Mystery of the Shroud to visit Tasmania

A 14-foot life-size replica of the mysterious Shroud of Turin will be touring Tasmania next month as part of an internationally renowned exhibition on the famous artefact which many believe was the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

Following The Australian Holy Shroud Conference in Sydney from 27 to 28 June, Tasmania will be the second location in Australia to host the Exhibition which explores the history and most recent scientific findings on the Shroud.

“The Shroud of Turin is a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man,” said Martin Tobin, Director of Catholic Identity and Evangelisation for Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) and chief organiser of the Exhibition in Tasmania.

“A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth,” he added. “Modern science has completed hundreds of thousands of hours of detailed study and intense research on the Shroud.

“It is, in fact, the single most studied artefact in human history, and we know more about it today than we ever have before.”

Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) will host the ‘Man of the Shroud Exhibition’ which will visit Tasmanian schools and parishes from 21 July to 17 August, sponsored by Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need.

The Exhibition was put together by the Othonia Institute, part of the Science and Faith Institute, a team of specialists on the Shroud at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome.

Mr Tobin said he hoped the Exhibition would spark the interest of both school students and parishioners, deepening their faith as they consider the scientific evidence.

“It is hoped that in providing our students, staff and families with the opportunity to learn more about the significance of the Shroud that they will consider for themselves the evidence for the historical Jesus, and the significance of his life, death and resurrection for their personal relationship with God, in this life and eternity,” Mr Tobin said.

The real Shroud is a rectangular piece of blood-stained linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. Measuring 4.41 metres long and 1.13 metres wide, it has been housed in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, since 1578. Despite the numerous scientific studies carried out on the Shroud, scientists have been unable to explain how the image on the cloth was made.

While radiocarbon testing in 1988 dated the Shroud to between 1260 and 1390, a recent scientific review of this finding found the sample tested did not represent the whole cloth. Other forms of dating carried out more recently have indicated that the Shroud is around 2,000 years old.

Archdiocesan Project Officer Ruth Sternberg, who is assisting with the Tasmanian exhibition, recently visited Turin during a personal pilgrimage and was able to spend time praying before the real Shroud.

“For me, with the evidence shown and the markings, I personally believe it is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ,” she said.

“It shows that Jesus was a real person, entered history, and his Crucifixion and Resurrection as described in the Gospels was a real event and that fact is captured in this single linen burial cloth,” she added.

“The Shroud is the single piece of evidence of the Passion, the burial and the Resurrection of Christ which is just mind-blowing!

“For the faithful, the faith-curious and hopefully sceptics too, I pray this exhibition will not only prove the scientific aspect of the Shroud but show the depth of Jesus’ love for us through the evidence of his agonising crucifixion and give us tremendous hope through his miraculous Resurrection.”

In the North of the state, the ‘Man of the Shroud Exhibition’ will visit the Church of the Apostles in Launceston, Marist Regional College in Burnie, and St Brendan Shaw College in Devonport. In the South it will be hosted at St Mary’s Cathedral in Hobart and Guilford Young College, Hobart campus.

“As a scientifically-minded person, I am fascinated in knowing more about what science reveals about the man of the Shroud,” Mr Tobin said.

“It has certainly strengthened my faith in Jesus’ Divinity; after considering the growing body of evidence, it is difficult to conclude anything other than that the Shroud of Turin is the burial cloth of Christ mentioned in the Gospels, and that it bears a miraculous image of the moment of Jesus’ Resurrection.”

For more information on the “Man of the Shroud Exhibition’ in Tasmania please contact Martin Tobin at martin.tobin@catholic.tas.edu.au, or Ruth Sternberg at ruth.sternberg@aohtas.org.au.

By Catherine Sheehan