THE "HOLY FACE OF MANOPPELLO" HOAX

The title of this thread is likely to surprise quite a few readers. Let me explain where I found the quote.

In the prayer requests section, BrianK has been asking for prayers and suggested praying the 'Chaplet of the Holy Face' prayer. Like other forum members I had not heard of this devotion so I did a Google search which turned up this page: http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/chaplet_overview.htm

The above website is a long established website which I had encountered many years ago when studying the Turin Shroud. But when I went to view its homepage, I was surprised and actually intrigued to find the following short paragraph in red:

ALERT: Please be aware of the "Holy Face of Manoppello" hoax making the rounds on the Internet and in recent books. This has nothing to do with the Holy Face devotion as outlined on this website. Please see our article, "The Holy Face of Manoppello Hoax" for more information.
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I said I was 'intrigued' because for some time I have been interested in the Manoppepello image but, for two specific reasons I was not convinced of the authenticity of the image. One of those two reasons was the fact that despite the image often being described positively, for me it shows none of the beauty of the Shroud image and actually, for me, is a rather unpleasant image.

I am aware that Pope Benedict visited the veil containing the image ten years ago and also that Robert Moynihan of 'Inside the Vatican', whom I rate highly, is very positive. But I have remained negative and my internet searches today have now brought to light the onepeterfive website, about which I am particularly negative, has recently prepared a page strongly promoting the authenticity of the image. That has confirmed my doubts about the image!

But it seems a suitable topic to discuss.

 

I have seen this image before. I had no idea it may be a hoax. I would tend to agree with the conclusion that we already have a Holy Face devotion re the Shroud of Turin, surrounded by miracles. It never hurts to pray using a devotion if it bolsters your faith but interesting to know it may be a hoax.

 

David I agree with you! I have always found the image rather unpleasant, redolent of bad art. I have heard that in real life it looks more beautiful but I still find it hard to believe it is genuine. I know Benedict XVI prayed in front of it, but even so..... It certainly isn't as regal and dignified as the face on the Shroud.

We had a debate on it on the old Ratzinger forum and there were people on both sides.

I gather it's been shown that the image isn't, as I used to think, the self-portrait of Albrecht Durer that he sent to Raphael and is now lost. He's supposed to have painted it on very fine fabric. I found an article online which seems to debunk that theory. So... how was it made and when? No idea. But I still think it's ugly. Sorry.

 

I have seen this image in person. It is miraculous! For one thing, the fabric is about as gossamer as a web and also the image shows up when a light is shown through it and is not seen otherwise. Remember Our Lord was beaten to a pulp and hardly looked like a human being by the time the torture was ended.

 

The nature of the image on the cloth is certainly 'mysterious' and has led to many discussions of its nature but that doesn't make it miraculous. If authentic, the Manoppello cloth would put into question centuries of history surrounding Veronica's veil. My main concerns come from the fact that it has only been taken seriously since the late 1990s plus the fact that the image simply looks very like a rather poor man made painting! See the large, high quality image below:

 

????

If you reach a conclusion of authenticity on the basis of your like or dislike of a particular website, then you have lost the race before you even got started.

There are many reasons to think that the Holy Face of Manoppello is in fact authentic, but instead of being Veronica's Veil it is actually the cloth layed over the face of Jesus in the tomb, after He had been washed and anointed by the Holy Women. Your personal like or dislike of the image is irrelevant to the question of authenticity. I suggest you read Paul Badde's excellent book The Face of God: The Rediscovery Of The True Face of Jesus. https://www.amazon.com/Face-God-Red...TF8&qid=1479553373&sr=8-3&keywords=paul+badde

 

http://motheofgod.com/posts/126987/

Pl see previous discussions supporting authenticity

 

Well, Richard, my comment about the 'particular website' was intended to be somewhat light-hearted, after all its difficult for a website to be wrong ALL the time

Paul Badde is, of course, one of the two people who have successfully promoted the image as authentic since the 1990s. I'm sure he presents a very good case for its authenticity just as others reject his arguments.

I don't really accept that ones personal liking or disliking of the image is irrelevant. The sheer beauty of the Shroud image speaks volumes about its authenticity long before one looks into the details of its history and the nature of its image. But I doubt that the Manoppello image itself, without its claims to authenticity, would attract anyone to prayer.

 

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Jesj 53.

David. It is awful this image run from it as long as you can

 

Thanks for drawing attention to this other thread. I don't think there is much there about the Manoppello cloth. The 'volto Santo' term you use has historically referred to the crucifix known as the Volto Santo, or Holy Face, of Lucca was one of the most famous holy images of the Middle Ages. Said to have been carved by Nicodemus in Lebanon and hidden in a cave for centuries, it arrived in Lucca around 740. This 'taking over' of terms associated with much older devotions and beliefs is another worrying aspect for me with the Manoppello image.

 

And that's the nub of it. There's something about it that is lacking.... The face on the Shroud shows terrible suffering - I don't think it's the sorrowful condition of Our Lord which is putting me off the Manoppello image. I realise he had injuries to his face and body.

I recommend the book on the Sudarium of Oviedo by Janice Bennett. It's about the cloth that covered the head of Jesus after his death on the Cross. Or just Google the information.

 

The Shroud is an image of a man who has just suffered the horror of crucifixion. I would hardly call that "beautiful." But, again, the emotional appeal of the Shroud has nothing to do with the image per se. Rather, the Shroud should stir our emotions because we know with near certainty that it is the cloth that wrapped the Body of Christ. The Holy Face of Manoppello stirs my emotions for the same reasons as the Shroud: a strong case has been made that it is authentic. The artistic qualities of any genuine relic are not what should inspire us but rather the fact that they are authentic.

It would also be a mistake to claim that the Holy Face of Manoppello is exactly what Christ looked like, in the same way as it is a mistake to claim that the Shroud gives us an exact photograph. In both cases the images on the Shroud and the Holy Face of Manoppello are two dimensional whereas the Body that formed them is three dimensional. And, in both cases, the Body forming the images has been subjected to brutal beating and torture. Even with the best software it would be hard to predict and reproduce what Christ looked like, although we certainly have a very good idea based on the Shroud, the Holy Face of Manoppello as well as the early Pantocrator icon.

 

My arguments in favor of Manoppello

Tissue unique
No paint detected, as with shroud. Telma
Biometric identity to shroud face.

What would convince more?

That Veronica' veil history is not confirmed would not put me off

 

http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/manoppello_hoax.htm

I concede after reading above linked article neither being a historian nor theologian: Cannot refute their arguments, my previous points seem valid. The impact in the church in Manoppello was strong enough for me that would not be convincing to others.

 

This is an interesting topic bringing up this old thread (by the way, on formed.org, there is an audio version of Paul Badde's book, 'The face of God" The Face of God: The Rediscovery of the True Face of Jesus by Paul Badde - The Face of God: The Rediscovery of the True Face of Jesus by Paul Badde - FORMED ).

Speaking about Veronica's name which is a very beautiful name but how can it's roots in meaning be "True Image":

Word/name Greek, Latin
Meaning she who brings victory, true image

Veronica (name) - Wikipedia
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Image, one can see how "Ver" (like Verdad in Spanish) is truth (veritas also, Latin) Yet, Veron "-ica"... see, it is something like "Icon"- Greek (image) actually. how could she have been named that at least, back in those days?? And she got the true image on the veil. I just wonder a bit about this.

 

If the Monopello image does nothing for you, disregard it. If the Shroud causes you to meditate, by all means do! There has never been paint found on the Shroud, the image was burned. Someday, after death, you will be able to gaze at the real face of Jesus.

 

I know of a woman who saw the face of Christ some years ago.

She saw just his face, not the body, and he was beardless.

She described it as shining white with a faint smile.

It happened like this: The woman had a strong devotion to the Sacred Heart and after attending Mass she would like candles at the Sacred Heart statue. However, on this particular day when she went to light candles the statue has been moved elsewhere. But she continued to pray and light her candles – until she looked up at the place where the statue would normally be – and then she saw the face of Jesus before her.

The woman explained that she uttered the words, “O my God, you are so beautiful,” and when she said this the smile on the face of Jesus broadened. It was then she took fright and broke down in tears, running out of the church to her friend who had left earlier to start the car (the weather was very wet).

Only a priest was in the church when this happened. The woman checked with him at another time, asking if he had seen the apparition. He hadn’t.

The church is located in a small village in the Northwest of Ireland.

I have no reason to doubt the woman. She is/was my mother.

It was only several months later, when she came to visit me and my family, that she gathered us all together and explained what had happened.

Ever since, I consecrate myself and my family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

“Most loving Jesus, when I consider your heart and see it full of mercy and tenderness, my own heart is filled with joy and confidence that I shall be so kindly welcomed by you.”

 

Holy Face of Jesus

A truly remarkable and beautiful video!
It is about how a Person saved Fr. Domenico de Cese’s life when he was a child but he had no idea who had saved him until Fr. Domenico was called to be a Priest (Capuchin Friar) at the Catholic Church Santuario del Volto Santo located in Manoppello, Italy. This Church is where the Holy Face of Jesus is located. Upon arriving there, he then discovered that the Holy Face of Jesus was the same Face that saved him as a child when Jesus pulled him out of the Church rubble when the Church had collapsed.
He was the first to reveal and declare that this Veil had to be the very Sudarium of face cloth of Christ, so it had to be
that handkerchief size cloth which the Evangelist John writes was placed on the Face of Christ in the tomb.

The video also talks about how Padre Pio bilocated to Father Domenico 20 hours before Padre Pio had died, and also talks about how Father Domenico also bilocated at Padre Pio's funeral procession.

 

Mysterious image of the face of Jesus is kept in this Italian church
The "Holy Face of Jesus" was found to match the image on both the Shroud of Turin and the shroud of Oviedo.

“Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.” (John 20:8)

https://aleteia.org/slideshow/slide...kept-in-this-italian-church/?from_post=566242

In the central Italian region of Abruzzo, about 20 miles (30 km) inland from Pescara on the Adriatic Sea, is a small village called Manoppello. Ordinarily an obscure hill town with a population of 6,900 people would be insignificant. However, on the outskirts of Manoppello is a Capuchin church housing a mysterious icon reputed to be the Holy Face of Jesus.


The history of the mysterious cloth
According to an old tradition, an anonymous pilgrim arrived at the church in 1508 with the cloth inside a wrapped package and gave it to a doctor named Giacomo Leonelli. He went into the church where he opened it and discovered the image. The doctor went back out only to find that the mysterious pilgrim had disappeared. The image was owned by various families in Manoppello until it was given to the Capuchins in the early 17th century. Since then, it has remained inside the church safeguarded by the friars.

Visiting the church
Upon entering the church, visitors are often struck by how small the image is. Indeed, at the end of the long nave, within a glass encasement behind the main altar, the small 9.5 x 6.5-inch (17 x 24 cm) image is difficult to discern.

However, while walking toward it, a mysterious face enclosed within a silver reliquary or monstrance begins to appear. Walking closer still, the visitor notices that the face is transparent, as the large window panes on the apse behind it can be seen through the image.

A two-way staircase behind the altar on the other side of the image allows for incredibly close observation. Once atop the staircase, visitors can stand just inches away from the image of Jesus. It is striking how the image is just as perceptible from this side, albeit in reverse.

The image of Jesus
The image depicts the face of a man with long hair, a light bearddivided into bands, eyes opened (one slightly more than the other), and the mouth open. His countenance is peaceful, and there are no signs of pain or unease.

If a friar or caretaker happens to be present, he will turn a light switch on and off illuminating and darkening the space inside the encasement causing what appears to be a change in the demeanor of the face. When the light is on, the man appears alert; with the light off, he appears passive and dormant.

Experts who have studied the image are unable to determine what it is composed of. Some have suggested it was made from sea byssus, or sea silk (Italian: bisso marino). Others are baffled by the way the pigment was applied to the thin strands and how the image is equally visible on both sides.

Further mysteries uncovered
Sr. Blandina Schlömer, a German Trappist nun, was visiting Manoppello in the 1970s when she made an interesting observation. While looking at the image, she had the impression she was standing in front of the veil of Veronica. While the Gospels make no reference to the story of Veronica and the veil, tradition says that Veronica encountered Jesus along the Via Dolorosa on the way to Calvary and paused to wipe the blood and sweat off his face with her veil. When she did so, his image was imprinted on the cloth.

Being familiar with the shroud of Turin, Sr. Blandina took copies of the two images and superimposed one on top of the other. She noted that there were 10 perfect points of contact. Not only did the eyes, nose, and mouth line up perfectly, so did the position of wounds.

Sometime later, a copy of the lesser known image of Christ, the sudarium or shroud of Oviedo – a bloodstained piece of cloth that could also have been applied to Christ’s body during burial – was superimposed on the Manoppello and Turin images. The face of Christ of that image matched the other two.

In the rear of the church, to the left, is a doorway leading to a large hall. There are numerous displays including studies of the Manoppello image, descriptions and large photographs of the Turin and Oviedo shrouds, an example of sea byssus, and three glass panels depicting the Manoppello, Turin, and Olviedo images. The panels are on rollers and visitors can look at them individually or slide them in front of one another to see for themselves how the faces match.

Pilgrimages to Manoppello
Manoppello is only about 30 miles (45 km) from Lanciano, the site of a well-known Eucharistic miracle. Both locations are about halfway between San Giovanni Rotondo, where St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina is buried, and Loreto, site of the Holy House of Mary, making it a popular stop on pilgrimage itineraries.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI visited the sanctuary of Manoppello. Since then, interest in the image has surged and countless pilgrims visit the sanctuary each year. Though the Church has never issued a pronouncement on the authenticity of the supernatural aspect of the Manoppello image, Pope Benedict made the following statement during his visit:

“As the Psalms say, we are all ‘seeking the Face of the Lord’. And this is also the meaning of my visit. Let us seek together to know the Face of the Lord ever better, and in the Face of the Lord let us find this impetus of love and peace which also reveals to us the path of our life.”

https://aleteia.org/2020/11/06/mysterious-image-of-the-face-of-jesus-is-kept-in-this-italian-church/

 

Pope Benedict elevated this church to being a Basilica. Nice looking church, it doesn't appear to be some great historic building but nice all the same.