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Turin shroud to go back on display; pope will travel there to see cloth some say wrapped Jesus

Associated Press
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FILE -- In this file photo taken on April 10, 2010, the faded image of a bearded man appears on a detail of The Holy Shroud, a 14 foot-long linen revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus, at the Turin cathedral, Italy. The Shroud of Turin, the burial cloth some believe covered Jesus, will go back on public display next year. Pope Francis said Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014, he will go to that northern Italian city June 21 to view that 4.3-meter-long (14-foot) cloth, which is kept in a climate-controlled case in Turin's cathedral. As during the last display in 2010, reservations are required for the April 19-June 24 viewing but there is no charge. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) (The Associated Press)

FILE -- In this file photo taken on April 10, 2010, the faded image of a bearded man appears on The Holy Shroud, a 14 foot-long linen revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus, at the Turin cathedral, Italy. The Shroud of Turin, the burial cloth some believe covered Jesus, will go back on public display next year. Pope Francis said Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014, he will go to that northern Italian city June 21 to view that 4.3-meter-long (14-foot) cloth, which is kept in a climate-controlled case in Turin's cathedral. As during the last display in 2010, reservations are required for the April 19-June 24 viewing but there is no charge. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) (The Associated Press)

Turin's Mayor Piero Fassino, left, and Archbishop of Turin Cesare Nosiglia talk to journalists during a press conference, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014. Monsignor Nosiglia announced that the shroud of Turin will be on public display from April 19 to June 24, 2015. Pope Francis said Wednesday he will go to that northern Italian city June 21 to view that 4.3-meter-long (14-foot) burial cloth some believe covered Jesus, which is kept in a climate-controlled case in Turin's cathedral. Skeptics say the linen bearing the figure of a crucified man is medieval forgery. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (The Associated Press)

The Shroud of Turin, the burial cloth some believe covered Jesus, will go back on public display next year.

Pope Francis said Wednesday he will go to that northern Italian city June 21 to view that 4.3-meter-long (14-foot) cloth, which is kept in a climate-controlled case in Turin's cathedral.

As during the last display in 2010, reservations are required for the April 19-June 24 viewing but there is no charge.

Papal predecessor Benedict XVI has described the cloth as an icon "written with the blood" of a crucified man, but didn't dive into scientific questions. Skeptics say the linen bearing the figure of a crucified man is medieval forgery.

Turin Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia, has called the shroud both "reality and deep mystery" to which science hasn't given "concrete answers."