INDIANAPOLIS
– The Shroud
of Turin is an ancient linen showing a faint image of what appears to be a
crucifixion victim – a man many believe to be Jesus of Nazareth. Some say it’s
a forgery and hoax – yet theologians, scientists and scholars have spent
countless hours studying this curious fabric.
Barrie
Schwortz, an Orthodox Jew, is among those who have studied the storied Shroud. A professional technical
photographer, he was invited to participate in the first ever in-depth
scientific examination of the cloth, known as the Shroud of Turin Research Project in 1978. He was a skeptic at
first, but over the years became convinced of the Shroud’s authenticity based
on mounting scientific evidence.
Schwortz,
considered one of the world’s leading experts on the Shroud, will share his
expertise and experiences at a free public event at Franciscan St. Francis
Health-Indianapolis, Saturday, July 11. The event starts at 9:15 a.m. in the
hospital’s basement auditorium (8111 S. Emerson Ave. Main Entrance).
In a recent interview
with The Catholic Report World,
Schwortz said: “One of my favorite testimonials as to the authenticity of the
Shroud actually came from my Jewish mother. She was originally from Poland, and
had only a high school education. She heard one of my lectures, and afterwards
we were driving home. She was quiet for a long time — you have to worry
when a Jewish mother is quiet – so I asked her, ‘Mom, what did you think?’ She
said, “Barrie, of course it’s authentic. They wouldn’t have kept it for
2,000 years if it wasn’t’… ”
In 2009, Schwortz founded the Shroud of Turin Education and
Research Association, an organization which publishes
fact-based information. In addition to this extensive online resource, the group
maintains a vast collection of scientific and historical material crucial to
the continuing study of the Shroud.
The Shroud of Turin is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral
of Saint John the Baptist in northern Italy.
