Turin, Italy, May 3, 2010 / 09:13 am
The Shroud is a reminder to us of the darkness and light of Holy Saturday, Pope Benedict said from the altar before the "Icon" in the Cathedral of Turin. In the image stained with blood, he taught, we find "the darkest mystery of the faith and at the same time the brightest sign of a hope that doesn't have limits."
Visiting the Shroud on Sunday afternoon, the Holy Father gave a meditation on "Passio Christi – Passio hominis, Christ's passion - Man's passion." Before the Pope's visit, Cardinal Archbishop of Turin Severino Poletto had referred to this catechesis as the highlight of the 44-day exposition of the Shroud.
The Holy Father called his second time in front of the Shroud a "much awaited moment" and noted the "particular intensity" of the occasion. He said that perhaps he felt a greater intensity because with time he has become more sensitive to its message, but also because this time he was visiting as the Successor of Peter and he carries in his heart "all of the Church, or rather, all of humanity."
Speaking of the Shroud as the "Icon of Holy Saturday," Pope Benedict observed that it offers an image of Jesus' body during the time it was in the tomb, which was "brief chronologically - around a day and a half - but immense, infinite in its value and significance."