{"id":369,"date":"2025-11-05T16:46:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sudariumchristi.stage.bergwerk-it.de\/facts-and-fiction\/the-theft-of-the-veil-of-veronica\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T13:18:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:18:38","slug":"the-theft-of-the-veil-of-veronica","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/facts-and-fiction\/the-theft-of-the-veil-of-veronica\/","title":{"rendered":"The theft of the veil of Veronica"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A damaged Venetian frame and broken crystal <\/b>\u2013 The frame in which the Veronica was kept between two panes of glass until the 17th century can be viewed in the treasure chamber of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica. Its dimensions prove the point: a frame practically designed for the cloth of Manoppello, but not for the dark, opaque relic venerated as Veronica\u2019s veil in the Vatican and shown close-up only to a few carefully selected souls. <\/p>

The early modern period, which encompassed the Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation with their profound effects on society, convulsed by philosophical and religious wars, provides the historical context for the loss of the veil of Veronica.<\/p>

On 18 April 1506, the cornerstone of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica was laid. Today, it lies beneath the Pillar of St. Veronica, where the precious relic was to be safely preserved in a safe. The building of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica was partially financed by the trade in indulgences, which led to Martin Luther developing his famed ninety-five theses and to the Reformation. According to the \u201cRelatione historica\u201d, a historical narrative by Donato da Bomba, Dr. Giacomo Antonio Leonelli received the image, known as the \u201cHoly Face\u201d, from a pilgrim in Manoppello in the same year that the cornerstone was laid for St. Peter\u2019s Basilica. <\/p>

During the Sack of Rome in 1527, mutinous troops under Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, and mercenaries plundered Rome, and various contemporary witnesses lamented the loss of the veil of Veronica as one of the consequences thereof. However, the Veronica was exhibited several times after that, up to the beginning of the 17th century, namely in 1533, 1550, 1575, 1580, and 1600. <\/p>

In 1606, the reliquary was taken to the new St. Peter\u2019s Basilica in Rome, and in 1608 the old oratory where it was previously housed was torn down. In a copy of the \u201cRelatione historica\u201d preserved in L\u2019Aquila, there is an annotation in different handwriting alleging that in the same year the husband of Marzia Leonelli had stolen the holy image from the house of his father-in-law. <\/p>

The work \u201cOpusculum de Sacrosanto Veronicae Sudario\u201d (Little Opus on the Most Holy Sweat Cloth of Veronica) by Jacopo Grimaldi, who undertook a detailed inventory of the treasures of the old St. Peter\u2019s Basilica in 1618 (possibly post-dated by 2-3 years), shows the Holy Face with open eyes on the title page. On the true copy from 1635, a face with closed eyes is depicted, referencing the shroud of Turin as its template. Copying the veil of Veronica, which depicted the holy countenance with closed eyes, had been reserved to the canons of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica since 1616. In 1628, after a unique \u201crecall\u201d, even copies made prior to that were destroyed. <\/p>

In 1618 or 1620 – the two versions of the \u201cRelatione historica\u201d in L\u2019Aquila and Manoppello differ in this detail – Donato Antonio de Fabritiis purchased the sweat cloth. Europe was on the brink of the Thirty Years\u2019 War, in which the Italian duchies and the Holy See, although neglected in the history books, were involved from the very beginning. In 1620, after two years of construction, the Capuchin monastery in Manoppello was founded. <\/p>

According to \u201cRelatione historica\u201d, De Fabritiis transferred ownership of the veil of Veronica to the Capuchins in 1638. The historical narrative was completed in 1645, read in public together with the deed of donation, and the veil of Veronica was exhibited for the first time. <\/p>

The date and circumstances of the veil\u2019s disappearance from Rome and arrival in Manoppello remain unknown. With the multitudes of pilgrims in mind, the Vatican certainly had no desire to publicize the loss. An earlier date for the arrival of the veil of Veronica in Manoppello was most likely given in the \u201cRelatione historica\u201d to forestall demands for its return or destruction, among other reasons. The Capuchins, who as mendicant friars could travel through the countryside unmolested by robbers, may have brought it to Manoppello. <\/p>

The monastery there was evidently built to receive the veil of Veronica, which was not yet in the possession of the monks at this point, according to the \u201cRelatione historica\u201d. The reredos of the formerly structurally identical cloister in Penne, preserved in its original form, is topped by a cross, while the reredos of Manoppello, which is now in the treasure chamber of the monastery, features the resurrected Christ. The former Veronica Chapel has been closed in the meantime, as space was needed for the pilgrim hostel. Today, only a dark glass window that permits no light to enter the church indicates a hollow chamber. <\/p>

avOffenbar wurde das Sudarium in eine S\u00e4ule eingemauert, die den Chorraum vom Presbyterium trennt. Interessanterweise prangt heute an dieser Stelle ein Bild, auf dem das Volto Santo den Kapuzinern \u00fcbergeben wird. 1686 kam es in einen Tabernakel mit drei Schl\u00f6ssern, der sich nur \u00f6ffnen lie\u00df, wenn gleichzeitig der B\u00fcrgermeister, der Pfarrer der Gemeinde Manoppello und der Guardian des Kapuzinerordens mit den jeweiligen Schl\u00fcsseln zugegen waren. Wenn der Besitzanspruch der Kapuziner unanfechtbar gewesen w\u00e4re, wie es \u201eRelatione historica\u201c und Schenkungsurkunde vermuten lassen, h\u00e4tte das Sudarium nicht eingemauert werden m\u00fcssen und die Kapuziner h\u00e4tten \u00fcber ein alleiniges Zugriffsrecht verf\u00fcgt. <\/p>

In 1714 a frame was placed around the Holy Face, and it was given an altar in the former Chapel of the Blessed Virgin with an iron gate that could be raised and lowered. In 1718 Pope Clement XI granted pilgrims journeying to see the veil of Veronica a seven-year indulgence without asserting any claims to ownership on the part of the Vatican. Only in 1923 was the Holy Face given its current place on the main altar. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Empty frame of the Veronica with broken pane of rock crystal in the treasure chamber at St. Peter\u2019s Basilica<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Rome, flag of the Swiss Guard dating from 1512<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Opusculum from the year 1618<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Opusculum from the year 1635<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Tabernacle with three locks<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A damaged Venetian frame and broken crystal \u2013 The frame in which the Veronica was kept between two panes of glass until the 17th century can be viewed in the treasure chamber of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica. Its dimensions prove the point: a frame practically designed for the cloth of Manoppello, but not for the dark, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":344,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-369","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3963,"href":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/369\/revisions\/3963"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sudariumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}