Turin Shroud back on public display in 5 years

The Turin shroud has gone back on public display after a break of five years, the BBC reported.

The shroud is a 4.4-meter-long piece of cloth that many believe was used to shroud Jesus Christ. The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, which stored the cloth, has put it on display on Sunday. The shroud is unveiled to the public to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. John Bosco. It will be on public display for 12 hours (from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.) every day for two months until June 24.

Viewings are free but must be booked via the website (www.sindone.org) and telephone. One million people have already signed up. The last public viewings were in 2010 and more than 2.5 million people came to see it.

Pope Francis will be among those to view the shroud during his visit to Turin on June 20 and 21. Some skeptics raised questions over the cloth as the result of carbon dating was released that it was made in the 13th or 14th century.

raphy@donga.com