St. Veronica was a devout Christian who desired a painting of Jesus. According to the Bloomsbury Guide to Art, the legend says that Veronica passed by Jesus when he was carrying the cross to Calvary in Jerusalem in order to be crucified. When she saw Jesus struggling, Veronica wiped His face with a cloth, formally known as her “veil”. Afterwards, the image of Jesus’s face mysteriously appeared on Veronica’s cloth. The Catholic Encyclopedia suggests that there are small differences of the legend of St. Veronica that various countries developed throughout history. To Italians, Veronica is known to have cured an Emperor named Tiberius of a particular disease by touching him with the veil. In France, Veronica is known to have married Zacheus, and later she married a man named Martial and helped him preach. In the region of Bordeaux, the story is that Veronica brought the veil, that she wiped Jesus’s face with, to Soulac. She preached and later died and was buried in a tomb in the area. As the legend grew more popular around the world, St. Veronica’s veil became known as vera icon which means “true image.”
Veronica and her veil are significant to Christians and are revered by the Catholic Church. Veronica’s veil is known as one of the most valued Christian relics. The cloth is also known by Roman Catholics as the “sudarium”, “volto santo”, or “vernicle”. The Catholics remember the story of St. Veronica and her veil by making it a part of the Stations of the Cross, a Catholic tradition which tells the story of Jesus’s crucifixion. The Catholic Church honored Veronica by naming her a saint. They also celebrate her memory on the feast day of St. Veronica. Catholics and other Christians relate Veronica to a woman in the Bible named Haemorrhissa, who was cured by Jesus.
According to the Bible Prob web blog post on the history of the religious relic, Pope Boniface VIII had the relic brought to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in 1297. It was first displayed on the first Holy Year in 1300. During the remodeling of St. Peter’s Basilica, the relic was stolen. In 1616, Pope Paul V prohibited copies of the veil to be made. Pope Urban VII had all copies of the veil destroyed in 1623. Four centuries after the original relic was stolen from the Basilica, Father Pfeiffer, professor of Christian Art History at the Pontifical Gregorian University claims to have found the orginal veil that was stolen in a monastery located in Italy. Today, the only representation of Veronica’s veil remains at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, in an old, fragile frame with cracked glass. It is located next to a marble statue of St. Veronica in the Basilica.