Replica of the Shroud of Turin to be exhibited in Minersville

Stephen J. Pytak writes in the Republican Herald:

MINERSVILLE – A replica of the Shroud of Turin, the famous linen which believers say Joseph of Arimathea used to wrap the body of the crucified Jesus Christ more than 1,970 years ago, will soon be on display in a church in the borough.

It will be on display at St. Nicholas Parish, a Ukrainian-Catholic church at 415 Front St., from March 21 to April 1, according to the Rev. Mark Fesniak, pastor.

"It’s beautiful," Fesniak said Thursday.

Archbishop Stefan Soroka of the Ukrainian Archdiocese of Philadelphia has arranged for the replica to be on display in Minersville, according to Fesniak.

"The transportation to bring it here was our only cost," said Connie Brophy, church secretary.

"He enjoys sending it to churches which have schools," Fesniak said.

Some area students have already seen this particular replica.

In April 2010, students from St. Nicholas School in Minersville saw it at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia, according to Fesniak.

"My nephew was there," Brophy said. His name is Lucas Rinaldo, 13. And she said he’ll be looking forward to seeing it again. "He said he thought it was ‘so neat,’ " Brophy said.

The actual shroud is a 14-foot long, 3 1/2-foot wide linen cloth bearing the front and back image of a scourged, crucified man, according to shroud.com, the website for the Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association, Florissant, Colo.

The shroud became the property of the Catholic Church in the late 1980s and has been kept in Turin, Italy, since 1578, according to shroud.com.

This replica is exact, Fesniak said. "The cloth is made of hand-twisted flax, a very expensive, fine linen cloth which would support the prescriptions for traditional Jewish burial," Fesniak said.

"It bears the faint front and back image of a 5-foot, 10-inch tall bearded, crucified man with apparent wounds and bloodstains that match the crucifixion account as recorded in the Bible. Millions of people over the centuries have believed it to be the actual burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth," Fesniak said.

The replica will be unveiled at the church at the Stations of the Cross scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 21.