Last Updated By Bill's Bible Basics :
February 16, 2017
In addition to reading and studying all of the information which is available in this section of the Bill's Bible Basics website regarding the Shroud of Turin, and the Sudarium of Oviedo, please also consider reading my article entitled "
Faith and the Shroud of Turin" in order to gain a full perspective regarding this issue.
ZENIT News Organization
October 23, 2000
TURIN, Italy, OCT. 23, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- The longest exposition of the Shroud of Turin in history closed Sunday with a special celebration of bishops in the city's cathedral.
For 72 days, from Aug. 12 until last Friday, 950,792 pilgrims viewed the relic, believed to be the cloth used to wrap Jesus' body after the crucifixion.
At a press conference Saturday, Archbishop Severino Poletto of Turin, pontifical custodian of the shroud, announced that there will be two "extra" mornings to view the shroud, on Oct. 27 and 28. This is to accommodate pilgrims whose plans were disrupted by recent floods in northern Italy.
This year 207,994 reservations to see the shroud were made through Internet. This represents 20% of all visitors, compared with 9% who registered via Internet for the 1998 exposition.
The latest exposition of the shroud attracted 112,874 foreigners from 170 different countries, or 11.8% of the total number of visitors. The largest groups were from France (22.5%) and Poland (13.3%).
About 30,000 youngsters visited the shroud on their way to, or return from, World Youth Day, held in Rome in August.
More than 200 priests took turns manning the dozen confessionals installed in the Royal Square for the occasion of the exposition.
Archbishop Poletto said the next extended exposition is planned for 2025, the date of the next Holy Year