Pope’s letter for the conclusion of Holy Shroud exhibition

(May 24, 2010) In a letter to the archbishop of Turin, northern Italy, Pope Benedict XVI recalled his profound emotions when he venerated the Holy Shroud there recently. The cloth, also known as the Turin Shroud is believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus. It was on public display from April 10 to May 23, Sunday. ''I always carry in my heart the emotions aroused in me when I stood before the Sacred Cloth,” wrote Pope Benedict in the letter to Cardinal Severino Poletto, Archbishop of Turin. The letter was read at the closing ceremony of the exhibition on Pentecost Sunday. The Holy Father recalled the ‘intimate and moving joy’ he felt when he visited the Shroud on May 2. While recalling the memorable day of “faith and prayer”, the Pope had a special word for the youth, invoking on them ‘a generous outpouring of heavenly gifts and comfort for a promising season of renewed spiritual fervour and of a more convincing adhesion to the Gospel. Pope Benedict thanked Cardinal Poletto and the entire diocesan community for the hearty welcome he received and for the wonderful organization of the events in the city. The Catholic Church does not claim the Shroud is authentic or that it is a matter of faith. Traditionally, the public gets a peek at the Holy Shroud only once every 25 years. But recent decades have seen much shorter intervals. The shroud went on display in 1998 after a 20-year-wait and then in 2000 during Millennium celebrations.