GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (AP) – An interactive museum dedicated to the Shroud of Turin, which some say was the burial cloth of Jesus, is opening its doors Wednesday on the campus of Christ Cathedral in Southern California.
Shroud of Turin: An Immersive Experience, a $5 million Garden Grove exhibit featuring 360-degree projection room theaters, Shroud of Turin replicas, interactive kiosks and a life-size sculpture of Christ, was three years in the making and funded by private donations.
The content was originally created by Othonia, Inc., a Rome-based group dedicated to the study of the Shroud, one of the most studied artifacts in history. The original, a 14-foot-long, 3.5-foot-wide (4.3-meter-long, 1-meter-wide) cloth, is kept in a bulletproof, climate-controlled case at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin, Italy.
The California museum, which occupies 10,000 square feet (930 square meters), has a life-size laminated image of the Shroud stretched on a wall. It shows a faint image of a man with Christ-like wounds.
The cloth is a powerful Christian symbol
The Vatican has called the cloth a powerful symbol of Christ’s suffering, but does not claim its authenticity. Many experts stick to the carbon dating of the scraps of fabric to the 13th or 14th century, but many loyalists, including experienced scientists, say that the results may have been skewed by contamination and that larger samples are needed. Many insist that the cloth contains pollen from Jerusalem and is woven only in a first-century pattern.
Considered a relic by many Christians, the cloth was last exhibited in 2015. in the spring Although the Shroud may never leave Turin, the new display will remain until at least 2030. On the campus of Christ Cathedral, near the famous glass tower and sanctuary built by televangelist Robert H. Schuller.
Timothy Freyer, auxiliary bishop of the diocese, said he hoped the exhibition would reinforce the power of God’s love for all to visitors.
“I hope that people who believe will have stronger faith, people who doubt will believe, and people who don’t believe will start to question and then believe,” he said.
One of the most impressive experiences is the recreation of Christ’s resurrection on Easter morning, when museum visitors sit in the tomb and watch the shrouded body disappear in a flash of light. The exhibition also includes replicas of the spear believed to have pierced Christ’s chest and the helmet of thorns placed on his head.
Philip Rizzo, Huntington Beach St. A parishioner at Bonaventure Catholic Church who was part of the viewing group said seeing the objects up close provided a powerful visual representation of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice. Also, he said, seeing the extensive research done on the cloth makes the artifact more relatable.
“We are tangible beings, not just spirit and light,” Rizzo said. “Science really helps make that connection.”
The subject of extensive research
Although some scholars have criticized the Christians’ desire to authenticate the fabric, the new exhibit was born out of such curiosity. Its main proponent was August Accetta, gynecologist, in 1998. after opening the Southern California Shroud Center and researching the mystery of the fabric for more than three decades.
Accetta said the Shroud of Turin converted him from agnostic to Catholic. His fascination with the shroud continued after he met John Jackson, a nuclear physicist who in 1978 led a team of 40 scientists who were part of the Shroud of Turin research project. Their research showed that the cloth was not a manufactured work of art, but contained human blood stains, and that no known physical, chemical or biological process could adequately explain how the image on the shroud was formed.
Accetta believes, like some other scientists, that the image was created by a burst of radiation, and that it takes a lot of energy to create the image without burning the tissue.
“The hood shows four centimeters of anatomically correct information encoded in two microns, which is about half the thickness of a strand of hair,” he said. “We can’t even understand it, let alone reproduce it.
For him, the only explanation – as the interactive exhibit illustrates – is that Christ’s body became luminous and the shroud simply disintegrated, leaving a fine imprint of his face on the white linen.
The Rev. Robert Spitzer, founder of the Magis Center, a nonprofit organization that uses science to defend the Catholic faith, said the cloth had “perfect bloodstains all the way to the edges,” something that doesn’t happen when the shroud is simply torn from a dead body. In that case, he said, the stains should be smeared and broken up. Like Accetta, Spitzer says the etching on the fabric was likely caused by particle radiation.
“And then, 10,000th of a second later, when the discharge starts, whistle! These blood spots transfer perfectly onto the fabric,” Spitzer said. “The only explanation is that the body must be gone. I mean – like Frodo’s ring – it’s gone.”
Where science meets faith
Spitzer added that he doesn’t need the relic to explain his faith because it stems from his faith in Scripture and the resurrection of Christ.
“But it gave me a little deeper insight into God and his work,” he said.
Nora Creech, director of Othonia USA, said the Rome-based organization was founded by Rev. Hector Guerra, who dreamed of creating 100 exhibits around the world. He built the first flagship exhibition in Jerusalem and others in Rome, Poland, Mexico and the United States. This latest exhibition is the first to feature an immersive experience created by the California-based studio.
Creech said he decided to start the movie-like immersive experience with the story of Christ’s life from birth to crucifixion and end with the resurrection and the message that “Jesus is still with us today.”
“One of the quotes in the film is that the cross received Jesus alive and handed him over to the shroud, dead. The shroud received Jesus dead and handed him over to us alive in the Eucharist,” she said.
Rudy Dicthtl, one of the scientists who created in 1978 team of researchers, still remembers every moment they spent touching and holding the fabric in their hands. He said he and the other scientists entered the project knowing they would walk out as soon as they discovered the fabric was a fake or a piece of manufactured art. Their research showed that this is not the case.
“We saw the fabric as something that could have been the burial cloth of Christ,” he said.
Dichtl, who is Catholic, said that as a scientist he recognizes that there is little scientific evidence to conclusively say that the cloth was what covered Christ’s body.
“But as a Christian,” he said, “I believe it is the burial cloth of Christ.”
___
Associated Press religion coverage is supported by AP in partnership with The Conversation US, funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.