Shroud Exhibition Closes In Turin
ZENIT News Organization
October 23, 2000
TURIN, Italy, OCT. 23, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- The longest
exposition of the Shroud of Turin in history closed Sunday
with a special celebration of bishops in the city's
cathedral.
For 72 days, from Aug. 12 until last Friday, 950,792
pilgrims viewed the relic, believed to be the cloth used to
wrap Jesus' body after the crucifixion.
At a press conference Saturday, Archbishop Severino Poletto
of Turin, pontifical custodian of the shroud, announced that
there will be two "extra" mornings to view the shroud, on
Oct. 27 and 28. This is to accommodate pilgrims whose plans
were disrupted by recent floods in northern Italy.
This year 207,994 reservations to see the shroud were made
through Internet. This represents 20% of all visitors,
compared with 9% who registered via Internet for the 1998
exposition.
The latest exposition of the shroud attracted 112,874
foreigners from 170 different countries, or 11.8% of the
total number of visitors. The largest groups were from
France (22.5%) and Poland (13.3%).
About 30,000 youngsters visited the shroud on their way to,
or return from, World Youth Day, held in Rome in August.
More than 200 priests took turns manning the dozen
confessionals installed in the Royal Square for the occasion
of the exposition.
Archbishop Poletto said the next extended exposition is
planned for 2025, the date of the next Holy Year.