Holy Face of Jesus
[1][2] 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.
In his address to this Congregation, Pope John Paul II 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".
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.
Archbishop Colet examined the documents and in 1876 gave permission for them to be published and the devotion encouraged, shortly before Dupont died.
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.
In August 1895, in her "Canticle to the Holy Face" she wrote: "Jesus, Your ineffable image is the star which guides my steps.
"[17] A broader devotion to the Holy Face is based on the image used on the Shroud of Turin which some believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus, though radiocarbon dating disputes this belief.
[6] On the first Friday in Lent 1936, Sister Maria Pierina De Micheli, who was born near Milan 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.
On one side the medal bears a replica of the Holy Face image from Shroud of Turin and an inscription based on Psalm 66:2: "Illumina, Domine, vultum tuum super nos" ('May, O Lord, the light of Thy countenance shine upon us').
[1][5] 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 "Mane nobiscum, Domine" ('Stay with us, O Lord').
[citation needed] After some effort Sister Maria Pierina managed to obtain permission to cast the medal and its use started to grow in Italy.
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.
In his 2005 book On the Way to Jesus Christ, Pope Benedict XVI performed an analysis of Holy Face devotions, and characterized them as having three separate components.
[20] 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.
[21] 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 Novo Millennio Ineunte, which stated:[22][23] And is it not the Church's task to reflect the light of Christ in every historical period, to make his face shine also before the generations of the new millennium?
