Houston, Spring,
05
April
2023
|
14:27 PM
America/Chicago

“The Most Famous Burial of All Time: The Shroud of Turin” exhibit and “An Evening with the Experts” event on Thursday, April 27

University of St. Thomas-Houston alumna Nora Creech, MAFC '18, an expert on the Holy Shroud, a consultant for “The Most Famous Burial of All Time: The Shroud of Turin” exhibit and coordinator of “An Evening with the Experts” event is excited to share this new exhibit and one-night only event with the UST community.

The National Museum of Funeral History in Houston is unveiling its newest exhibit, The Most Famous Burial of All Time: The Shroud of Turin on April 27. This permanent exhibit features a certified copy of the Shroud from the Archdiocese of Turin. The 14-foot linen cloth bears the image of a crucified man who has been brutally scourged, capped with thorns, and pierced in the side, which millions believe depicts Jesus of Nazareth. Owned by the Dukes of Savoy (former ruling family of Italy) until 1983, the original Shroud is now the property of “the person of the Pope,” currently Pope Francis, and has been permanently kept in Turin, Italy, since 1578.  

In addition to the exhibition opening, the public is invited to a special off-site, one-time-only event, “An Evening with the Experts featuring Barrie Schwortz and Col. Rudolph J. Dichtl,” both members of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), the only in-depth, multi-disciplinary scientific study ever conducted on the Shroud.

This behind-the-scenes discussion will take place at The Centrum: Cypress Creek Christian Community Center on April 27 from 7-9p.m. Tickets to this discussion are $11 and can be purchased at nmfh.org. This is a one night only event and it is not at the museum. It requires a ticket for admittance and does not include admission to the museum to see the exhibit.

Crucial analysis of the Shroud began in 1976 when scientists discovered spatial or topographical information encoded in the Shroud’s image, which also acts like a photographic negative.

Rudolpj J. DichtlPhysicist Col. Rudy Dichtl

Col. Dichtl is an electrical engineer, a physicist and a scientist. His interesting career includes serving in the U.S. Air Force as a staff scientist for 20 years and retiring as a Lt. Colonel. Afterward, he was a professor of Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, for three years and worked for Ball Aerospace Corp. in Boulder as a Senior Project Manager. Later, he was hired as a Technical Manager for the Antarctic and did research on the Aurora Australis, i.e., the Southern Lights for the National Science Foundation (NSF).

In 1978, Col Dichtl was selected to be one of the formative members of the STURP team. He and his late wife, Joan, joined in the advance planning and preparation for the testing and traveled to Turin to participate in the hands-on study of the Shroud. Col Dichtl was responsible for the setup and maintenance of all the equipment used throughout the testing. He says of his time in Turin, “We were the princes of modern science set up in the bedchambers of the royal palace.”

Barrie SchwortzPhotographer Barrie Schwortz

Barrie Schwortz was the Official Documenting Photographer for the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), the team that conducted the first in-depth scientific examination of the Shroud in 1978. Today, he plays an influential role in Shroud research and education as the editor and founder of the internationally recognized Shroud of Turin Website (www.shroud.com), the oldest, largest and most extensive Shroud resource on the Internet, with more than fifteen million visitors from over 160 countries. In 2009 he founded the Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association, Inc. (STERA, Inc.), a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, to which he donated the website and his extensive Shroud photographic collection, as well as many other important Shroud resources, in order to preserve and maintain these materials and make them available for future research and study. He currently serves as the President of STERA, Inc.

National Museum of Funeral History

The National Museum of Funeral History, located at 415 Barren Springs Drive in Houston, Texas contains a collection of artifacts and relics to “educate the public and preserve the heritage of death care.” The 35,000 square-foot museum that opened in 1992 is the largest of its kind in the U.S.