Author: Samantha Lisek
 |
| Painting by Guido Reni of St. Veronica and her
veil, imprinted with Jesus’s image |
St. Veronica was a devout Christian who desired a
painting of Jesus. According to the Bloomsbury
Guide to Art, the legend says that Veronica passed by Jesus when he was
carrying the cross to Calvary in Jerusalem in order to be crucified. When she
saw Jesus struggling, Veronica wiped His face with a cloth, formally known as her
“veil”. Afterwards, the image of Jesus’s face mysteriously appeared on
Veronica’s cloth. The Catholic
Encyclopedia suggests that there are small differences of the legend of St.
Veronica that various countries developed throughout history. To Italians,
Veronica is known to have cured an Emperor named Tiberius of a particular
disease by touching him with the veil. In France, Veronica is known to have
married Zacheus, and later she married a man named Martial and helped him
preach. In the region of Bordeaux, the story is that Veronica brought the veil,
that she wiped Jesus’s face with, to Soulac. She preached and later died and was
buried in a tomb in the area. As the legend grew more popular around the world,
St. Veronica’s veil became known as vera
icon which means “true image.”
Veronica and her veil are significant to Christians
and are revered by the Catholic Church. Veronica’s veil is known as one of the
most valued Christian relics. The cloth is also known by Roman Catholics as the
“sudarium”, “volto santo”, or “vernicle”. The Catholics remember the story of
St. Veronica and her veil by making it a part of the Stations of the Cross, a
Catholic tradition which tells the story of Jesus’s crucifixion. The Catholic
Church honored Veronica by naming her a saint. They also celebrate her memory on
the feast day of St. Veronica. Catholics and other Christians relate Veronica
to a woman in the Bible named Haemorrhissa, who was cured by Jesus.
According to the Bible
Prob web blog post on the history of the religious relic, Pope Boniface
VIII had the relic brought to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in 1297. It was first displayed on
the first Holy Year in 1300. During the remodeling of St. Peter’s Basilica, the
relic was stolen. In 1616, Pope Paul V prohibited copies of the veil to be
made. Pope Urban VII had all
copies of the veil destroyed in 1623. Four centuries after the original relic was
stolen from the Basilica, Father Pfeiffer, professor of Christian Art History
at the Pontifical Gregorian University claims to have found the orginal veil
that was stolen in a monastery located in Italy. Today, the only representation
of Veronica’s veil remains at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, in an old, fragile frame with cracked glass. It is located
next to a marble statue of St. Veronica in the Basilica.
Work Cited:
Badde,
Paul. “Veronica’s Veil Found.” CatholicCulture.org.
Trinity Communications, n.d. Web. 16 October 2012.
Dégert,
Antoine. "St. Veronica." Newadvent.org.
Robert Appleton Company, 1912. Web. 14 October 2012.
Giuliani,
Fr. Giovanni. “Guide to Saint Peter's Basilica.” St.PetersBasilica.org. Web. 16 October 2012.
Reni,
Guido. St. Veronica. 1700. Pushkin
Museum, Moscow. Credo Reference. Web.
15 October 2012
“Veil
of Veronica-history of” BibleProbe.
N.p., 3 Sept 2006. Web. 16 October 2012.
“Veronica.”
Bloomsbury Guide to Art Credo
Reference. Web. 13 October 2012.
Links
for further research:
Bible Probe
Blog Post: “Veil of Veronica-history of”
A
post containing information on the history of St. Veronica’s veil.
Catholic Culture
Article: “St. Veronica’s Veil Found” By Paul Badde
An original article by Paul Badde about
the former and current location of the religious relic.
St. Peter’s Basilica: St. Veronica’s
Statue
This webpage contains pictures of St.
Veronica’s statue in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and gives background
information on the legend of the veil and its symbolism in the church.
The Vatican: Sixth Station of the Cross
Shows a picture of the Catholic Church’s
sixth station of the cross as St. Veronica wiping the face of Jesus while He is
crucified on the cross.
