‘Shroud’ film investigates verity of Christ’s burial cloth

With director Robert Orlando declaring his film as “the most transformative true crime story,” and his journey of discovery punctuated with stark black and white imagery, one might forgive an audience member for thinking they had accidentally stumbled upon an episode of “CSI: Turin.”

The standing-room-only crowd inside the parish hall of Our Lady of Peace Feb. 25 were instead witnessing one man’s journey of faith via a screening of the new documentary “The Shroud: Face to Face” (2023). Father Michael Krull, pastor of the North Brunswick faith community, explained why he and fellow cleric Father Michael Fragoso served as co-sponsors of the screening of the 116-minute film.

“When we saw that this film was available, we thought it was a great thing to look at during this season of Lent,” said Father Krull, “and to see the history of this item that so many people have been fascinated about over the centuries.”

Father Fragoso, pastor of Parish of the Visitation, New Brunswick, had met Orlando, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, and learned of his investigation of the Shroud. “I invited him to speak at St. Mary’s and when the film came out, knew we had to have him,” the priest said.

The Shroud of Turin, a 14 by 3-foot linen burial shroud, bears a faint image of what many believe is the crucified Christ. Though the Church has not definitely claimed the Shroud’s authenticity, many popes have venerated it in its home at the Cathedral of Turin, Italy. With the aid of clerics and ancient biblical texts, as well as scientists and modern forensic methods, the film aims to supply all the tools needed for faithful to decide for themselves whether this is the actual burial shroud of Jesus.

The film, presented in a first-person narrative, details Orlando’s extensive travels to arrive at the truth and gain knowledge from numerous scholars. He admitted he did not initially intend to examine the Shroud at all during a prescreening interview with The Catholic Spirit.

“I had no interest in it and thought it was just another relic,” the filmmaker said. “I wasn’t sure about it, but my father’s death during Covid [caused] a retreat back. This became a way to investigate my faith in the historical Jesus… I looked into it and it grabbed me.”

A lively question-and-answer period followed the film, where Orlando dove deeper into his research and conversations with biblical experts. Encouraging each audience member to carefully analyzed both facts and beliefs, his inscription in each book he signed read, “Face the Shroud and decide for yourself!”

Viewers expressed their appreciation for the documentary, including fellow members of Our Lady of Peace Parish, Estelle Lambert and Carol Barillo.

“It was awesome,” said Lambert. “I had a lot of questions to be answered.” Barillo added, “It was very interesting.”

Parish of the Visitation’s Carol Bocchieri attended an interview with Orlando and Father Andrew Dalton, a professor of theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, who appears in the film. “I was eager to come back,” she said.

Religious Teacher Filippini Sister Frances Gervasio, who ministers in Parish of the Visitation, recalled that her eighth-grade teacher had had a deep devotion to the Shroud under its name as the Holy Face.

“The nuns all had strong faith in the Holy Face,” Sister Frances said. “They gave us medals. This film gave me more information and brought back good memories.”

For further information see TheShroudFilm.com