Mons. Cesare Nosiglia, the Archbishop of Turin, has announced that there will be an extraordinary veneration of the Shroud of Turin in the Turin Cathedral on Holy Saturday, April 3, 2021. The event will be broadcast live on television and social media. Watch the veneration of the Shroud of Turin via EWTN here: EWTN's YouTube page and EWTN Vatican's Facebook page.
This event is similar to the Holy Saturday event held in 2020, also organized by Turin Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia.
Last year, Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia said he organized the livestream in response to thousands of requests from “elderly and adults and young people, healthy and sick, who ask[ed] me that, in the moment of great difficulty we are living, if they can pray during Holy Week in front of the Shroud, to implore Christ, who died and was Risen.”
This year, Archbishop Nosiglia also points to the hard times we are living in. Here is his full message on the event as printed on the Diocesi di Torino Website (note that the times mentioned are local to Turin, Italy):
"In these troubled times we need to nurture and communicate our hope. And for us believers the most effective way to increase the hope of the whole world is through common prayer, by kneeling before the Lord.
"For this reason we celebrate, also on Holy Saturday, the day of silence before the tomb of the Lord but also of the expectation of his resurrection, a special liturgy in front of the Shroud that reminds us of this event, the living center of our faith and our hope.
"The appointment is therefore for Saturday 3 April, at 5 pm, from the Turin Cathedral. The liturgy will be broadcast live on TV2000 and the signal will reach, via satellites, the whole world, thanks to the collaboration of the Secretariat for Communication of the Holy See and the Vatican Television Center. The live broadcast will be accompanied by a presence on social media, to allow the widest possible audience to participate in this moment. The live broadcast on social media will begin at 4.30 pm, with interventions and testimonies that prepare for the contemplation of the Shroud.
"The prayer in front of the Shroud in this 2021 is not a simple repetition of the one celebrated in 2020. Last year we were in a completely unknown emergency situation; today we are more aware of the difficulties we face and the commitments we can make. Above all, we have understood that our first strength lies in continuing life with courage and helping those who are in difficulty and need.
"The prayer from the Duomo will see the participation of the young Turinese involved in the journey of preparation, who will also offer some testimonies on the pain and hope that have characterized this last year.
"I again wanted to invite the representatives of the institutions of Turin and Piedmont, so that they represent the entire people of our lands before the Shroud. I remain convinced, in fact, that the Cloth is a reality that speaks to everyone, beyond the different cultural convictions and beyond the diversity of faith. The Shroud image, which Turin has kept for almost 5 centuries, testifies to pain and death but also - and with what greater force! - resurrection and eternal life which opens to charity, to the brotherhood of every person. Before the Shroud we can truly exclaim once again, with our hearts turned to the Lord: "your love is forever."
Watch the Veneration of the Shroud of Turin via EWTN here:
Fr. Spitzer has written extensively on the Shroud of Turin. Learn more in the articles below.