TURIN, Italy (CNS): Cardinal Severino Poletto of Turin has confirmed he had authorised conservation work on the Shroud of Turin.
Workers, under the direction of a Swiss textile expert, removed 30 fabric patches that had been sewn onto the shroud in 1534 to repair fire damage.
The removal of the patches – and of a fabric backing initially attached to support the shroud – was carried out in almost complete secrecy between late June and late July, the Archdiocese of Turin said.
Cardinal Poletto told Avvenire, an Italian Catholic newspaper, that the work was carried out quietly ‘in order to guarantee the necessary calm for those working on it, as well as for obvious reasons of security’.
‘The restoration carried out was authorised in writing by the Holy See,’ said the cardinal, who is the Vatican-appointed custodian of the shroud.
