THE LEGACY OF POPE FRANCIS AND THE ORIENTATION OF CARDINAL LUIS ANTONIO TAGLE TO BE ELECTED POPE

 

THE  LEGACY  OF  POPE  FRANCIS  AND THE ORIENTATION OF  CARDINAL  LUIS  ANTONIO TAGLE TO  BE  ELECTED  POPE

The heavy doors of the Sistine Chapel loomed, ancient and unyielding, as if guarding centuries of secrets. Beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling, the silence was thick with anticipation. Cardinals in scarlet robes moved with solemn dignity, each step echoing a sense of divine responsibility. Outside, the world waited — breathless, anxious, hopeful. The papal conclave of 2025 had begun. According to Church law, the cardinals would vote twice each day until one man received a two-thirds majority. That meant ninety votes. Ninety men had to agree — not on policies or platforms, but on a soul they believed could carry the weight of Peter’s keys.

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Pope candidates (left to right) Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, cardinal Pietro Parolin, cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, and cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu
Who will be the next pope?
The decision will be made when the College of Cardinals begins meeting in conclave from 16:30 on 7 May in the 15th Century Sistine Chapel.
It will involve 133 cardinals aged under 80, who will debate and then vote for their preferred candidate until a single name secures the support of two-thirds of them.
With 80% of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis himself, most are not only electing a pope for the first time, but will offer a broad global perspective.
For the first time in history, fewer than half of those given a vote will be European.
And although the college may be dominated by his appointments, they were not exclusively "progressive" or "traditionalist".
Could the cardinals elect an African, an Asian or even an American pope, or might they favour one of the old hands of the Vatican administration?


Here are some

IN PICTURES:
Symbolism on show as Pope lies in open coffin
EXPLAINER:
Key candidates in an unpredictable contest to be the next Pope
PROFILE:
Acting head of the Vatican Cardinal Kevin Farrell
VISUAL GUIDE:
How the next Pope is chosen by secret vote

Pietro Parolin

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Nationality: Italian
Age: 70

Softly spoken Italian Cardinal Parolin was the Vatican's secretary of state under Pope Francis – making him the pope's chief adviser. The secretary of state also heads the Roman Curia, the Church's central administration.
Having acted effectively as deputy pope, he could be considered a frontrunner.
He is viewed by some as more likely to prioritise diplomacy and a global outlook than the purity of Catholic dogma. His critics consider that a problem, while his supporters see a strength.
But he has been critical of the legalisation of same-sex marriage around the world, calling a landmark 2015 vote in favour in the Republic of Ireland "a defeat for humanity".
Catholic watchdog organisation Bishop Accountability has accused Cardinal Parolin of "suppression of abuse information" being passed to secular authorities in his role as secretary of state.

The morning light crept gently over the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica on April 21, 2025, casting long shadows across the cobbled streets of Vatican City. For most, it was just another spring morning—soft, still, sacred. But inside Casa Santa Marta, the heart of the Catholic world prepared to stop. Pope Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, breathed his last at precisely 7:35 a.m. His frail body, once full of quiet strength, had finally surrendered after a prolonged bout of bilateral pneumonia. His death did not come entirely unexpected. He had been in and out of the hospital since February, often canceling appearances, visibly weaker each time he addressed the faithful. And yet, when the moment arrived, it shook the foundations of Vatican City.
The bookmakers may back him but Cardinal Parolin will be well aware of an old Italian saying that stresses the uncertainty of the pope-picking process: "He who enters a conclave as a pope, leaves it as a cardinal."
Some 213 of the previous 266 popes have been Italian and even though there has not been an Italian pope in 40 years, the pivot of the upper echelons of the Church away from Italy and Europe may mean there Luis A

CHINA  DEAL MADE BY CARDINAL  PAROLIN  (Cardinal Joseph Zen: Why a Vatican-China deal will harm Catholics in China) IS  NOT ACCEPTABLE TO THE INTERNAL POLITICS  OF  THE  CHURCH There are thought to be around 10 million Catholics in China, the majority of whom worship in government approved churches. But many others do so in secret, in so-called "underground churches", which means the worshippers are often under surveillance and so never totally safe. "They can be arrested ... Not many [priests] are detained. Maybe two bishops and maybe a dozen priests. They don't want to have martyrs ... They have more improved methods to destroy the church. Like threats, like enticement ... blackmail ... The Communists are the law, they can do anything," says former Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen. Despite the danger, they see themselves as the true followers of the Catholic church. In the official church in China, the pope's authority is not recognised, but that may be about to change. The Vatican and Communist Party appear to be close to making an historic deal, which would give Pope Francis a say in the appointment of bishops to China's official church. In exchange, the Vatican would recognise bishops ordained without the pope's approval. In effect, a recognition by the pontiff that the two churches should become one. The rapprochement between China's Communist Party and the Vatican is highly significant. China broke off diplomatic relations with the Vatican almost 70 years ago, following the Communist Party revolution led by chairman Mao. Now, two of the world's most secretive organisations are close to announcing a deal that will decide the future of China's Catholics. But the agreement has many detractors. One prominent critic, former Bishop of Hong Kong Cardinal Zen, has called it a betrayal, evil and a sell out. "How can you legitimise a schismatic church ... they are completely under the guidance of the government. The church doesn't change just because you legitimise all the bishops ... If all the bishops, or the majority of the bishops, are the slaves of the Communist regime, there is no improvement," says Cardinal Zen. He has never recognised the Chinese government's efforts to interfere in the church and therefore he travelled to the Vatican to warn the pope, face to face against any deal. "I said to him [the pope] "this is fake". Last word is not enough ... Practically you are giving the power in the hands of the government ... What do they [the Communist Party] know about the qualities required to be a bishop?" says Zen. "We're facing a disaster [if the Vatican establishes a representatives office in Bejing]. In the official church, those bad elements, those who really have no faith, that are just on the side of the government for their interest, those people now are happy ... they are being rewarded. The good people in the open church must be very disappointed ... They were waiting for the Holy See [Vatican] to give them courage. But the Holy See always encourages surrender, everywhere. Now, they give up their hope. With no agreement there can still be hope for change. But now, it's the legitimatisation of the wrong situation .... Many people in the universal church may lose their faith in the pope." Cardinal Zen talks to Al Jazeera about the challenges facing China's Catholics, the Vatican-China deal on appointing bishops, and his meeting with Pope Francis. A discovery inside the Vatican Archives has shaken the Catholic world to its core, a private letter from Pope Francis to Cardinal Luis Tagle, lost for years, now finally exposed. What this letter reveals goes far beyond ordinary guidance; it hints at a hidden plan that could reshape the very future of the Church. As questions swirl and speculations mount, the real story lies not just in the words themselves, but in what they were meant to prepare. Nationality: Filipino Age 67 LUIS ANTONIO TAGLE Could the next pope come from Asia? Cardinal Tagle has decades of pastoral experience – meaning he has been an active Church leader among the people as opposed to a diplomat for the Vatican or cloistered expert on Church law. The Church is massively influential in the Philippines, where about 80% of the population is Catholic. The country currently has a record five members of the College of Cardinals – which could make for a significant lobbying faction if they all back Cardinal Tagle. He is considered a moderate within the Catholic definition, and has been dubbed the "Asian Francis" because of a dedication to social issues and sympathy for migrants that he shared with the late pope. He has opposed abortion rights, calling them "a form of murder" – a position in line with the Church's broader stance that life begins at conception. He has also spoken against euthanasia. But in 2015 when he was Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Tagle called for the Church to reassess its "severe" stance towards gay people, divorcees and single mothers, saying past harshness had done lasting harm and left people feeling "branded", and that each individual deserved compassion and respect. The cardinal was considered a candidate to be pope as far back as the 2013 conclave in which Francis was elected. Asked a decade ago how he viewed suggestions he could be next, he replied: "I treat it like a joke! It's funny." Although he did raise concerns about President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war deaths, critics suggest he could have been far more vocal on the issue. Some, including Philippines-based whistleblower priest, Father Shay Cullen, have criticised Tagle's handling of abuse perpetrators.

In a move that shocked the Vatican and reignited global prophecy, Pope Leo XIV has placed Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle in a position of divine importance. Was this appointment just politics? Or was it prophecy finally unfolding—at the precise hour foretold in the hidden pages of Fatima, in the vision of the bishop in white, in the whispers of a shepherd from the East? Tagle's return to power isn't a coincidence. It’s a Heaven-ordained sign—a warning that the final events are accelerating, and the time for discernment is now. Stay vigilant. Watch the signs. Pray without ceasing. Because this may be the final Pope before the shaking begins. 🕊️ This is Lightbringer of God — where the voice of Heaven meets the hour of prophecy.

Robert Prevost

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Nationality: American
Age: 69
Could the papacy go to an American for the first time?
Chicago-born Cardinal Prevost is certainly seen as having many of the necessary qualities for the role.
Two years ago Pope Francis chose Prevost to replace Marc Ouellet as prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops, handing him the task of selecting the next generation of bishops.
He worked for many years as a missionary in Peru before being made an archbishop there.
Prevost is not just considered an American, but as someone who headed the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
He is seen a reformer, but at 69 might be viewed as too young for the papacy. His period as archbishop in Peru was also clouded by allegations of covering up sexual abuse claims, which were denied by his diocese.

Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson

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Nationality: Ghanaian
Age: 76
If chosen by his peers, the influential Cardinal Turkson would likewise have the distinction of being the first African pope for 1,500 years.
Like Cardinal Ambongo, he has claimed not to want the job. "I'm not sure whether anyone does aspire to become a pope," he told the BBC in 2013.
Asked if Africa had a good case to provide the next pope based on the Church's growth on the continent, he said he felt the pope shouldn't be chosen based on statistics, because "those types of considerations tend to muddy the waters".
He was the first Ghanaian to be made a cardinal, back in 2003 under Pope John Paul II.
Like Cardinal Tagle, Cardinal Turkson was considered a potential pope a decade later, when Francis was chosen. In fact, bookmakers made him the favourite ahead of voting.
A guitarist who once played in a funk band, Cardinal Turkson is known for his energetic presence.
Like many cardinals from Africa, he leans conservative. However, he has opposed the criminalisation of gay relationships in African countries including his native Ghana.
In a BBC interview in 2023, while Ghana's parliament was discussing a bill imposing harsh penalties on LGBTQ+ people, Turkson said he felt homosexuality should not be treated as an offence.
In 2012, he was accused of making fear-mongering predictions over the spread of Islam in Europe at a Vatican conference of bishops, for which he later apologised.
Fridolin Ambongo Besungu

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Nationality: Congolese
Age: 65
It's very possible the next pope could be from Africa, where the Catholic Church continues to add millions of members. Cardinal Ambongo is a leading candidate, hailing from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He has been Archbishop of Kinshasa for seven years, and was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis.
He is a cultural conservative, opposing blessings for same-sex marriage, stating that "unions of persons of the same sex are considered contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically evil".
Though Christianity is the majority religion in the DRC, Christians there have faced death and persecution at the hands of jihadist group Islamic State and associated rebels. Against that backdrop, Cardinal Ambongo is viewed as a fierce advocate for the Church.
But in a 2020 interview, he spoke in favour of religious plurality, saying: "Let Protestants be Protestants and Muslims be Muslims. We are going to work with them. But everyone has to keep their own identity."
Such comments could lead some cardinals to wonder if he fully embraces their sense of mission - in which Catholics hope to spread the Church's word throughout the world.

Peter Erdo

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Nationality: Hungarian
Age: 72
A cardinal since the age of 51, Peter Erdo is highly regarded in the Church in Europe, having twice led the Council of European Bishops' Conferences from 2006 to 2016.
He is well known among African cardinals and he has worked on Catholic relations with the Orthodox Church.
The archbishop of Budapest and primate of Hungary grew up in a Catholic family under communism, and he is considered a potential compromise candidate.
Erdo played a prominent role in Pope Francis's two visits to Hungary in 2021 and 2023, and he was part of the conclaves that elected Francis and his predecessor Pope Benedict.
His conservative views on the family have found favour with some parts of the Church and he has navigated the "illiberal democracy" of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. During Europe's migrant crisis in 2015, he said the Church would not take in migrants as it was tantamount to human trafficking.

Mario Grech

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Nationality: Maltese
Age: 68
If cardinals are looking for a candidate who will advance one of Pope Francis' key goals – to place more power in the hands of rank-and-file Catholics – they may look to Cardinal Grech.
Pope Francis made him secretary general of the Synod of Bishops in 2019.
In that role Cardinal Grech became instrumental in helping set in motion the Pope's vision of feeding the opinions of individual believers around the world into the Church's governance.
Like the Pope he worked closely with, Grech is known to have been on a journey in regards to the way he views social issues.
He has changed his tone on homosexuality over the past decade, declaring that Francis' endorsement of same-sex civil unions was a "storm in a teacup".t
Matteo Zuppi

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Nationality: Italian
Age: 69
The Archbishop of Bologna grew up in Rome and soon became part of the Sant'Egidio Community, a charity that focuses on the poor and the marginalised.
He helped mediate the end of Mozambique's 15-year civil war in 1990, and took part in further mediation efforts in Guatemala and Burundi.
Made a cardinal in 2019, he was chosen by Pope Francis - ahead of his secretary of state Pietro Parolin - to act as envoy after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He travelled to Kyiv and Moscow and sought the release of 19,000 Ukrainian children taken to Russia.
He wrote the introduction to a 2018 book that called on the Church to improve its relationship with LGBT Catholics.
His closeness to Francis may ultimately count against him in the conclave.

Joseph Tobin

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Nationality: American
Age: 73
Born in Detroit as the eldest of 13 children, the Archbishop of Newark is well known and popular among cardinals.
Although he is considered a staunch supporter of Francis' views on offering a more open and welcoming Church, he is seen as a unifying figure.
He has in the past deplored political polarisation in the US, warning against divisions in the Church too.
In recent years he has said the Church should welcome same-sex couples and said he does not see a "compelling theological reason why the Pope couldn't name a woman cardinal".
Appointed by Pope Benedict as deputy head of the Vatican office that works with religious orders and their congregations, Tobin also led a religious congregation called the Redemptorists.
He was named as archbishop in Indianapolis, before Francis made him cardinal.

Angelo Scola

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Nationality: Italian
Age: 83
Only cardinals under 80 can vote in the conclave, but Angelo Scola could still be elected.
The former Archbishop of Milan was a frontrunner in 2013 when Francis was chosen, but he is thought to have fallen victim to the adage of entering the conclave as Pope and leaving as cardinal.
His name has resurfaced ahead of the conclave, because of a book he is publishing this week on old age. The book features a preface written by Pope Francis shortly before he was admitted to hospital in which he said "death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something".
Francis's words show genuine affection for Scola, but the college of cardinals might not see his focus on old age as ideal for a new pope.

Reinhard Marx

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Nationality: German
Age: 71
Germany's top Catholic cleric is also very much a Vatican insider too.
The Archbishop of Munich and Freising was chosen as an adviser when Francis became pope in 2013. For 10 years he advised the Pope on Church reform and still oversees financial reform of the Vatican.
He has advocated a more accommodating approach towards homosexuals or transgender people in Catholic teaching.
But in 2021 he offered to resign over serious mistakes in tackling child sexual abuse in Germany's Catholic Church. That resignation was rejected by Francis.
Two years ago he left the Council of Cardinals, the Pope's most important advisory body, in what was seen in Germany as a setback for his career in the Church.

Pierbattista Pizzaballa

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Nationality: Italian
Age: 60
Ordained in Italy when he was 25, Pizzaballa moved to Jerusalem the following month and has lived there ever since.
Pope Francis made him Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem five years ago and later cardinal, and Pizzaballa has spoken of the city as "the heart of the life of this world".
Fellow cardinals will have been impressed by his deep understanding of Israelis and Palestinians and the ongoing war in Gaza.
However, his relative young age and inexperience as a cardinal may count against him, as could his affinity to Francis among cardinals seeking a change in direction.

Marc Ouellet

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Nationality: Canadian
Age: 80
Cardinal Ouellet has twice before been seen as a potential candidate for Pope, in 2005 and 2013.
For years he ran the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops, which chooses candidates for the episcopate around the world, so he has played a significant and formative role in vetting the future members of the Catholic hierarchy.
As another octogenarian, he will not be able to play a part in the conclave itself, which may hinder his chances.
Ouellet is viewed as a conservative with a modern outlook, who is strongly in favour of maintaining the principle of celibacy for priests.
He opposes the ordination of women priests, but he has called for a greater role for women in running the Catholic Church, saying that "Christ is male, the Church is feminine".

Robert Sarah

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Nationality: Guinean
Age: 79
Well-liked by conservatives in the Church, Cardinal Sarah is known for his adherence to doctrine and traditional liturgy and was often considered opposed to Pope Francis's reformist leanings.
The son of a fruit-picker, Sarah became the youngest archbishop aged 34 when Pope John Paul II appointed him prelate in Conakry in Guinea.
He has had a long and impressive career, retiring in 2021 as head of the Vatican's office that oversees the Catholic Church's liturgical rites.
While not considered a favourite for the papacy, he could attract strong support from conservative cardinals.

Jean-Marc Aveline

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Nationality: French
Age: 66
Not since Gregory XI died in 1378 has there been a French pope.
Although born under French colonial rule in Algeria, Aveline grew up in France's second city Marseille, where he later became archbishop.
He has been outspoken on avoiding "criminalisation of immigrants as the cause of all evil", chiming very much with Francis's focus on migrants.
Aveline also set up an Institute of Science and Theology of Religions in Marseille and promoted dialogue with Islam and Judaism. He has spoken out against one of Marseille's biggest problems, drug trafficking networks.
Considered close to Francis, two years ago he brought the Pope to Marseille for a brief visit.
Although he speaks Arabic, one potential drawback is that he does not speak fluent Italian.

Charles Maung Bo

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Nationality: Myanmar
Age: 76
Another Asian cardinal with strong credentials for the papacy, Bo was brought up in a large family by his mother in a country where only 1.3% of the population are Catholics.
Born in the northern Sagaing region, Cardinal Bo has seen for himself the conflict that has ravaged Myanmar.
He led Asia's bishops for two terms and was considered close to Francis, who named him as Myanmar's first cardinal and became the first pope to visit the country in 2017.
He spoke out over the plight of the Rohingya Muslims who were forced to flee the military in Rakhine state, and said Myanmar should celebrate its diversity
.
Michael Czerny
Who will be the next pope? Key candidates in an unpredictable process

Their choice could have a profound impact on the Catholic Church and the world's 1.4 billion baptised Roman Catholics, and it is harder than ever to predict who it will be.

ANGELO CARCONI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Nationality: Canadian

Age: 78

Cardinal Czerny was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis and is like him a Jesuit, a leading order of the Catholic Church known for its charitable and missionary work around the world.

Although he was born in the former Czechoslovakia, his family moved to Canada when he was two.

He has worked widely in Latin America and in Africa, where he founded the African Jesuit Aids Network and taught in Kenya.

Czerny is popular with progressives in the Church and was considered close to Pope Francis. He is currently head of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Human Integral Development.

During the pre-conclave period he has warned against calls for "unity" from traditionalist cardinals, suggesting what they really mean is a "reversal" of reforms introduced by Pope Francis.

Although a strong candidate, it seems unlikely the cardinals would choose a second Jesuit pope in succession.

THE SHROUD OF TURIN (UPDATE)

The Turin Shroud was stained with the blood of a tortured victim, new research shows - supporting the belief that it DOES show the face of Jesus

One thing that I know of that contributes to the Shroud's authenticity is the placement of the nails. The nails are placed in the wrists just below the collateral ligaments. This was the way crucifixions were carried out, placing the nails in the hands would not be able to support the body's weight. Every painting shows the nails in the hands, meaning these artists didn't know that fact. Also, the median recurrent nerves are severed in each hand; that would be consistent with proper placement of the nails as I have mentioned. No paintings show these findings, meaning this was unknown in medieval and later times

Turin Shroud mystery 'solved': Infrared tests show ancient cloth may NOT be a medieval fake after all... and could have been used to wrap Christ's body Infra red tests dated the cloth to some time between 300BC and 400AD The shroud will appear in a live TV broadcast on Saturday Just in time for Easter a new study has claimed that the Shroud of Turin is a not a medieval forgery but could - in fact - be the burial shroud that was used to wrap the body of Christ. The cloth’s consistency is similar to those used to bury the dead at the time of Christ, 2,000 years ago, according to the latest scientific studies. Details of the research have emerged in a book and come ahead of Saturday's rare glimpse of the Shroud, when TV cameras will film it as part of a live broadcast ahead of Easter Sunday.   Separated at birth: Split screen showing the likeness between the Turin Shroud and a portrait by Leonardo da Vinci For centuries scientists have argued about the authenticity of the Shroud - which is kept in a secure vault in Turin Cathedral - and it has become one of the most iconic images of the Roman Catholic faith. The 14ft-long linen cloth bears the faint image of the front and back of a tall, long-haired, bearded man and appears to be stained by blood from wounds in his feet, wrists and sides that match those suffered by Christ at his Crucifixion.The findings are in a new book called Il Mistero della Sindone (The Mystery of the Shroud) which is published on Good Friday. The authors, Professor Giulio Fanti, an expert in mechanical and thermal measurement at the University of Padua’s Engineering Faculty and journalist Saverio Gaeta, examined fibres from the Shroud and compared them to samples of cloth dating back to between 3000BC and up to the modern era to contrast them and see if it is a Medieval forgery. Key to the findings are three new tests, two chemical ones and one mechanical, the first two were carried out using infra-red light, and the other using Raman spectroscopy - which measures radiation through wavelengths and is commonly used in forensic science. Has Turin Shroud mystery been solved? 14ft-long linen cloth, pictured above left in 1934, bears the faint image of the front and back of a tall, long-haired, bearded man and appears to be stained by blood from wounds in his feet, wrists and sides that match those suffered by Christ at his Crucifixion The results dated the fibres from the cloth to a period between 300BC to 400AD, which covers the years of Christ's life. Debate has raged whether the image is that of Christ or a fake from the Middle Ages. But what is certain is that experts have never really been able to explain how the image was made. Carbon 14 tests were conducted on the cloth in 1988 and these findings suggested it dated from between 1260 and 1390. However, some scientists have since claimed that contamination over the ages from water damage and fire, were not taken sufficiently into account and could have distorted the results. Since then, there have been several requests for fresh tests but Church chiefs have always refused - and this is why Professor Fanti and his team had to rely on fibres that were used in the 1988 tests. Before he retired last month pope Emeritus Benedict XVI gave permission for the Shroud to go on display as a 'last gift’ to the millions of Catholics before he retired from public office. Thirteen years ago when he was plain cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict wrote that the shroud was a ‘truly mysterious image, which no human artistry was capable of producing. In some inexplicable it appeared imprinted upon cloth...’ Italian state TV will broadcast footage of the Shroud but it is not thought that general public access will be allowed until 2025, the date of the next scheduled display. As part of the TV broadcast, a new app called Sindone 2.0 has been developed, showing a series of HD images of the shroud which highlight details of the cloth not visible to the naked eye. WHAT IS THE TURIN SHROUD? The linen cloth, believed by some to have wrapped the body of Jesus Christ, has captivated the imagination of historians, church chiefs, sceptics and Catholics for more than 500 years. There are no definite historical records concerning the shroud prior to the 14th century. Although there are numerous reports of Jesus' burial shroud, or an image of his head, of unknown origin, being venerated in various locations before the 14th century. But there is no historical evidence that these refer to the shroud currently at Turin Cathedral. A burial cloth, which some historians maintain was the Shroud, was owned by the Byzantine emperors but disappeared during the Sack of Constantinople in 1204. Historical records seem to indicate that a shroud bearing an image of a crucified man existed in the small town of Lirey around the years 1353 to 1357. It was in the possession of a French Knight, Geoffroi de Charny, who died at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. However the correspondence of this shroud with the shroud in Turin, and its very origin has been debated by scholars and lay authors, with claims of forgery attributed to artists born a century apart. Some contend that the Lirey shroud was the work of a confessed forger and murderer. The history of the shroud from the 15th century is well recorded. In 1532, the shroud suffered damage from a fire in a chapel of Chambéry, capital of the Savoy region, where it was stored. A drop of molten silver from the reliquary produced a symmetrically placed mark through the layers of the folded cloth. Poor Clare Nuns attempted to repair this damage with patches. In 1578 Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy ordered the cloth to be brought from Chambéry to Turin and it has remained at Turin ever since. The shroud has had many notorious admirers. It even obsessed Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, who wanted to steal it so he could use it in a black magic ceremony. In May 2010, five years after he became Pope, Benedict authorised a public viewing of the Shroud - the first since 2000 and also 15 years ahead of its next scheduled public display. Turin Shroud 'was created by flash of supernatural light': It couldn't be a medieval forgery, say scientistsThe image on the Turin Shroud could not be the  work of medieval forgers but was instead caused by a supernatural ‘flash of light’, according to scientists. Italian researchers have found evidence that casts doubt on claims that the relic – said to be the burial cloth of Jesus – is a fake and they suggest that it could, after all, be authentic. Sceptics have long argued that the shroud, a rectangular sheet measuring about 14ft by 3ft, is a forgery dating to medieval times. Scientists in Italy believe the kind of technology needed to create the Shroud of Turin simply wasn't around at the time that it was created Scientists from Italy’s National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development spent years trying to replicate the shroud’s markings. They have concluded only something akin to ultraviolet lasers – far beyond the capability of medieval forgers – could have created them.This has led to fresh suggestions that the imprint was indeed created by a huge burst of energy accompanying the Resurrection of Christ. ‘The results show a short and intense burst of UV directional radiation can colour a linen cloth so as to reproduce many of the peculiar characteristics of the body image on the Shroud of Turin,’ the scientists said. WHAT IS THE TURIN SHROUD? The Vatican owns the Turin shroud, and hails the relic as an exploration of the ‘darkest mystery of faith’. But the church has shied away from any definitive statement over whether the shroud - which is supposed to have formed Christ's burial robe - is real. The Shroud is thought to have travelled widely before it was brought to France in the 14th century by a Crusader. It was kept in a French convent for years - by nuns who patched it, and where it was damaged by fire. The Shroud was given to the Turin Archbishop in 1578 by the Duke of Savoy and has been kept in the Cathedral ever since. Carbon dating tests in 1988 dated it from between 1260 and 1390 - implying it was a fake. Scientists have since claimed that contamination over the ages from patches, water damage and fire, was not taken sufficiently into account In 1999, two Israeli scientists said plant pollen found on the Shroud supported the view that it comes from the Holy Land. There have been numerous calls for further testing but the Vatican has always refused. The image of the bearded man on the shroud must therefore have been created by ‘some form of electromagnetic energy (such as a flash of light at short wavelength)’, their report concludes. But it stops short of offering a non-scientific explanation. Professor Paolo Di Lazzaro, who led the study, said: ‘When one talks about a flash of light being able to colour a piece of linen in the same way as the shroud, discussion inevitably touches on things such as miracles. ‘But as scientists, we were concerned only with verifiable scientific processes. We hope our results can open up a philosophical and theological debate.’ For centuries, people have argued about the authenticity of the shroud, which is kept in a climate-controlled case in Turin cathedral. One of the most controversial relics in the Christian world, it bears the faint image of a man whose body appears to have nail wounds to the wrists and feet. Some believe it to be a physical link to Jesus of Nazareth. For others, however, it is nothing more than an elaborate forgery. In 1988, radiocarbon tests on samples of the shroud at the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology dated the cloth to the Middle Ages, between 1260 and 1390. Those tests have been disputed on the basis that they were contaminated by fibres from cloth used to repair the shroud when it was damaged by fire in the Middle Ages. More recently, further doubt was cast on its authenticity when Israeli archaeologists uncovered the first known burial shroud in Jerusalem from the time of the Crucifixion. Its weave and design are completely different from the Turin Shroud, they said. The Jerusalem shroud has a simple two-way weave – but the twill weave used on the Turin Shroud was introduced more than 1,000 years after Christ lived. That research was disputed, however, because there was a possibility of contamination from patches of cloth that had been sewn on following a fire in Chambery, France, in 1532 The Shroud of Turin's latest findings are staggering. It is a multiple exposure and the man in the image was ALIVE AND MOVING! Was this the moment of the resurrection of Jesus? The nails in his hands and feet show they were moving, the Tefillin on his arms shows his arm was moving and his belt buckle shows he was breathing. You must watch this Nelson Walters video Eyewitness Report ofJesus' Resurrection - Pilate Wrote What the Soldiers Saw and Felt The Resurrection of Christ, 1463-65, fresco by Piero della Francesca: The Vatican - which owns the Turin shroud - shies away from statements over whether it is real or fake, but says it helps to explore the 'darkest mysteries of faith' The words "Yeshua (Jesus) the Nazarene" were found hidden in the image of the Shroud of Turin, the infamous cloth that supposedly holds the image of Jesus at the moment of His resurrection. These words were only found when the image was examined by a visualization program on a computer. Only then were they visible. How did those words get on the image? Are they related to an ancient Roman practice of the day? What other evidence is there that the Shroud is authentic? Watch this Nelson Walters Holy Week video for incredible answers. Carbon dating tests carried out in 1988 in Oxford, Zurich and Arizona suggested that the shroud was created some time between 1260 and 1390 Since the mid-fourteenth century. a long piece of linen has been the object of an ongoing controversy. On it, we can see the image of a man with all the markings of the crucifixion. For the devout, it is the authentic shroud of Christ. For skeptics, this relic is merely an icon produced by some genius, a medieval con artist. Follow researcher Christian Page in his quest to unveil the history of the Holy Relics of Christianity as he travels through time in some of the world's greatest cities: Jerusalem, Istanbul, Paris, Vienna, and Rome. Without the dedication of some historical figures and unknown devotees, these Holy Treasures may have never made their way into the modern world. Since the beginning of Christianity, relics attributed to saints or Christ Himself have had a great symbolic and spiritual value, stirring passion amongst believers. With the assistance of some of the world's leading experts in archaeology, history, theology, genetics, engineering, and molecular physics, this series embarks on a privileged visit to the sites where each event took place.

HOLY TURIN SHROUD MYSTERY  Turin Shroud is stained with the blood of a torture victim, new research shows - supporting the belief that it DOES show the face of Jesus Experts claim there is blood on the Shroud which is not typical of healthy person They say it contains creatinine and ferritin, found in those who suffered trauma The findings contradict claims that the Shroud was painted by Medieval forgers The shroud is currently being displayed at St John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin   Experts have claimed the Shroud of Turin is stained with the blood of a torture victim, supporting claims it was used to bury Jesus. They say the linen cloth, believed to have been used to wrap Christ's body after crucifixion, contains 'nanoparticles' which are not typical of the blood of a healthy person. The alleged findings contradict claims the face of Jesus was painted on by forgers in medieval times.   shows the Holy Shroud, a 14 foot-long linen revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus, displayed at the Cathedral of Turin, Italy. The long linen with the faded image of a bearded man is the object of centuries-old fascination and wonderment, and closely kept under wrap. Now, for six weeks, both the curious and those convinced the Turin Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ can have a brief look. By late March, 1.3 million people had reserved their three-to-five-minute chance to gaze at the cloth, which is kept in a bulletproof, climate-controlled case. Organizers said earlier this year they hoped some 2 million pilgrims and tourists would see the linen during the special viewing from Saturday April 10 to May 23. The Turin Shroud DOES have miraculous powers... whether it is genuine or not Italian scientists claim shroud was created by 'supernatural event' as burst of ultra-violet light necessary to leave imprint on cloth wasn't then possible Implication from research is that image of Jesus was scorched onto linen by divinely generated light given out by His body Shroud believers welcome new scientific research 'proving' its existence But Vatican still refuses to comment on the long-running saga Puzzle: The Turin Shroud's origin is endlessly debated. Still, the Catholic Church has placed the cloth in a cathedral as an object of worship The Catholic Church has never publicly accepted or rejected popular belief that the Turin Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. But it has done everything short of that to encourage devotion to this ancient piece of linen, on display in Turin Cathedral, which bears the markings of a man who appears to have been crucified. The extraordinary sepia image on the cloth is simply — as Pope Benedict XVI likes to put it in that careful, precise way of his — ‘an image that reminds us always of Christ’s suffering’. Yet, this week, a group of Italian scientists claimed the shroud was created by a ‘supernatural event’ rather than the machinations of medieval forgers. The academics concluded that the sort of burst of ultra-violet light necessary to have left such an imprint on the cloth just wasn’t possible by any human endeavour in any age other than our own technically advanced one with its access to lasers. The implication of their findings is that the image was scorched on to the linen as a result of a divinely generated light given out by Jesus’s body when he rose from the dead. Believers in the shroud hail the research by scientists at Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) as proof that it is genuinely the cloth of Christ. They claim it backs up the work of a group of American scientists from the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) from the Seventies. These scientists established by careful analysis of the fibres of the cloth that the image of the bearded, crucified man had not been painted on to the cloth. It was not, they concluded, ‘a natural formation’. Science, say the believers, appears to have provided no reasonable answer to counter the belief of generations of Christians that this is the image of Christ on the shroud in which his body was wrapped when it was taken down from the cross.   Scientists in Italy believe the kind of technology needed to create the Shroud of Turin simply wasn't around at the time that it was created. Still the Vatican steadfastly refuses to be drawn again into the saga And yet, despite this latest research supposedly proving its authenticity, the Vatican has steadfastly refused to be drawn again into the long-running saga of the shroud. The question is why. Why, if the science seems so certain, won’t the Catholic Church endorse this piece of cloth as the genuine article? One reason is that the new research still cannot get round the main stumbling block when it comes to proving the shroud’s authenticity. In 1988, three separate and internationally acclaimed laboratories in Zurich, Oxford and Arizona carbon-dated samples of the cloth, provided by the Church, and came up with 1260 to 1390 as its probable date of origin. In other words, that research showed it to be a medieval forgery. And in the 23 years since,  the best that the shroud’s devotees have come up with to counter this incontrovertible fact is a theory that all three samples that were carbon-dated were contaminated — that they contained rogue fibres from later medieval attempts to patch and mend the original shroud. There are plenty of papers that try to make this thesis stand up, but the overall impression is of whistling in the wind. So why do people flock to see the shroud on the rare occasions it is put on public show in its glass, climate- controlled display case? The most straightforward answer is that we like a mystery and this one is about as tantalising as it gets. For just as the Church has never felt able to pronounce definitively on the shroud, neither has science come up with a water-tight theory as to exactly what it is and how the image came about. The shroud therefore exists in a kind of middle ground — where we can all pronounce our own verdict. But once you start considering the possibilities of how it was created, you immediately get in a tangle. If it is a medieval forgery, then how can its image have been created by methods beyond the wit of humankind at that time?   Why do people flock to see the shroud? We like mystery. Since neither the church nor science have come up with a definitive answer, the shroud exists in middle ground, where we can make our own verdict One of the most intriguing aspects is that the image of Christ is hard to pick out with the naked eye in the sepia markings on the cloth, which is 4½m long and just over a metre in width. But, when at the very end of the 19th century, a photographic negative of the image was first produced, it looked every inch like the face of Christ. How could a medieval forger have produced something so exact 500 years before the technology existed to make a negative image? Yet the sceptics could easily counter this with an argument of their own. Even if the shroud is really 2,000 years old and the carbon-dating laboratories mistaken, they point out what is there to link it to Jesus? Crucifixion was a common method of putting criminals to death back under the Romans. This might just as well be the funeral wrappings of a run-of-the-mill murderer or thief. Indeed, one theory popular among supporters of the medieval forgery theory is that it was made centuries after the death of Christ by crucifying someone in exactly the same manner as described in the Gospel accounts and then wrapping the victim in a shroud. The further you go into this mystery, the murkier the waters become. And if you go so far as to visit Turin (for 500 years the shroud belonged to the locally based royal house of Savoy) and stand in front of the display case, there is undeniably a certain awe about this object.   The Resurrection of Christ, 1463-65, fresco by Piero della Francesca: The Vatican - which owns the Turin shroud - shies away from statements over whether it is real or fake, but says it helps to explore the 'darkest mysteries of faith' It springs, to my mind, not from any air of authenticity that the object itself radiates, but from the knowledge that for centuries people have been making precisely the same pilgrimage as I and so many others have done to gaze at this piece of cloth. It stems from the fact that they have harboured exactly the same hopes that by doing so, somehow, they will be able to reach a final conclusion on the truth or not of the very claims of Christianity. How comforting it would be to know, for sure, if there is a God. What is important today about the shroud is not whether it is genuinely the burial cloth of Jesus — we are never going to reach a consensus on that — but rather that over many centuries people have believed in it. It is this history of belief that is the really powerful thing. At a stroke it carries us back through centuries of Christianity and connects our sceptical, secular and scientific age with an earlier epoch of miracles and faith. This is why the Catholic Church refuse to be drawn on the Turin Shroud. As Pope Benedict says, it is an extraordinarily powerful image of Christ’s suffering —  and made so because of the faith people have in it, whether it is genuine or not. On its own, the shroud is never going to be enough to legitimise belief in the core tenet of Christianity — the Resurrection of Jesus. But nevertheless, it is a powerful focus for our thoughts on the subject — a symbol of the hopes of so many who embrace Christianity without any conclusive proof other than their own belief. And that, surely, is the point about religion — a point we are in danger of missing now that every belief and theory is judged to be worthless unless it can be put under a microscope by scientists and proved, irrefutably, to be true. Some things, some important things, just don’t fit into this rigid, logical model of the world. Science, as the saga of the shroud epitomises, can never get to the bottom of faith. The shocking discovery of Pilates Letter to Caesar describes the true Face of Jesus Christ. In addition, Pontius Pilates Stone Proves the existence of Jesus Christ. This bible story and bible study reveals a surprising hidden secret about the true physical attributes and true face of Jesus Christ? What was Jesus skin color? What was the color and nature of Jesus hair? How did he speak? What did Jesus really look like? All these and more are revealed in the letter of Pilate about Jesus, the Christ, and the savior of the world. Eternal Father, I offer you the body and blood, soul and divinity of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ - in atonement for our sins and for the sins of the whole world because of His bitter suffering,  have mercy on the whole world. ":Oh dearest Jesus lamb of God most meek, I am a miserable sinner render homage and worship to the wounds upon thy shoulder which cause thee greatest suffering among thy other wounds, caused by the unmeasurable weight of the Cross.  Vouchsafe to grant me to have mercy and forgive me, my mortal and venial sins  and guide me on to Heaven thru the Way of the Cross. Amen"