The unique relationship between Jerusalem and Rome was evident on April 6 when the veil purportedly used by a Jerusalem matron to wipe the sweat and blood from Jesus’s face as he hauled his crucifix to the Roman execution grounds 2,000 years ago briefly went on display at St. Peter’s Basilica.
The veil – not to be confused with the Shroud of Turin – is placed in a silver reliquary and stored inside one of the columns surrounding the main altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, above a statue of Veronica holding a veil. It is displayed once a year on the fifth Sunday of Lent, the last Sunday before Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week.
