7:00 pm
Shroud Encounter
with Russ Breault
In person and via Zoom
All participants must register. Please let us know in the comments whether you will participate in person or virtually.
If you are having problems registering online, please choose the mail-in option to bypass the payment requirement.
The Zoom link will be posted here closer to the event.
The
presentation is a fast-moving, big-screen experience using over 200 images to
explore the profound mystery of the Shroud of Turin. The program is a
production of the Shroud of Turin Education Project, Inc. and will be
presented by international expert and author, Russ Breault.
Mr. Breault has
been featured in several national documentaries seen on CBS, History Channel EWTN and Discovery.
He has been interviewed for Good Morning America and ABC World News Tonight and was a
consultant for CNN’s Finding Jesus
series. He has presented at numerous colleges and universities including Duke,
West Point, Johns Hopkins, Penn State and many others. See www.ShroudEncounter.com
for more info.
The Shroud of Turin
is the most analyzed artifact in the world yet remains a mystery. The 14-foot-long
linen cloth that has been in Turin, Italy for over 400 years and bears the
faint front and back image of a 5'10" bearded, crucified man with apparent
wounds and bloodstains that match the crucifixion account as recorded in the bible.
Millions of people over the centuries have believed it be the actual burial
shroud of Jesus.
A team of 33 scientists
in 1981 concluded it was not the work of an artist. They found no visible trace
of paint, pigment, dye or other artistic substances on the cloth. The blood is type
AB with human male DNA as determined in 1995. Skeptics have mounted numerous
attempts to show how a medieval artist could have produced the image, but all
have been inadequate to fully explain how it was formed.
The Shroud was
largely dismissed in 1988 when three carbon dating labs indicated a medieval
origin. However chemical research published in a peer reviewed scientific
journal in 2005 showed that the single sample cut from the outside corner edge
may not have been part of the original Shroud material. In violation of the
sampling protocol, only one sample was used for dating and was cut from the
most handled area of the cloth, an area that should have been avoided. The
sample may have been part of a section that was repaired sometime during the
Middle Ages. Many scientists now believe the carbon dating result is
inconclusive.
Adding more doubt
to the carbon dating tests, as published in 2022 by scientists with Italy’s Institute of Crystallography. Using a new technique called Wide
Angle X-ray Scattering which measures the amount of natural aging in linen, they
determined the amount of aging seen in fibers from the Shroud are compatible
with a first century linen.
The mystery continues. National Geographic called it "One of the most
perplexing enigmas of modern times." SHROUD ENCOUNTER will cover all aspects of history,
science, art and theories of how the image may have been formed.
This sponsored program is offered free of charge courtesy of the William J. Duca Education Fund.
RUSS
BREAULT has been researching and lecturing on The Shroud of Turin for
over 30 years. His highly acclaimed presentation known as Shroud Encounter makes use of over 200 superb images and unfolds
like a CSI investigation.
Russ
Breault has presented to hundreds of audiences from New York to Hawaii. College
and university presentations include Duke, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, Cal State,
West Point, and many others.
Russ
recently published his highly acclaimed book, Shroud Encounter: Explore the
World’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery.
He
has appeared in several nationally televised documentaries including Mysteries of the Ancient World on CBS, He was an advisor and a
primary expert for The Real Face of Jesus —A two-hour documentary on The History Channel. Also on History,
he was interviewed for History’s Greatest Mysteries. On EWTN, he
was a primary expert for their documentary,
The Holy Winding Sheet. He has also been interviewed for ABC’s Good Morning America, World News Tonight and was a consultant for Finding Jesus on CNN.
He was a key consultant to the
Museum of the Bible in Washington DC for the development of a high-tech
interactive exhibit on the Shroud in 2022.
He
has participated in over a dozen international conferences and three public
exhibitions in Turin, Italy in 1998, 2000 and 2010.
He
is a long-time member of the Shroud Science Group, an international
consortium of scientists and scholars dedicated to further research.
Mr.
Breault is the president and founder of the Shroud of Turin Education Project Inc., with a simple mission
statement: “To advance the knowledge of
the Shroud to a new generation.”
www.ShroudEncounter.com
You may:
• click the "Register" link located at the bottom of this page
• call 724-964-8886 to speak with a member of our friendly staff
• complete and mail a printable registration form along with your payment to:
Villa Maria Education and Spirituality Center
2067 Evergreen Road
P.O. Box 424
Villa Maria, PA 16155