Scottish Catholic Observer

Revered by many as the burial cloth of Jesus, the shroud was the second stop on the Pope’s packed itinerary for his two-day visit to the northern Italian town of Turin.

The Pope did not give an address June 21 in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, where the shroud is housed, but he described it later as an icon of Christ’s great love for humankind.

“At the end of our celebration, our thoughts go to the Virgin Mary, loving mother and attentive to all her children, whom Jesus entrusted to her from the cross, while he offered himself in the greatest act of love. The icon of this love is the shroud,” Pope Francis said before reciting the midday Angelus prayer.

“The shroud draws (us) to the face and martyred body of Jesus and, at the same time, impels us toward the face of every suffering and unjustly persecuted person. It impels us in the same direction as Jesus’ gift of love,” he said, making reference to the words of St Paul.

After his first meeting in Turin, a gathering in a public square with thousands of people from the world of work, Pope Francis walked to the cathedral nearby. He entered the church at 9.15 am and walked directly toward the shroud, which had been on public exhibit since April 19. The Pope stood before the shroud for about 20 seconds, then crossed himself before settling into a wooden armchair, set several feet from the shroud. He sat in dim lighting and in silence, with his head bowed for several moments. He crossed himself again before approaching the shroud, stopping only a few feet away. He stood there, contemplating it for another 20 seconds or so, before walking right up to its case, touching it gently and crossing himself again. He then prayed before a side altar in the cathedral, the location of the tomb of a native of Turin, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at age 24 after a short life dedicated to helping the poor.

The Holy Father then celebrated an outdoor Mass in one of Turin’s central squares, Piazza Vittorio. Officials estimated the crowd to be around 100,000 people.

During his homily, the Pope made a call for all to accept immigrants.

“Immigration increases competition, but migrants are not to blame, because they too are victims of inequality, of this economy of waste and of war,” the Pope said, remarking on the various crises, especially in Africa and the Middle East, which have driven migrants to Italy’s shores in their thousands.

The Holy Father’s two most recent predecessors also visited the shroud: Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, calling it the ‘icon of Holy Saturday,’ and St Pope John Paul II in 1998. The shroud is expected to be on public display until June 24.