The Man of the Shroud: Upcoming Shroud of Turin talk, exhibit spotlights major artifact of faith

Pope Francis touches the case holding the Shroud of Turin after praying before the cloth in 2015 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. (CNS photo)HOUSTON — A mysterious linen cloth believed by many Christians to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ will be the focus of a public lecture and temporary exhibit at the University of St. Thomas later this month, offering Catholics a chance to explore one of Christianity’s most studied and debated relics as Holy Week begins.

Father Andrew Dalton, LCFather Andrew Dalton, LC, an international speaker and scholar on the Shroud of Turin, will present “Who is the Man of the Shroud?” at 7 p.m. March 30 in Jones Hall on the university’s campus, located at 3800 Montrose Blvd. in Houston. The lecture coincides with Holy Week and will be paired with a traveling exhibit organized by Othonia, a global nonprofit dedicated to education and research related to the shroud.

The event is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be open throughout the day on March 30 in Doherty Library and will feature a life-size replica of the shroud, detailed interpretive panels and replicas of weapons associated with the Passion of Jesus. Visitors are invited to examine the history, scientific study and biblical connections of the cloth, which bears the faint image of a man marked by wounds described in the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion.

At center, Father Andrew Dalton, LC, discusses the Shroud of Turin with (left) Amy Auzenne, Archdiocesan director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, and (right) Jim Barrette, Archdiocesan secretariat director of Pastoral and Educational Ministries, at a 2022 preview exhibit of the Shroud of Turin at the National Museum of Funeral History. Father Dalton will present on the Shroud of Turin at the University of St. Thomas on March 30. (Herald file photo)Father Dalton said the shroud invites both belief and investigation.

“I want, like Jesus with St. Thomas the skeptic, to say, come, press and probe,” Dalton said. “Study the shroud. Ask the questions. But do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
A priest of the Legionaries of Christ, Father Dalton teaches theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome and is known for bridging scientific observation and theological reflection. A published author, he teaches Synoptic Gospels as well as biblical Greek and Hebrew.

The Shroud of Turin has long stood at the intersection of faith and science, an approach central to St. Thomas’ mission, university officials said. The linen cloth shows the image of a man who appears to have suffered scourging, crucifixion wounds and a pierce to the side, aligning with biblical descriptions of Jesus’ death.

Nora Creech, a University of St. Thomas alumna and director of Othonia for North America, said hosting the exhibit and lecture on campus brings her academic and professional work together.

“The Shroud sits at the intersection of faith and science, and learning about it speaks directly to a culture that often sees those two in conflict,” Creech said. “This event creates space for dialogue, study and reflection.”

PERMANENT SHROUD EXHIBIT IN HOUSTON

For those unable to attend the lecture or one-day exhibit at St. Thomas, those in the Archdiocese can still encounter the shroud through a permanent exhibition at the National Museum of Funeral History, located at 415 Barren Springs Dr. in north Houston.

There, visitors enter a cave-like space featuring a life-size sculpture of the shroud’s body image, created by Italian artist Luigi Enzo Mattei. Cast in dark bronze-colored resin, the statue depicts the wounds in the wrists, feet and side, rendered with restraint rather than overt gore.

A shroud exhibit will be on display on March Mounted nearby is a 14-foot-long certified linen reproduction of the Shroud of Turin, one of only seven authorized replicas produced from flax grown in Bergamo, Italy. The replica was created during the coronavirus pandemic in November 2020 and gifted to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston by the Archdiocese of Turin.

The museum exhibit also challenges common artistic depictions of the Crucifixion. Two back-lit, life-size photonegative images from official shroud studies allow visitors to examine details up close.

When the exhibit opened in 2023, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo blessed the display and reflected on its impact.

“The Shroud of Turin has led many to contemplate more deeply the central mysteries of the Christian faith,” Cardinal DiNardo said, “principally the historical reality of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.”

The Shroud of Turin has been venerated for centuries as a relic of Jesus’ passion and resurrection. While its authenticity remains a topic of scientific debate, the shroud holds deep devotional significance to many Catholics and has inspired pilgrimages and extensive research.

It is housed in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, and due to its fragile condition, it is only occasionally displayed to the public during special events. The last few times the shroud was on display were in 2020 and again in 2025 for the Jubilee Year of Hope.

In 2020, Pope Francis said, “I too join your prayer, turning my gaze to the Man of the Shroud. In His face, we also see the faces of many sick brothers and sisters, especially those more alone and less well cared for. But also all the victims of wars and violence, slavery and persecution.”

In January, Pope Leo XIV viewed a digital exhibition and display of the Shroud of Turin, the first of its kind ever endorsed by the Archbishop of Turin.

Registration for the March 30 lecture is available through Othonia’s website at www.othonia.org. To learn more about the permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Funeral History, visit www.nmfh.org.