Nora Creech, MAFC ’18, feels equipped to do her life’s work with the Shroud of Turin because of the University of St. Thomas-Houston Master of Arts in Faith and Culture program.  

“Without teachings and courses at the University’s Nesti Center for Faith and Culture, I would not have had the confidence to share and talk about scripture and my faith,” she said. 

Creech is a Holy Shroud educator whose dedication and acquired knowledge earned her an invitation to Turin, Italy, in 2022, with others like her for a private viewing of the original Shroud.

She recalls, “I spent that whole day in prayer before going for the visit. The verse I contemplated was Isaiah 6:8, ‘Whom shall I send?’ And the overwhelming message I got from God was that He was sending me out to share the message of the Shroud—the message that what we have heard is true, He died and rose from the dead, and our salvation is through following Jesus.”

The Shroud changed Creech’s life. She spends a lot of her time in volunteer service to support Shroud initiatives. And the voice she gained through her MAFC is being heard globally.

“This has given me a platform to connect with others around the world. I’m going to World Youth Day in Lisbon and will be part of a group to deliver a presentation there.”

First Intro to the Shroud and the Nesti Center for Faith and Culture

As a teenager growing up in Colorado, Creech heard a presentation about the Shroud delivered by a physics professor at her church. That lecture began her lifelong quest to learn as much as possible about the remarkable length of ancient linen bearing the image of a crucified man. 

She went to college, got married, raised children, and lived in Singapore for her husband’s job before moving back to Houston and then to California. Always, she read everything she could find about the Shroud and incorporated what she learned in a confirmation class at her church.

“I led the 6-week class with another mother,” she said. “I talked about the science, history and scriptures. She talked about how the Shroud impacts the heart. It was a way to discuss Jesus and his humanity and how his suffering deepens our faith. It made those kids’ faith come alive. And we did it, essentially, with an intriguing CSI topic.”

Her Present Work

Currently, Creech is supporting an upcoming permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston called “The Most Famous Burial of All Time: The Shroud of Turin.” On April 27, from 7-9 p.m., at The Centrum: Cypress Creek Christian Community Center, a special “Evening with the Experts” is being held. One of the featured experts and a Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) member is Col. Rudolph J. Dichtl, the physics professor who first introduced Creech to the Shroud all those years ago when she was just a teenager.

In the Shroud of Turin, Creech has found her life’s work. And she is well-prepared for it through her MFAC from UST’s Nesti Center for Faith and Culture.

Creech said, “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips those He calls.”