Bestselling author Paul Badde offers historic view of the Shroud of Turin
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 13, 2012 /
Christian Newswire/ -- The Shroud of Turin is one of the most famous relics in the world. Scrutinized by scientists and studied by debunkers, it also is honored around the globe by countless faithful devoted to the mysterious image of a crucified man that appears on the cloth.
In The True Icon, available from Ignatius Press, German investigative reporter and bestselling author Paul Badde travels from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem through Europe tracing the history and travels of what arguably is the most-investigated piece of cloth in human history. Along the way, he notes that the rediscovery of another ancient piece of cloth – the Holy Veil of Manoppello – actually answers questions that have kept some from acknowledging the Shroud as the cloth Joseph of Arimathea used to wrap Christ's body for burial.
"The Shroud is an icon written in blood; the blood of a man who was scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified and whose right side was pierced," said Pope Benedict XVI. "The image impressed upon the Shroud is that of a dead man, but the blood speaks of his life. Every trace of blood speaks of love and of life."
In this lavishly illustrated new book, Badde analyzes the reporting in the Gospels that suggests the Shroud and Holy Veil not only are "the real deal," but that they found their way to the East and, ultimately, to Europe through the hands of the true witnesses to Jesus' walk on Earth – the Apostles.
"I doubt -- frankly -- a lot of things," Badde writes in the book. "I doubt the latest news, I doubt my telephone bills and many prescriptions, and so on, but not that the Shroud of Turin accommodated Jesus of Nazareth after his death for two nights and a Sabbath."
He reports on the chain of Shroud ownership through the ages, uncovering some fascinating twists and turns in the cloth's path from the tomb described in the Gospels to Turin. In the process, he also offers readers a brief introduction to the Holy Veil of Manoppello, believed to be "the napkin" included in the Gospel of John report on Jesus' resurrection.
Badde provided an extensive look at the Holy Veil in his bestselling The Face of God, published in English by Ignatius Press in 2010.
This time, however, the Shroud is his focus; and Badde uses the same dogged investigative tools to provide new insights into one of the Christian world's most well-known relics. In the process, he makes a compelling case that the Shroud and Holy Veil are real. Together, he asserts, they "write" the very first chapter of the Gospel accounts through images "not of human hands."
For more information or to request a review copy and/or an interview with Paul Badde, please contact Alexis Walkenstein (561-445-5409 or
AWalkenstein@MaximusMG.com) or Tim Lilley (678-990-9032 or
TLilley@MaximusMG.com) with The Maximus Group.
