The Sacred Sudarium of our Lord resides in Oviedo, Spain. Most people have heard of the Holy Shroud of Turin, our Lord’s burial cloth. In relation to our Lord’s entombment, the Gospel of St. John mentions also “the napkin that had been about his head” which was “not lying with the linen cloths [the Shroud], but apart, wrapped up into one place.” This Sudarium (the Latin word for “napkin”) was treasured by the faithful and kept as a relic.
The relic had a well-documented history, unlike the Shroud, which had, like Him whose Image it bears, many years of hidden obscurity. This relative certitude of the Sudarium’s history over the Shroud’s has significant bearing on the authenticity of the latter, as we will see.
According to Mark Guscin, a scholar of the relic, “the Sudarium was in Palestine until shortly before the year 614, when Jerusalem was attacked and conquered by Chosroes II, who was king of Persia from 590 to 628. It was taken away to avoid destruction in the invasion, first to Alexandria by the presbyter Philip, then across the north of Africa when Chosroes conquered Alexandria in 616. The Sudarium entered Spain at Cartagena, along with people who were fleeing from the Persians. The bishop of Ecija, Fulgentius, welcomed the refugees and the relics, and surrendered the chest, or ark, to Leandro, bishop of Seville. He took it to Seville, where it spent some years.” (All quotes from “The Sudarium of Oviedo: Its History and Relationship to the Shroud of Turin” http://www.shroud.com/guscin.htm)
From Seville, the Sudarium went to Toledo, where it spent 75 years. In 711, it was taken north to avoid destruction from the hands of the invading Mohammedans. Kept at first in a cave near Oviedo, the relic was eventually placed in a chapel built by King Alfonso II of Aragón (1152-96). This chapel was later incorporated into Oviedo’s Cathedral.
“The key date in the history of the Sudarium is the 14th March 1075, when the chest was officially opened in the presence of King Alfonso VI, his sister Doña Urraca, and Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid. A list was made of the relics that were in the chest, and which included the Sudarium. In the year 1113, the chest was covered with silver plating, on which there is an inscription inviting all Christians to venerate this relic which contains the holy blood. The Sudarium has been kept in the cathedral at Oviedo ever since.”
This documented history is partially confirmed by the evidence of Dr. Max Frei’s pollen studies of the cloth. He found pollen species from Jerusalem, North Africa, Toledo, and Oviedo, corresponding exactly to the route the relic would have taken to get to Spain.
In keeping with the Jewish burial custom, the cloth was laid over our Lord’s face. However, there is no evidence of wiping motions on it, so the blood is positioned in such a way that it presents an outline of the Holy Face, an outline which perfectly corresponds with the Face on the Shroud.
The relic does not have the same stunning appearance as the Shroud. It is an 84 x 53 cm. cloth with no discernible image. Only blood stains are visible. But upon close analysis, one sees many striking points of similarity between the two relics. The blood type on both is AB. The nose is just over three inches long on each. The blood stains of the Oviedo cloth line up perfectly with the beard on the face of the Shroud. The thorn wounds on the neck of both relics also match perfectly. Using the Polarized Image Overlay Technique, Dr. Alan Whanger found seventy points of similarity on the front, and fifty on the back. The conclusion of experts is that the two cloths covered the same Face. This fact should put an end to the claim that the Shroud is a Medieval forgery.
Like the Shroud, the Sudarium presents some wonders hidden by God until they could be discovered in this scientific age. Also, like the Shroud, the cloth gives beautiful evidence of the intensity of our Lord’s suffering in his Passion. Hail, O Cross, our only hope!
