The mystery of the Veil of Veronica with the imprint of the face of Jesus

Da Monica Innaurato - January 8, 2024

Today we want to tell you the story of the Veronica cloth, a name that probably won't tell you much since it is not mentioned in the canonical gospels. Veronica was a young woman who followed Jesus during his painful ascent to Golgotha carrying the Cross. Taking pity on her, she wiped her face, stained with sweat, tears and blood, with a linen cloth. The face of Christ was imprinted on this cloth, thus creating the Veil of Veronica, one of the most mysterious relics in Christian history.

The various theories on the Veil of Veronica

There are various theory about what happened to Veronica's Veil after Jesus' crucifixion. One version of the story states that the cloth belonged to a woman named Veronica, who wished to have a portrait of Jesus. However, when she met him on the way and asked him for the cloth to have it painted, He did he wiped his face with it and gave her the desired portrait.

This portrait was then delivered to a messenger named Volusian, sent to Jerusalem on behalf of the Emperor Tiberius. The emperor he recovered miraculously after seeing the relic. In another version, the Veil would have been used by Jesus himself to dry his face and was subsequently delivered by Veronica.

The Veil relic was then placed by Urban Pope VIII in one of the chapels inside St. Peter's Basilica.

Veronica is often confused with another female figure mentioned in the Gospels, called Berenice. This is because the names Veronica and Berenice have the same etymology and can be translated as "the one who brings victory“. However, over time, the name Bernice transformed into Veronica, in reference to the true icon.

The figure of Veronica is often associated with an act of mercy towards Jesus during his passion. There is no certain information on his identity, but his story and his gesture of compassion towards the innocent man who was about to be crucifix represent an example of mercy for all of us.

Furthermore, there is a tradition that connects the Veil of Veronica to manoppello, in the province of Pescara. Another relic known as the “Holy Face“, which represents the face of Christ. It is believed that this relic was brought to Manoppello by a mysterious pilgrim in 1506. The dimensions of Manoppello's face also coincide with those of the Holy Shroud.