The Holy Face of Jesus is a title for specific images which some

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

believe to be miraculously formed representations of the face of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The image obtained from the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...

is associated with a specific medal worn by some Roman Catholics and is also one of the Catholic devotions to Christ.Ann Ball, ''Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices'' 2003 pages 635 and 239 Various acheiropoieta (literally "not-handmade") items relating to Christ have been reported throughout the centuries, and devotions to the face of Jesus have been practiced. Devotions to the Holy Face were approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1895 and Pope

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in 1958. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Holy Face of Jesus is used in conjunction with

Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ Reparation is a Christian Christian theology, theological concept closely connected with those of Atonement in Christianity, atonement and Satisfaction theory of atonement, satisfaction. In ascetical theology, reparation is the making of amends f ...

with specific institutions whose focus is such reparations, e.g. the Pontifical Congregation of the

Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face The Pontifical Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face is a Roman Catholic women's congregation of pontifical right whose focus is providing Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ. Background Devotion to the Holy ...

. In his address to this Congregation,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

referred to such acts of reparation as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified".Vatican website: ''Letter of Pope John Paul II to Sister of the Reparation of the Holy Face'', 27 September 2000

The Veronica

Claude Mellan - Face of Christ - WGA14764

Belief in the existence of authentic images of Christ is connected with the old legend of Abgar of Edessa regarding the " Mandylion". It is also seen in some

apocryphal Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

writings including the Mors Pilati that describe a "veil of Veronica" imprinted with Christ's face. The oldest and best known of these images was called the ('true image'), which in the popular imagination developed a story of a person "Veronica".Dégert, Antoine. "St. Veronica", The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 9 April 2017 The story is not recorded in its present form until the Middle Ages. According to tradition Veronica encountered Jesus along the Via Dolorosa on the way to Calvary. When she paused to wipe the blood and sweat off his face with her veil, his image was imprinted on the cloth. The event is commemorated by the Sixth Station of the Cross.

Marie of St Peter

In 1844, Marie of St Peter, a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

nun in Tours, France, reported an interior locution in which Jesus told her, "Those who will contemplate the wounds on My Face here on earth, shall contemplate it radiant in heaven."Ann Ball, ''Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices'' 2003 pages 209-210 She later reported further "communications", as she termed them, with Jesus and the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

in which she was urged to spread the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, in reparation for the many insults Jesus suffered in his Passion. Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus started to spread among Roman Catholics in France.Joan Carroll Cruz, OCDS, ''Saintly Men of Modern Times'' (2003) pages 194-197

Leo Dupont

Leo Dupont was a religious man from a noble family who had moved to

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

. In 1849 he had started the nightly Eucharistic Adoration movement in Tours, from where it spread within France. He later came to be known as the "Holy Man of Tours". Upon hearing of Sister Marie of St Peter's reported visions, he started to burn a vigil lamp continuously before a picture of the Holy Face of Jesus, at that time an image based on the Veil of Veronica. Dupont prayed for and promoted the case for a devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus for around 30 years. However, the documents pertaining to the life of sister Marie of St. Peter and the devotion were kept by the Church and not released; despite this, Dupont persisted in her cause. Eventually, in 1874 Charles-Théodore Colet was appointed as the new Archbishop of

. Archbishop Colet examined the documents and in 1876 gave permission for them to be published and the devotion encouraged, shortly before Dupont died. Dupont was thereafter at times referred to as the Apostle of the Holy Face. When Leo Dupont died in 1876, his house on Rue St. Etienne in Tours was purchased by the Archdiocese of Tours and turned into the Oratory of the Holy Face. The oratory is administered by an order of priests called the Priests of the Holy Face, canonically erected in 1876. The Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885, who expressed a desire to establish a similar oratory in Rome.''Relics by Joan Carroll Cruz'' (Sep 1984) OSV Press, page 57 This was eventually opened in the Via Pietro Cavallini in 1891 and administered by the Priests, but was demolished in subsequent redevelopment.

Thérèse of Lisieux

Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux (born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin; 2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), religious name, in religion Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, was a French Discalced Carmelites, Discalced Carmelite who is widely v ...

was a French nun who received the

habit in 1889 and later became known by the religious name "St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face". She was introduced to the Holy Face devotion through her blood sister Pauline, Sister Agnès of Jesus. Thérèse wrote many prayers to express the devotion to the Holy Face. She wrote the words "Make me resemble you, Jesus!" on a small card and attached a stamp of the Holy Face to it. She pinned the prayer in a small container over her heart since at that time the Holy Face Medal did not exist. In August 1895, in her "Canticle to the Holy Face" she wrote: "Jesus, Your ineffable image is the star which guides my steps. Ah, You know, Your sweet Face is for me Heaven on earth. My love discovers the charms of Your Face adorned with tears. I smile through my own tears when I contemplate Your sorrows." Thérèse also composed the ''Holy Face prayer for sinners'': "Eternal Father, since Thou hast given me for my inheritance the adorable Face of Thy Divine Son, I offer that face to Thee and I beg Thee, in exchange for this coin of infinite value, to forget the ingratitude of souls dedicated to Thee and to pardon all poor sinners."

Shroud of Turin

A broader devotion to the Holy Face is based on the image used on the

which some believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus, though

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

disputes this belief. It is different from the likeness of Jesus on the Veil of Veronica, although the veil image had earlier been used in devotions. Since the Holy Face image is said to have been obtained from the burial cloth of Jesus, it is assumed to be a post-

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

image. However, the likeness on the Veil of Veronica is by definition pre-crucifixion, for it is assumed to have been imprinted when Veronica encountered Jesus in Jerusalem along the Via Dolorosa on the way to

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

Maria Pierina De Micheli

On the first Friday in Lent 1936, Sister Maria Pierina De Micheli, who was born near

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Italy, reported a vision in which Jesus told her: "I will that My Face, which reflects the intimate pains of My Spirit, the suffering and the love of My Heart, be more honored. He who meditates upon Me, consoles Me". Further reported visions of Jesus and Mary urged Sister Maria Pierina to make a medal with the Holy Face of Jesus. This became known as the Holy Face Medal. On one side the medal bears a replica of the Holy Face image from

and an inscription based on Psalm 66:2: ('May, O Lord, the light of Thy countenance shine upon us'). On the other side of the medal there is an image of a radiant Sacred Host, the monogram of the Holy Name ("IHS"), and the inscription ('Stay with us, O Lord'). In another vision, Sister Maria Pierina reported that Jesus told her: "Every time my Face is contemplated I will pour out my love into the heart of those persons, and by means of my Holy Face the salvation of many souls will be obtained". She further reported that Jesus wanted a special Feast on the day before Ash Wednesday in honor of His Holy Face, to be preceded by a

Novena A novena (from , "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, when the ...

(9 days) of prayers. After some effort Sister Maria Pierina managed to obtain permission to cast the medal and its use started to grow in Italy. As

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

started, many soldiers and sailors were given a Holy Face Medal as a means of protection. Sister Maria Pierina herself died in 1945 at the end of the war. In 2000 Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

stated that the inscription on the Holy Face Medal underscores the need for deeper reflection on the Face of Jesus and the spread of devotion to it.

Vatican approval and Feast Day

The first medal of the Holy Face was offered to

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

who approved of the devotion and the medal. In 1958 he formally declared the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus as

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...

(the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) for all Roman Catholics. On the occasion of the 100th year of Secondo Pia's (May 28, 1898) first photograph of the

, on Sunday May 24, 1998, Pope

visited the Turin Cathedral. In his address on that day, he said: "the Shroud is an image of God's love as well as of human sin" and "it is an icon of the suffering of the innocent in every age." The Holy Face devotion and the Holy Face Medal spread among Roman Catholics worldwide, with organizations such as the Holy Face Association.

Theological analysis

In his 2005 book ''On the Way to Jesus Christ'',

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

performed an analysis of Holy Face devotions, and characterized them as having three separate components.''On the Way to Jesus Christ'' by Pope Benedict XVI and Michael J. Miller (October 8, 2005) pages 28-30 The first element is discipleship, and the orientation of one's life towards an encounter with Jesus. The second element is seeing Jesus in the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. The third element is eschatological, and is interwoven between the other two. Referring to Matthew 25:31–36 Benedict XVI stated that the first element (i.e. discipleship) involves seeing Jesus in the face of the poor and the oppressed, and caring for them, but to properly see Jesus in the face of those in need, believers first need to become better acquainted with Jesus through the Eucharist. The second element involves relating the Passion of Jesus, and the suffering expressed by the images that represent his wounded face to the Eucharistic experience. Thus the devotion that starts with the images of the face of Jesus leads to his contemplation in the Eucharistic experience. The eschatological element then builds on awakening to Christ by contemplating his face in the Eucharist.

Institute for Holy Face research

The International Institute for Research on the Face of Christ was formed in 1997 by Cardinal

Fiorenzo Angelini Fiorenzo Angelini (1 August 1916 – 22 November 2014) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers in the Roman Curia, and was elevated ...

and the

in Rome. In his message to the 6th annual conference of the Institute held in Rome in October 2002, Pope John Paul II emphasized the spiritual importance of contemplation of the Face of Christ and referred to his Apostolic Letter , which stated:Vatican website: ''Novo Millennio Ineunte'', January 6, 2001
In the same message John Paul II also related the theme of the contemplation to that of contemplating the

Person of Christ In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

as discussed in his first encyclical .

Notes

Sources

*Joan Carroll Cruz, ''Saintly Men of Modern Times.'' (2003) *Dorothy Scallan. ''The Holy Man of Tours.'' (1990) *Dorothy Scallan, et al. 1994 ''The Life & Revelations of Sr. Mary of St. Peter'' *Bernard Ruffin, 1999, ''The Shroud of Turin'' *Céline Martin. ''My Sister Therese of the Holy Face.'' (1997) *
Veronica; or, The Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Historical Notice of This Signal and Most Holy Major Relic of the Basilica of the Vatican. Prayers and Indulgences
'' Philadelphia 1872

External links

The Holy Face Association

International Institute for Research on the Holy Face

Capuchin Monastery devoted to "Volto-Santo"

St. Therese of Lisieux and the Holy Face of Jesus

The League of St. Martin
and the Holy Face devotion

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Face Of Jesus Visions of Jesus and Mary Christian terminology Jesus in art