The Man of the Shroud Exhibition, a long-standing blend of faith, science and mystery centred on the historical Shroud of Turin, wrapped up its final run in British Columbia's Lower Mainland this month after more than two decades criss-crossing Canada. 

Launched in 2004 by the Vancouver Shroud Association, the exhibit has offered countless visitors over the years a rare encounter with the story of one of history's most debated artifacts. Now, the exhibit is quietly retiring, marking the end of an era. 

Man of the Shroud held its last exhibit at St. John Paul II Academy in Surrey, B.C., March 5 to 8. There, strong crowds and excellent conversations followed, with attendees able to witness the very same photographic replica of the Shroud and storytelling museum boards from the first exhibition, which took place at the Church of the Good Shepherd in White Rock 22 years ago. 

Advertisement

Indeed, the standout of the exhibit remains the actual-size digital photograph and linen-printed replica of the Shroud of Turin, the cloth bearing a front and back image and details consistent with traditional depictions of Jesus and thought by many to be His burial shroud. 

Few have had more interest and gained more knowledge of the artifact than Dr. Cheryl White, an international Shroud scholar and current professor of history at Louisiana State University. White has delivered presentations at multiple Man of the Shroud exhibitions over the past eight years regarding its history, science and academic research. 

She told The Catholic Register that the unique inspiration that led her to a life of pursuing the Holy Shroud comes from a place of continued and genuine curiosity.

“ I was an undergraduate history major when the very first peer-reviewed science of the 1978 research project was being published in the mid-1980s. I remember being pulled into the story, but I was also a new Catholic at the time. I thought Pope John Paul II was a total rock star,” she said.

She noted that the 1988 carbon-14 dating results, which concluded with 95- per-cent confidence that the linen originated between 1260 and 1390, made many scholars step away from the topic. However, the findings only lent themselves to her pursuit of knowledge. 

“By that time, I was in graduate school working on my PhD in medieval history, and I knew that all of what I knew about the Shroud did not align with the medieval date. It pulled me in more, and since then, it has been a major part of my life.” 

Advertisement

Catholics worldwide also grapple with the mystery of the Shroud of Turin, both in its physical complexity and spiritual dimensions. As White puts it, the challenge of understanding the Shroud is unlike any other typical historical artifact. 

“ We are looking at something that has all of these different characteristics that absolutely defy scientific explanation, at least to the extent that we cannot reproduce it in any laboratory in the world today, given all of the exacting science and advances that we have had,” she said. 

“It's a philosophical challenge to me as an academic, who’s aware that when we bring scholarly inquiries to anything as a historical artifact, the more you study something, the more you begin to understand it. The opposite is true with this. The more that we study it, the more questions we have. That puts (the Shroud) in a class of artifact all by itself because it invites us into an ongoing mystery and one that continues to deepen.” 

White was present in B.C. at Man of the Shroud’s St. John Paul II Academy exhibit earlier this month, giving presentations to both adults and students. It was there, for her final time, White found her continued joy of sharing the Shroud's alluring message for young and old, believers and non-believers alike. 

 Even today, the scholar connects with attendees years later who are doing their own studies on the Shroud. Whether framing the artifact as a “CSI-style” mystery to engage younger audiences or challenging adults to do their own research, White’s impact on the exhibit remains woven throughout its recent history — something she remains ever grateful for. 

Still, she attests that the deepest questions that linger are ones of faith, and the tricky interplay between reason and belief.

“ The message itself is compelling, but when you look at the cloth, and you confront the image of a man who has been beaten, crucified, pierced in the side and capped with thorns, you know there is only one person in history who matches that description. You're no longer talking about just an object any more, you're talking about a person,” she said. 

Advertisement

“ Although on my personal level it may have deepened my faith, we don't need these things to believe in the Resurrection. It’s certainly made me more empathetic with empirically minded people. I think about Thomas, and he gets a bad rap because he had to touch Jesus' side, but that's a valid way of wanting to know. God created us to have that curiosity, and the Shroud evokes some of that same curiosity within us.” 

For more details on the Man of the Shroud exhibit and its history, see manoftheshroud.org.