Skip to main content

A Pastor’s Point of View - #1

The Sudarium of Oviedo:  As you read this Fr. Healey and the 27 Pilgrims accompanying  him on their journey of faith will  have  already  visited  the  Shrine  of  Fatima  in  Portugal, scene  of  the  apparitions  of the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  in  1917,  and  the Basilica  of  St.  James  in  Compostela, Spain, goal  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pilgrims  across  the  centuries  who  walked  the rugged  route  called  “El  Camino”  and  the origin  of  the  oyster  shell,  once  abundant along  the  coast  there, being taken as proof badge for  completing  a  pilgrim’s  journey.

Today, we  will  be  in  a  city  in  the  north of Spain that numbers among  its  treasure an ancient cloth about the size of a kerchief that is kept locked in  a  medieval  strong  box  except for the days from September 14th to the 21st  each  year  when it  is  on  display.  It is a sudarium or “sweat  cloth”,  a  common  item in the Mediterranean world in Roman times to  wipe  the  sweat  and  dust  from  one’s  face while  journeying  on  foot.  This  sudarium contains ancient blood stains that curiously match the wounds found on the head of the man  whose  image  has  been  mysteriously imprinted  on  the  shroud  of  Turin.  Tests  in recent  years  also  reveal  that  the  blood  type is also that of the man of the shroud, indeed AB, a type very common among the ancient people of Palestine. The history of this cloth  is  better  documented  than that of  the  more  famous  shroud, because it is known to have been in Jerusalem until the 7th century Arab invasion, when it was taken first to North Africa and  then  across  the  Mediterranean to  Spain.  The  sudarium  moved  even further  north  over  the  centuries  with the invasion of the Moors obviously to protect it from those who would not appreciate it. Today then, it is held, as it  has  been  since  medieval  times, in the  Cathedral  of  Oviedo  in  the  very north  of  Spain. What  is  it?  Could  it be  “the  cloth  that  covered  the  head” as referred to in St. John’s Gospel, the one the evangelist tells us that the beloved disciple saw rolled up and apart from  the  shroud  in  the  empty  tomb? Quite possibly it is, as it can be said to have had contact with the same body that  was  covered  by  the  shroud.

If you  wish  to  learn  more  about it you might Google  the  name Mark  Gucin who has been its chief historian in recent times. For the pilgrims, as for all of us, this  simple  ancient  sweat cloth stained  with  blood  and  pleural  effusion  should  serve  simply  as another reminder that the suffering of Jesus of Nazareth is entirely historical and very real, and  its  purpose  remains  only  to pay the price of the debt that we could never pay, so ugly as this little cloth may be it is a sign of pure love!

Comments