Lecture Explores Shroud’s Mystery

By John W. Vorder Bruegge
Eagle Times Correspondent
CLAREMONT, NH — Calling it “one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the world,” Bill Wingard began a time-traveling, multi-media presentation on the Shroud of Turin on Saturday morning at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in Claremont.

Using a slide show projected above the the altar and standing before a 14-foot-3-inch, by 3-foot-7-inch replica of the shroud, Wingard shared an intriguing, often suspenseful narrative exploring the history, science and passion of the Shroud of Turin.

Preserved since 1578 in Turin, Italy, the shroud is purported to be the burial garment of Jesus Christ in which he was wrapped after his death on the cross.

Wingard mined a range of historical details — from a medieval miniature of an emperor examining the shroud to a photo of the fireman who in 1997 rescued the shroud from the burning Guarini Chapel, thus becoming “an Italian hero” — mixed with folksy witticisms, inviting the audience to question, consider, reflect and wonder. He told of the shroud’s journey from Jerusalem to Turin, highlighting some of its history, from St. Peter bringing it to Antioch to the House of Savoy bringing it to Turin where it has been kept since 1578, except for seven years it was hidden from the Nazis during World War II.

Ultimately, Wingard left it to each individual to decide for themselves if the shroud really was Jesus’ burial cloth.

Saturday’s presentation was part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of St. Mary’s Church, the first Catholic church in the state and founded just four years after the General Court of New Hampshire passed the Toleration Act that redefined the relationship between church and state.

Having recently celebrated his 80th birthday, Wingard has marked a decade of “retirement” that, by his own estimate, has included 150 of his “shroud talks” since 2013.

In brief remarks before he introduced Wingard, St. Mary pastor the Rev. Maria Sebastian Susairaj explained how fitting it was to host the Shroud Talk as part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary since the shroud marked the “three greatest days of our salvation,” referring to Holy Friday, Saturday and Easter Sunday.