the protective case is hidden from view in the adjacent Royal Chapel. You can click on the photographs to open a new tab displaying enlarge views.

This is the Shroud in its protective climate-controlled case as exposed in the Turin Cathedral during the 2010 exposition. The frontal image is on the left whereas the dorsal image is on the right. The radiocarbon dating sample was taken, in 1988, from the top left corner. Not readily visible at this distance on this photograph: the triangle shaped holes are no longer covered by any patches as they used to be prior to 2002. This is one of the main changes to the Shroud since its 2000 exposition. The Shroud appears to have less creases and wrinkles compared to the 2000 exposition. Click on the photograph to enlarge it. (© Mario Latendresse)

The following photographs show close-up views: the ventral part, the center part, and the dorsal part.

A close-up view of the Shroud as it was exposed in 2010. It shows mostly the ventral part of the Shroud. Click on the photograph to see an enlarge view. (© Mario Latendresse)

A close-up view of the Shroud as it was exposed in 2010. It shows mostly the central part of the Shroud. Click on the photograph to see an enlarge view. (© Mario Latendresse)

A close-up view of the Shroud as it was exposed in 2010. It shows mostly the dorsal part of the Shroud. Click on the photograph to see an enlarge view. (© Mario Latendresse)

November 29, 2013

In September of this year (2013), the Institut Catholique de Paris (Catholic University of Paris) decided to put on sell a collection of a dozen rare photos of the Shroud derived from the 1931 Enrie's photographic plates. The auction was planned by the Ader Nordman auction house on November 17.

The collection was donated by Paul Vignon (deceased in 1943) who used it for conferences and presentations. Paul Vignon was a biologist and a pioneer in Shroud research. He wrote several books about the Shroud and experimented on at least one theory of formation of the image on the Shroud (see a short Biography of Paul Vignon by Paul de Gail).

But the sale never took place!

The collection was also planned to be shown to prospective buyers at the Institut Catholique de Paris, but that also never took place.

According to a representative of Ader Nordman, the Institut Catholique retracted its sale and no reason was given.

What did happen? We can only speculate: did a buyer come forward before the auction and made a generous offer to acquire the entire collection?; did the Institut Catholique realize that the time was not ripe to sell that collection?; or something else?

Acknowledgment: I am grateful to a family member who visited the Institut Catholique and the Ader Nordman auction house in Paris to get the information presented in this article.

April 21, 2013

The formation of the image on the Shroud of Turin has never been completely elucidated. The physical and chemical aspects (e.g., superficiality, color, lack of pigments) of the image have been studied since 1978, but the mechanism that formed them has not been determined, although some competing hypotheses have been suggested and experimented. On the other hand, very little has been computationally simulated to replicate the conditions under which the image of the Shroud was formed. The following study is doing some steps in that direction.

The two images below show a 3D representation of a head and of the same head loosely covered with a sheet. They were produced by reconstructing the 3D representation of the head of a plastic mannequin and the covering sheet. The preliminary study will be to computationally simulate the projection of the image of the 3D face onto the 3D sheet, using various parameters of directionality, intensity, vertical distance, and so on. In particular, it will be possible to compute precisely the various distances between the surface of the face and the sheet itself during that simulation. These distances are very important as the intensity of the image of the Shroud are related to them.

The sheet will then be computationally flatten to render a flatten image similar to the way the Shroud is shown. This image will give a better idea which parameters give a result close to the Shroud of Turin.

This study will also determine in a very precise way if any major distortion occurs depending on the looseness of the cloth covering the head and the parameters used for the simulation.

March 30, 2013

The replay of the exposition of the Shroud of March 30, 2013, in Italian, is now available from RAI Uno:

March 28, 2013

Haltadefinizione just released the "Shroud 2.0" application for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The free version allows you to explore the application and for $3.99 you can access the highest definition of the images of the Shroud. You will need iOS 6.0 to run this application.

In the application, the Shroud of Turin is presented with very high definition images in a similar manner as the Shroud Scope: panning the Shroud will request, over the Internet, image tiles of the Shroud entire image. In general, it is therefore required to have an Internet connection while using the application. Several features are available, such as the ability to turn positive or negative the current image displayed, change its contrast, and more. A bird's view navigator window can be opened to better locate the region of the Shroud shown. The overall work is of very high quality. More details are provided on the Apple App Store. Update (2023): Unfortunately the Shroud 2.0 is no longer available on the Apple Store.

The release of the "Shroud 2.0" application is a very good initiative by Haltadefinizione. It allows easy access to the very high definition image of the Shroud captured in 2008.

Very instructive details can be seen on these images that could not easily be seen before. For example, it becomes clearer that some of the bloodstains on the forarms are located next to images of bloodstains or wounds. This particular detail is consistent with the tridimensional form of a real arm: the Shroud was in contact with the bloodstains on the arm, then the curvature of the arm made it such that the Shroud was no longer in direct contact with some bloodstains but at a distance of just one or a few milimeters. The screen snapshot below show such details.

Also, the stains seen on the buttocks appear clearer as bloodstains not as burn marks as some suggest.

The resolution of the images provided by "Shroud 2.0" is higher than the Shroud Scope. But you can use the Shroud Scope to view high definition images of the Shroud on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch without installing any application and, of course, for free. You simply open your browser and point it to www.sindonology.org/shroudScope/shroudScope.shtml or simply visit this Web site with your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, and touch with your finger on the Shroud image on the right side of the Web page. The Shroud Scope has also several different base images including the Enrie image of 1931 and a mechanism (called permalink) that allows you to bookmark a specific location and a zoom level, on one of the base Shroud images, to keep and share with other people.

March 27, 2013

The TV broadcast of the exposition of the Shroud of Turin will be on Saturday, March 30, from RAI Uno at 5:15 pm, Turin time, which will be early morning in America. Pope Francis will open the exposition. It will last about 45 minutes. Consult the Web site of RAI TV for more details.

On Friday, March 29, special presentations on the Shroud will also be broacasted by RAI Uno. In particular, at 2:10 pm "A sua immagine Speciale Venerdì Santo: L'uomo della Sindone" and at 8:30 pm "Porta a Porta Speciale Venerdì Santo Sindone mistero svelato?". The details are provided on the RAI TV Guide from the link above.

If you do not have access to the RAI Uno channel from your cable provider, you can try to watch the broadcasting from the live streaming video at the RAI Uno Web site. But, depending on your location, the streaming might be opened or blocked.

You should be able to watch a replay of the exposition, and all special presentations of March 29, from the RAI Uno Web site in which case no restriction of location applies.

March 19, 2013

The official Shroud Web site of Torino (www.sindone.org) provides, as of today and in Italian only, some basic information about the upcoming televised exposition of the Shroud on March 30. The exposition will be viewable using mobile devices via Internet but no details were given so far on the schedule or which devices will be supported.

An ANSA press release provides also some details about the upcoming exposition: Ratzinger orders TV broadcast of Shroud of Turin.

As soon as more details are known on how to view the exposition, I will post them on this Web site.

February 20, 2013

Alain Hourseau is the new owner of the 14th century mold, reproducing the Shroud, found by a jogger near Lirey in 2009. The transfer of ownership occurred a few days ago between the previous owner and Alain Hourseau. This is good news since Alain published a book about the mold and the life of Geoffroy de Charny, and knows well the value of such a rare artifact. Alain is also working on a project to promote the history of the Shroud at the local church in Lirey. Below is a recent photo of Alain Hourseau holding the mold.