by a long shot
It started tonight with a multiscreen “Shroud Encounter” presentation by Russ Breault.
The Post-Dispatch story by Lilly Fowler about the conference was syndicated on Religion News Services (RNS). It was picked up by the national paper, Huffington Post as The Unsolved Mystery Behind The Shroud Of Turin Still Has The Power To Captivate. The Washington Post and at least forty other news outlets, large and small, also picked up the story.
Shroud of Turin Blog 
If anyone’s wondering why St.Louis was chosen as the venue, here’s a possible clue from the wiki entry (under ‘People’):
The perception of Louis IX (ed. St.Louis) as the exemplary Christian prince was reinforced by his religious zeal. Louis was a devout Catholic, and he built the Sainte-Chapelle (“Holy Chapel”), located within the royal palace complex (now the Paris Hall of Justice), on the Île de la Cité in the centre of Paris. The Sainte Chapelle, a perfect example of the Rayonnant style of Gothic architecture, was erected as a shrine for the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross, precious relics of the Passion of Jesus. Louis purchased these in 1239–41 from Emperor Baldwin II of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, for the exorbitant sum of 135,000 livres* (the chapel, however, cost only 60,000 livres to build).
*That was more than 10% of France’s then current national income, according to information elsewhere in the same wiki article. Oh, and St.Louis won’t be Barrie Schwortz’s favourite Roman Catholic saint, assuming he has one, as the rest of the article makes painfully all too clear.
Every one knows they picked St. Louis because of the great barbecue joints.
Would that be after one has feasted on the “soda/popcorn daily in (hotel) lobby, 3-10pm daily”?
http://www.stlouisshroudconference.com/updates/recent-post-one
Personally, I attend conferences to expand my horizons – not waistline.
It might have something to do with the fact that the sponsors live in St. Louis and Joe Marino once lived in St. Louis. It is also a good conference city.
Awesome. I wish I could be there with you all.