A reader writes:
I saw your blog on the shroud and wondered if you have any info on how to obtain appointment times for viewing next april-may, 2015, without being associated with a tour group? we will be in italy already on our own and do not need a 10-day tour. thanks for any help you can provide.
The official site where reservations can be made in the future reads (with Google Translation):
At the moment it is not possible to book any pilgrimage to the exposition of 2015. Reservations will be carried out, however, from this site, www.sindone.org . All information will be soon available on the net.
Don’t even think of using the English language pages. They have not been updated since 2010.
From googling (my italics)
Archdiocese announces dates for 2015 public display of Shroud of Turin
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Archdiocese of Turin, custodian of the Shroud of Turin, has announced that the shroud, venerated by many as the burial cloth of Christ, will be on public display April 19-June 24, 2015.
The archdiocese said the 67-day display will be the longest period of time that the 14-foot-by-4-foot linen cloth has ever been available for public viewing; providing a window of more than two months not only will allow more faithful to see it, but also will make it easier for Pope Francis to schedule the visit he has said he wants to make.
At the same time, the Turin announcement said, the public display will coincide with several events in Turin for young Catholics arriving to mark the 200th anniversary in 2015 of the birth of St. John Bosco, the founder of the Salesians.
In early March, the archdiocese also announced that it had chosen a theme for the 2015 display: “The greatest love.”
Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Turin said, “The greatest love is God’s for men and women,” a love reflected in Jesus, “the son of God made man, who accepted death on the cross for the salvation of all, in every time and every situation.”
The image on the shroud, he said, testifies to the “suffering and death of a crucified man” and is “a sign of that love which does not end with death.”
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Don’t you just love that phrase “will make it easier for Pope Francis etc etc” or “the death of a crucified man”.
Is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking? Clue: remind yourself of the Vatican’s (present) position re authenticity.
Methinks tickets and reservations for us hoi polloi, “young Catholics” included, are nowhere near the top of Turin’s list of priorities. Thus the information vacuum re reservations, the tumbleweed website …
The vacuum on reservations and tumbleweed website are par for the course with Italian/Vatican church projects.
I read this announcement and it makes me indeed wonder if the Turin/Vatican have something up their sleeve re: authenticity. If they know the Shroud is medieval why draw attention to it in such a big way?
Something may be afoot. Or it may simply be much ado about nothing. We shall just have to wait and see.
“. If they know the Shroud is medieval why draw attention to it in such a big way?”
Don’t worry.
In 2010 the reservation system did not go online until around nine months before the start of the exhibition. If Turin follows the same pattern this time, we can expect the system to go online within the next few weeks. Definitely much ado about nothing.