TURIN, Italy - A thin white cloth draped over the glass-covered Shroud of Turin was pulled down and billowed to the floor, marking the official opening of the venerated icon’s exposition to the public.

GOA, INDIA - Expecting more than five million pilgrims for the once-a-decade exposition of the body of St. Francis Xavier in Goa, the Catholic Church in the former Portuguese colony has worked to ensure the event is “spiritually nourishing” for the visitors.