Feast of the The Holy Shroud (Friday after the Second Sunday in Lent)

The Shroud of Turin has been subjected to a variety of scientific examinations to confirm its authenticity using scientific methods, despite the rather obvious conclusion that the intricacy and detail on the Shroud could not have been merely created by antiquated Medieval technology. In fact, the Turin Center of Colorado has demonstrated that the fold marks found on the Shroud indicate it once resided in Constantinople in the 10th-11th centuries, in contrast to those who claim that the shroud was a 14th-century forgery.   Such a claim corroborates historians who maintain that the Lord's burial cloth was in the possession of Byzantine emperors before the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 AD. 

The Holy See remained silent on the Shroud until the middle of the 20th century when, in 1940, Sister Maria Pierina De Micheli obtained authorization from Archdiocese of Milan to produce the Holy Face Medal with the image of the Holy Shroud. And Pope Pius XII subsequently approved the image in 1958 in connection with devotion to the Holy Face and the Feast of the Holy Face which he instituted to be said on Shrove Tuesday of each year in reparation for the offenses of Mardi Gras. 

Closer to our times, Pope Benedict XVI further expressed his own belief in the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin as the Lord’s own burial cloth by calling it "a truly mysterious image, which no human artistry was capable of producing. In some inexplicable way, it appeared imprinted upon cloth and claimed to show the true face of Christ, the crucified and risen Lord.”  Yet while the Church has officially not decreed that the Shroud of Turin is the actual burial cloth of the Lord, the scientific evidence of the Turin Center of Colorado points to this reality. As Holy Mother Church affirms in her actions, whether or not the cloth is authentic has no bearing on the validity of what our Lord taught or on the saving power of His death and resurrection.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 15, 1913 states: "In 1206 one of the (supposed) Winding Sheets used at the burial of Christ was brought to Besançon by Otto de La Roche, and the feast of its arrival (Susceptio) was ordered to be kept on 11 July. At present, it is a double of the first class in the cathedral, and of the second class in the diocese. The Office is very beautiful. Another feast originated about 1495 at Chambéry, in Savoy, to honour the so-called sudario of Christ which came there in 1432 from Lirey in Burgundy, and which since 1578 is venerated in the royal chapel of the cathedral of Turin. This feast is celebrated on 4 May, the day after the Invention of the Cross, and was approved in 1506 by Julius II; it is now kept in Savoy, Piedmont, and Sardinia as the patronal feast of the royal House of Savoy (4 May, double of the first class, with octave). A third feast, the Fourth Sunday in Lent (translation to a new shrine in 1092), was during the Middle Ages kept at Compiègne in France, in honour of a winding sheet brought there from Aachen in 877. The feast which since 1831 is contained in the appendix of the Breviary, on the Friday after the Second Sunday in Lent, is independent of any particular relic, but before 1831 it was rarely found on the diocesan calendars. It has not yet found its way into the Baltimore Ordo. The office is taken from the Proprium of Turin." 

The Most Holy Shroud of Our Lord Jesus Christ Friday after the Second Sunday of Lent Mass in Some Places From the pre-1955 Missal  Introit: Philippians ii: 8-9 Our Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself unto death, even unto death upon the Cross: Therefore God has also exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above all names. [Ps. lxxxviii: 2] I will sing the mercies of the Lord for all eternity: for generation after generation His truth will be in my mouth. Glory be.... Our Lord Jesus Christ.... Collect O God, who hast left us a relic of Thy passion in the holy shroud in which Thy body, taken down from the Cross, was wrapped by Joseph [of Arimathea]: grant, we beseech Thee; that through Thy death and burial, we may be brought to the glory of resurrection. Thou who livest and reignest..... A Reading From The Prophet Isaias lxii: 11; lxiii: 1-7 Thus says the Lord God: Say to the children of Sion: Behold the Lord hath made it to be heard in the ends of the earth, tell the daughter of Sion: Behold thy Savior cometh: behold his reward is with him, and his work before him. Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, this beautiful one in his robe, walking in the greatness of his strength. I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save. Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that tread in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me: I have trampled on them in my indignation, and have trodden them down in my wrath, and their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, the year of my redemption is come. I looked about, and there was none to help: I sought, and there was none to give aid: and my own arm hath saved for me, and my indignation itself hath helped me. And I have trodden down the people in my wrath, and have made them drunk in my indignation, and have brought down their strength to the earth. I will remember the tender mercies of the Lord, the praise of the Lord for all the things that the Lord hath bestowed upon us. Gradual: Ps. lxviii: 21-22 Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, and I found none. Rather they put gall in my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Tract: Isaias: liii: 4-5 Surely He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought Him, as it were, a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we were healed. In Masses outside of Lent the tract is omitted and replaced by: Alleluia, Alleluia. Hail, our King: Thou alone art merciful in spite of our errors: Obedient to the Father Thou wert led to be crucified, as a humble lamb to the slaughter. Alleluia During Paschaltide: Alleluia, Alleluia. Hail, our King: Thou alone art merciful in spite of our errors: Obedient to the Father Thou wert led to be crucified, as a humble lamb to the slaughter. Alleluia To Thee be glory, hosanna: to Thee be triumph and victory: to Thee be the highest praise and the crown of honor. Alleluia. Mass said in front of the Shroud of Turin Gospel: Mark xv: 42-46  The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Mark: At that time, when evening was now come (because it was the Parasceve, that is, the day before the sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counselor, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. But Pilate wondered that he should be already dead. And sending for the centurion, he asked him if he were already dead. And when he had understood it by the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And Joseph, buying fine linen and taking him down, wrapped him up in the fine linen and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewed out of a rock. And he rolled a stone to the door of the sepulchre. Credo Offertory: Leviticus xvi: 2 et 5 Aaron entered into the tabernacle in order to offer a holocaust upon the altar for the sins of the sons of Israel, clothed in a linen tunic.. Secret May these offerings be acceptable to Thee, O lord.: Whose Son didst graciously stand forth in His glorious passion for the salvation of the world. Thou who livest and reignest.... Preface of the Holy Cross It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should in all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. Who didst set the salvation of mankind upon the tree of the Cross, so that whence came death, thence also life might rise again, and that he who overcame by the tree might also be overcome on the tree; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominations adore, the powers are in awe, the virtues of highest heaven and the blessed seraphim unite in blissful exultation. With them we praise Thee; grant that our voices too may blend, saying in adoring praise: Communion Hymn: Mark xv: 46 Joseph, buying fine linen and taking him down, wrapped him up in the fine linen shroud. Postcommunion: Be satisfied, O Lord, with the holy offerings of Thy servant: we ask Thee; that the death of Thy Son in time, which mystery we venerate, may give us confident assurance of perpetual life. Thou who livest and reignest with the same God the Father....