British Society for the Turin Shroud

This calendar is intended to follow on from that for the years 1509 to 1694, as published in Newsletter no.44 (which in turn followed on from that for 1452-1509 published in Newsletter no.38), the aim being in time to chreate a complete chronology from the Shroud's earliest origins to the present. Additions and corrections will be welcomed from members, with a view to the creation of a master chronology of the Shroud that can be a general research tool, and become part of Barrie Schwortz's Shroud web site on the Internet.

1694

1697 - Copy of the Shroud made by Giovanni Battista Fantino. This is now in a Carmelite monastery in Savona, Italy

1703 - Engraving of this year shows an exposition of the Shroud in front of the Bertola altar in the new Chapel of the Holy Shroud

1737 1 April - Marriage of Charles Emmanuel III (whose titles include King of Sardinia), with Princess Elizabeth Teresa of Lorena [Lorraine?]

4 May - Public showing of the Shroud to mark the royal marriage, commemorated by print showing vast crowd in front of the royal palace, as the Shroud is displayed from a balcony

1750 9 June - Showing of the Shroud, presided over by Cardinal Delle Lanze, to celebrate the marriage of Prince Victor Amadeus (III) with Maria Antonia of Bourbon, Infanta of Spain

1758 - Death of the very scholarly Pope Benedict XIV (Prosper Lambertini), who had written of the Shroud: 'The Holy Shroud, that outstanding relic, is preserved at Turin. Popes Paul II (1464-1471); Sixtus IV (1471-1484); Julius II (1503-1513) and Clement VII (1523-1534) all bear witness that this is the same in which our Lord was wrapped.'

1768 - Giovanni Bernardo Vigo (1719-1805), professor of rhetoric at Turin University publishes De Sindone evangelica dedicated to Duke Charles Emmanuel III

1769 16 June - Private showing of the Shroud for Emperor Joseph II of Hapsburg-Lorraine. The Shroud is then displayed from the balcony of the Royal Chapel for large crowd gathered in the Cathedral below

15 October - The marriage of Piedmont Prince Charles Emmanuel (IV) with Princess Marie Clotilde of France is marked by a showing of the Shroud with same ceremonial as used in 1750

1778 - The genealogist Guichenon describes the Shroud as a 'preservative against all kinds of accidents'

1789 25 April - Marriage of Prince Victor Emmanuel (I) with Princess Maria Teresa of Austria

1792 - Revolutionaries of the French Revolution break into the French royal relic collection in the Sainte Chapelle, Paris. The chapel's 'fragment du S.Suaire' is destroyed, along with its 'sainte toelle' and other objects with possible Shroud links.

1798 9 December - Forced to leave Turin and withdraw to Sardinia, Charles Emmanuel IV venerates the Shroud with the rest of the royal family before their departure

1804 13 November - Private showing of the Shroud for the visit to Turin of Pope Pius VII, who is virtually a prisoner en route from Rome to Paris to crown Napoleon, who has insisted that he be crowned by none other than the pope. According to Sanna Solaro '...The Pope knelt down to venerate it [the Shroud], then examined it in every part, kissing it with tender devotion.' Seven cardinals, eight bishops and many other notables were present.

1814 20 May - Solemn showing of the Shroud to mark the return of the royal family, in the person of Victor Emmanuel I. This is the first full public showing of the Shroud since 1775.

1815 21 May - Pope Pius VII's second presiding over an exposition of the Shroud, this time marking his return to Italy after Napoleon's defeat. He personally displays it from the balcony of the Palazzo Madama. On the Shroud being returned to its casket the latter is sealed with the papal and royal seals

1822 4 January - Showing of the Shroud to mark the start of the reign of Charles Felix, following the abdication of his brother Victor Emmanuel I. This is held out first in the Royal Chapel, in the presence of the royal family, then displayed from the Chapel balustrade for the benefit of the ordinary populace in the Cathedral below.

1842 4 May - Showing of the Shroud to mark the marriage of Crown Prince Victor Emmanuel (II) with Maria Adelaide, Archduchess of Austria. The making of a daguerrotype of the Shroud on this occasion is considered but rejected. Among the crowds on this occasion is Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian order, then only 27

1868 24-27 April - During the brief archbishopric of Alessandro Riccardi dei Conti di Netro, one marked by exceptional pastoral care, the Shroud is shown in this year to mark the marriage of Prince Umberto of Savoy with Princess Margaret. Instead of a brief holding up of the cloth in the cathedral or from a balcony of the Palazzo Madama as had happened in 1815 and 1842, the Shroud is properly displayed on a board on the cathedral high altar for four days. Don Bosco again attends, accompanied by boys from his Oratory.

28 April - Working on her knees, the 25 year old Princess Clotilde of Savoy (1843-1911), daughter of Victor Emmanuel II and wife of Prince Gerolamo Napoleon, changes the Shroud's former lining cloth of black silk that had been sewn on by Bl. Sebastian Valfre back in 1694, replacing this with one of crimson taffeta. An official record of this, with sample of the former black silk lining, is preserved in Turin. On this same occasion Princess Clotilde removes a thread that 110 years later will be considered, and rejected, for radiocarbon dating. On this same date the Shroud is 'scrupulosamente' measured by Monsignor Gastaldi, then bishop of Aluzzo, and later archbishop of Turin, and found (wrongly) to be 410cm. x 140 cm.

1898 25 May - Beginning of eight day exposition of the Shroud on the occasion of Italy's fiftieth anniversary as a kingdom ruled by the House of Savoy . Because Gastaldi measured the Shroud incorrectly in 1868, the frame in which it is displayed is made too short and too wide. To compensate for his miscalculation of the length, both ends of the cloth are therefore folded under. Secondo Pia takes two trial photographs of the Shroud using short exposures with 21 x 27 cm plates. These reproduce poorly because of uneven lighting. Although the Shroud is displayed on this day without glass, for the rest of the exposition protective plate glass is ordered at the insistence of Princess Clotilde

28 May - Second, official photographing of the Shroud by Secondo Pia, this time with two large 50 x 60 cm plates, one of 14 minute exposure, the second of 12 minutes, as well as some smaller plates. Turin Cathedral's head of security, Lieutenant Felice Fino, and Father Sanno Salaro, both keen amateur photographers, also take photographs.

Midnight - Pia begins developing the negatives, discovering that the image becomes 'photographic' when the light values are reversed.

14 June - The story of Pia's discovery is told in the national newspaper Corriere Nazionale

15 June - The story of Pia's discovery is told in Rome's Osservatore Romano

A Calendar of the Shroud for the Years 1694-1898