Shroud expert to speak at SLC March 22
Pope Francis touches the case holding the Shroud of Turin after praying before the cloth in 2015 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. The Taize New Year pilgrimage to Turin and the extraordinary exhibition of the Shroud of Turin for those pilgrims has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Want to see the Shroud presentation?
The presentation about the Shroud of Turin will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita. The event is free but donations will be welcome. Registration is required by noon Monday, March 21. To do so, visit slcwichita.com, or call 316-744-0167.
Jim Bertrand, a member of the American Confraternity of the Holy Shroud, is returning to the Spiritual Life Center Tuesday, March 22, for another presentation about the Shroud of Turin.
The Shroud of Turin Encounter will be presented from 7 to 9 p.m.
Bertrand, a member of St. Peter Parish in Lincoln, Nebraska, has made hundreds of presentations about the Shroud of Turin in the past seven years to groups in 12 states, 18 dioceses, and New Zealand.
He taught high school science classes for 39 years before retiring from Pius X High School in Lincoln.
Now he has more time for his Shroud presentations.
“A lot has been learned about the shroud,” Bertrand said. “I’ve updated and spent hundreds of hours perfecting this talk, refining it so that it’s very up to date.”
Novices or experts of the Shroud of Turin will all learn something at the presentation, he said.
“Along with that, I think they’ll see some things they haven’t seen before in terms of some really high definition photographs and information about the Shroud they haven’t thought about or have seen.”
Bertrand will have an actual size replica of the Shroud that is 15 feet by 4 feet for viewing at the presentation. “That’s probably the only time they’ll ever get to see that,” he said at his visit last year. “There are fewer than 50 of these in the world, so unless they plan on traveling to Turin, Italy, someday when it’s on display, this is the closest they’ll get to see the real thing.”
This presentation and exhibit also feature beautifully-designed panels that will raise the questions: “Could the Shroud be the most important archaeological artifact ever found?” and “Does it provide clues as to what happened during the crucifixion resurrection of Jesus?”