Saint of the day July 12: Saint Veronica. Catholic Saints

Every July 12 the Catholic Church remembers Saint Veronica, or, simply, ‘Veronica’ (Serafia); the woman who, moved by the pains of Christ on his way to Calvary, took pity on Him and came to wipe away the sweat and blood that covered her face. According to tradition, she used the veil on her head for this purpose, on which the face of Jesus would be ‘imprinted’ with blood, so it could be stated that said veil is like a ‘definitive relic’ of the God-made -man, similar to the case of the Shroud of Turin.

Saint Veronica’s veil was a light, very simple cloth, made in the style of the time, but after having the face of Christ engraved on it, it would become a famous object, of enormous importance and incalculable value, since who is able to see the face of the Lord. For this reason, also, it would begin to be known as ‘the Holy Face’ or ‘the Veil of Veronica’.

A woman named ‘Veronica’

The name ‘Veronica’ appears in an apocryphal text: The acts (acts) of Pilate, also known by the title Gospel of Nicodemus; not so in the canonical Gospels. And it’s quite likely that that wasn’t his real name. ‘Verónica’ seems to be more of a name awarded by tradition, coming from Latin, a product of the juxtaposition of the terms vera (true) and icon (image); ‘Veronica’ consequently means ‘true image’, ‘true icon’.

‘Veronica’ could also be the variation of the Macedonian name: ‘Berenice’. This has been documented since the 4th century and has a meaning full of symbolism: ‘the one that leads to victory’. In support of this possibility there are some texts from the Late Middle Ages, where it appears as the name of the hemorrhagic woman in the Synoptic Gospels, whom Jesus miraculously cured.

According to a certain tradition, Saint Veronica was a pious woman who lived in Jerusalem, and who, after the Passion of the Lord, went to Rome carrying with her the veil with the ‘Holy Face’. This would have been exposed for public veneration, touching the souls of many people, who would have converted to Catholicism just by seeing it. The story surrounding the ‘Veil of Veronica’ penetrated so deeply into the faith of the people that the exemplary action of the woman has been perpetuated in the prayer of the Church, as is the case of the sixth station of the Via Crucis.

Other miraculous stories

There are numerous traditions about the miraculous power of Saint Veronica and her veil. It is said that, while in Rome, the saint had a meeting with the Roman emperor Tiberius who was seriously ill. Veronica would have made him touch the sacred image and implore God’s mercy on him and Tiberius would have recovered his health on the spot. From that event, the saint decided to stay in the capital of the empire and remain close to the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Upon her death, her veil would have passed into the hands of Pope Clement I (ca. 88/921-97/99).

On the occasion of the first holy year in history, in 1300, the Veil of Veronica became one of the the wonders of the Roman city (wonders of the city of Rome) attracting large numbers of pilgrims to St. Peter’s Basilica.

Santa Faz de Manoppello

The Veil of Veronica, however, was moved several times over the following centuries until it was lost after the Holy Year celebrated in 1600.

Recently (1999), the German Jesuit priest Heinnrich Pfeiffer, professor of Art History at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, announced that he had found the sacred cloth in a church of the Capuchin Friars Minor in Manoppello (Italy), where it had remained since 1660. This church today bears the name ‘Church of the Holy Face’.

Pope Benedict XVI was the first Pontiff to visit this sanctuary to pray and give a speech in which he reflected on the essence of Christianity (September 2006).

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