Veronica’s Veil “shown to the people at St. Peter’s in Rome”: Unrecorded.
[Veil of Veronica] / [Rome]. Hei[li]ges Angesicht Christi so zu Rom in St. Peterskirche mit ehrerbittigkeit dem Volck gezeigt wird. S.l. [German lands]: s.n., s.a. [18th century]. [15.4 x 12.1 cm], [1] f. engraving in contemporary hand color. Minor toning, centerfold with tape mend on verso, remnants of mounting on verso, minor edge wear
Unrecorded 18th-century German devotional engraving—here in contemporary hand-color—depicting, as the captions states, the “Holy Face of Christ as reverently shown to the people at St. Peter’s Church in Rome,” i.e., the relic of Veronica’s Veil preserved in the southwest pier supporting the dome of the basilica of S. Pietro in Vaticana.
The relic of the Veronica’s Veil, also known as the sudarium, was imprinted on a cloth when she wiped the sweat from Christ’s face as he carried to his cross to the Crucifixion. Today it is displayed to the faithful at St. Peter’s on the fifth day of Lent.
The text on the right half of the print reads (in translation): “Prayer for the suffering of Christ. O great suffering! O deep wounds! O shedding of blood! O sweetest sweetness. O bitterness of death! I ask, O Jesus: Let not your precious blood, bitter suffering, and death be lost on my poor soul when it departs from this world, but instead give me eternal life through it. Amen. Pope Eugenius III has granted that whoever prays this prayer with devotion will attain eternal joy. Amen.”
(“Gebeth, zum Leiden Christi. O Grosses Leiden. O Tiefe Wunden! O Vergissung des Bluts! O Süsseste Süssigkeit. O Bitterkeit des Todts! Ich bitte O Jesu: Lass an mir armen Sünder dein kostbahres Blut, bitteres Leiden und Sterben an meinen armen Seel wann sie von dieser Welt wird scheiden nicht verlohren sein: sondern gieb mir dardurch das Ewige Leben. Amen. Pabst Eugenius der dritte hat verleihen der deiss gebett mit andacht bettet erlanget die Ewige Freüde. Amen.”)
While it is possible that this engraving was sold to German pilgrims visiting Rome, it is more likely that it was marketed to believers who hoped to accrue the benefits of contemplating Veronica’s Veil virtually, through the medium of print.
This print is not located by the OCLC, KVK or the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
*A. Murphy, H. L. Kessler, et al., eds., The European fortune of the Roman Veronica in the Middle Ages; E. Kuryluk, Veronica and Her Cloth: History, Symbolism, and Structure of a True Image; D. da Bomba, Relatione historica d’una miracolosa imagine del volto di Christo.