And new study of an Italian researcher, who analyzes the blood on the Shroud or Shroud of Turin, maintains that the stains on the famous Shroud are consistent with the torture and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, as described in the Gospels.
Giulio Fanti, professor of mechanical and thermal measurements at the University of Padua, states that a macroscopic and microscopic analysis of the blood stains accurately reflects “the physical conditions related to Jesus Christ,” which are “consistent with the description of Jesus Christ in the Holy Bible and, in particular, in the four canonical Gospels.”
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Fanti has written more than 50 studies on the Shroud of Turin and has also published books on the subject. The Shroud, a burial cloth that many believe was used to wrap Christ’s body after he was crucified, has been the subject of significant academic debate in recent decades, with some defending its authenticity and others claiming it is a medieval forgery.
The Shroud is printed with the body and face of a man wearing a crown of thorns and is covered in blood stains. It is preserved in the Chapel of the Shroud in Turin, Italy, where many Catholics venerate it as a sacred relic of Christ’s crucifixion. The Vatican has no official position on its authenticity.
According to Fanti’s study, the blood stains on the side and front of the Shroud show blood flowing in three different directions: vertical, with the body upright; inclined at a 45 degree angle; and horizontal, with the corpse resting on its side.
Fanti states that “the small threads show a sudden change in their direction; “It is likely that the blood currents occurred when the corpse was moved.”
The study adds that the three different colors of blood suggest three “different types of blood”: which are “blood leaks” postmortem” by the movement of the body; the less obvious ones that seem to be “blood stains” post mortem”—which probably occurred “when Jesus was still nailed to the cross”—; and “blood serum leaks.”
He adds that the stains appear to show flagellation marks consistent with flagellation on the spine and that the amount of blood matches the amount of this fluid that would have resulted from the wounds described in the Gospels.
Additionally, the nanoparticles found in the blood, “recognized as creatinine,” are consistent with “the very severe torture suffered by Jesus,” according to the study. He adds that “the hypothesized high level of urea” in some of the samples “implies kidney malfunction or blockage, which is a condition compatible with intense flagellation… in the kidney area, causing microcytic anemia.”
“This microcytic anemia, also increased by prolonged fasting, would indicate the extreme difficulties that Jesus had in exchanging oxygen, which most likely resulted in extremely labored breathing,” the study continues.
“Jesus had to increase his breathing considerably,” the study highlights, “and, consequently, increase the frequency of his heartbeat, which led to a heart attack as the main cause of his death.”
Father Robert Spitzer, Jesuit priest and president of the Magis Center of Reason and Faithcommented to CNA – the English agency of EWTN News – that “all these indications (found in Fanti’s study) coincide with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.” The priest has been a strong defender of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin.
The priest further stated that creatinine in the blood “generally indicates severe polytrauma (serious injuries in multiple places),” adding that “the blood came from a person who had suffered tremendous polytrauma.”
“The man was certainly struggling to breathe (as well),” Father Spitzer noted, citing the study’s findings. “He had suffered real torture… It can be said that he lost a tremendous amount of blood… especially from the flogging, the whippings that he received.”
According to Father Spitzer, the blood evidence points to the “crucifixion of Jesus on the cross.” In defending the authenticity of the Shroud, he commented that “a medieval forger” could not have anticipated 21st-century scientific studies on the cloth: “(He) certainly would not have used blood serum from a victim who experienced severe polytrauma.”
Father Spitzer referenced other recent studies to defend the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, particularly the 2022 wide angle x-ray scattering analysispublished by Italian researchers from the National Research Council in Bari. The team of researchers was led by Liberato De Caro.
The study used wide-angle Christ. These findings contradicted a famous 1988 carbon dating studywhich placed the age of the Shroud in the 13th or 14th century.
Father Spitzer also noted to CNA that X-ray scattering is “a really ideal dating test” and that it “really adds credibility to the other data that has been obtained.”
He also referenced studies analyzing pollen DNA, saying the Shroud “had to have been outdoors for three or four centuries at least” in the Judea and Jerusalem area to explain the presence of pollen from native plants.
Additionally, Fr. Spitzer criticized the 1988 carbon dating study as unreliable, claiming that contamination can affect carbon dating and that the researchers only took material from a small portion of the Shroud rather than taking multiple samples from different parts of it.
He also noted that the Shroud of Turin was damaged in a fire in the 16th century and then repaired with material from that era, and stated that the fabric used in the carbon dating study “is definitely not the same as the canvas with which the rest of the Shroud is made”, but rather a fabric added during repair in the Middle Ages.
Despite public debate over its authenticity, the Shroud continues to attract pilgrims from around the world and remains a subject of public interest.
The Shroud was honored at the National Eucharistic Congress last month at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, United States, with a 4.2-meter replica and a high-tech educational display.
The Shroud also gained public attention again last week when the New York Post public an image created with artificial intelligence intended to recreate the face of Jesus Christ based on the impression on the Shroud of Turin.
In 2022, the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, will host an exhibition on the Shroud of Turin for five months.
Translated and adapted by ACI Prensa. Originally published in CNA.
Tyler Arnold
Tyler Arnold is a reporter for the National Catholic Register. He previously worked at The Center Square and has published in various outlets, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative and The Federalist.