Church History · About 1354

The Shroud of Turin Appears in France

The Shroud of Turin is a long linen cloth with a faint image of a crucified man. It first appears in clear records at Lirey, France, in the 1350s. Carbon dating in 1988 placed it between 1260 and 1390, but some scientists question the sample, and the debate goes on.

Read it in the Bible: Matthew 27:59 John 20:5-7 John 20:29

The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth about fourteen feet long that carries the faint front and back image of a man who appears to have been whipped and crucified. Many people believe it is the burial cloth of Jesus. It first appears clearly in history around 1354, when a French knight named Geoffroi de Charny owned it and it was shown to pilgrims in the village of Lirey. In 1988, carbon dating placed the linen between 1260 and 1390, but some scientists have challenged that result. The Catholic Church has never ruled on whether it is authentic. This article gives the best case on each side and lets you weigh them.

What Is the Shroud of Turin?

The cloth is about 4.4 meters long and 1.1 meters wide. Laid out, it shows the image of a bearded man, front and back, as if the cloth had been laid under his body and folded over his head. Marks on the image match a scourging, wounds in the wrists and feet, a wound in the side, and many small wounds around the head, like a crown of thorns.

The image is a pale straw color and very faint up close. It sits only on the topmost fibers of the threads. That last detail has puzzled scientists for decades.

When Did the Shroud of Turin First Appear?

The first clear records come from Lirey, a small town in northeastern France. Around 1354, the knight Geoffroi de Charny had it, and it was displayed in the church he founded there. A small pilgrim badge from that time, now in a Paris museum, shows the cloth with the family's coat of arms. How Geoffroi got it, nobody knows.

In 1389, the local bishop of Troyes wrote to the pope objecting to the displays. He said an earlier bishop had looked into the cloth and learned it was cunningly painted by an artist. Pope Clement VII allowed it to be shown, but only as a representation of the true shroud, not as the real thing.

Later the cloth passed to the House of Savoy. It was badly damaged in a fire at Chambery in 1532, and nuns sewed patches over the burn holes. In 1578 it was moved to Turin, Italy, where it has stayed ever since. Since 1983 it has belonged to the Holy See.

What Did the 1898 Photograph Reveal?

In 1898 an Italian lawyer named Secondo Pia took the first photograph of the shroud. When he looked at his glass negative, he was stunned. The negative showed a much clearer, lifelike face. In other words, the image on the cloth works like a photographic negative. Supporters ask how a medieval artist could make a negative image centuries before photography. That question helped spark the modern study of the shroud.

What Did the 1988 Carbon Dating Show?

In 1988, with the church's permission, one small strip was cut from a corner of the shroud and divided among three laboratories, at Oxford, Zurich and the University of Arizona. All three used radiocarbon dating. Their results, published in the journal Nature in 1989, dated the linen to between 1260 and 1390.

That fits neatly with the first appearance of the cloth in the 1350s and with the bishop's report that it was painted. Many scientists consider the case closed.

Why Do Some Scientists Challenge the Carbon Dating?

Others are not convinced. Here are their main points.

The sample. The strip came from one edge that had been handled for centuries and lies near the fire damaged and repaired areas. Some argue it may include later repair threads or contamination.
The data. In 2019 researchers who studied the raw lab data argued the samples were less consistent than reported.
Newer tests. In 2022 a team led by Liberato De Caro of Italy's National Research Council published a study in the journal Heritage using a method called wide angle X ray scattering. It suggested the linen's aging could fit a first century date. That method is new and was tested on one small thread, so many scholars want more study before trusting it.
The image. Studies in 1978 found no clear paint forming the image. No one has fully explained how it was made.

Skeptics reply that the carbon dating used standard methods at three separate labs, and that the corner repair theory has not been proven. The honest summary is that the debate is not settled, and serious people land on both sides.

What Does the Bible Say About Jesus' Burial Cloths?

The Gospels say Jesus was wrapped in linen.

So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, Matthew 27:59

John adds a detail about what Peter and John saw on Easter morning.

He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. The cloth that had been around Jesus' head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths. John 20:5 to 7

Some readers say a separate head cloth argues against a single long sheet with a face on it. Others answer that the head cloth could have been a smaller wrap used along with a larger shroud. The text does not settle the question either way.

What Does the Catholic Church Say?

The Catholic Church has never officially declared the shroud authentic or fake. It leaves that to science. Popes have called it a powerful image that leads people to think about Christ's suffering. Pope John Paul II called it a mirror of the Gospel. It is shown to the public only on rare occasions.

Why It Matters for You Today

If the shroud is genuine, it is an amazing witness to the death of Jesus. If it is medieval, it is still a moving work that has led millions to think about the cross. Either way, Christian faith does not rest on a cloth. It rests on the testimony of the apostles who saw the risen Lord.

Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29

The empty tomb matters more than the linen left in it.

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Questions People Ask

Is the Shroud of Turin real?

No one has proven it either way. Carbon dating in 1988 placed the linen between 1260 and 1390, which suggests a medieval origin. Some scientists argue the tested sample was not representative and point to the puzzling image, so the debate continues.

When was the Shroud of Turin first displayed?

The first clear records place it at Lirey, France, around 1354, owned by the knight Geoffroi de Charny. It was shown to pilgrims there in the 1350s and again in 1389.

What did the carbon dating of the Shroud of Turin show?

In 1988 labs at Oxford, Zurich and Arizona tested pieces of one sample from the cloth. Their results, published in Nature in 1989, dated the linen to between 1260 and 1390.

What does the Catholic Church say about the Shroud of Turin?

The Church has made no official ruling on whether it is authentic. It allows and encourages veneration of the shroud as an image that helps people reflect on Christ's passion, and it supports further research.

Sources

← Thomas Aquinas and the Summa Theologica John Wycliffe and the First Complete English Bible →

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