A Woman of Faith: St. Veronica

In this month in which we celebrate women and their history and Lenten preparations, we should look to a woman of powerful faith.  Of course, Mary is the ultimate paradigm of faith.  But, the enigmatic figure of St. Veronica must be remembered.  Saint Veronica is known as the woman who offered a cloth to Jesus so He could wipe His face on the way to His crucifixion. The cloth is believed to exist today in the Vatican and is considered one of the most treasured relics of the Church. Saint Veronica is not mentioned in the Bible, but is known to us by Catholic tradition and in the Sixth Station of the Cross, "Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus."

Legend states that as Christ was walking to Calvary, his face dripping with sweat and blood, Saint Veronica, a bystander, was moved with compassion. She approached Jesus and offered Him a cloth, likely her veil, which He accepted and used to wipe His face.  The image of his face was subsequently imprinted on the cloth.  It is possible that she was one of the “daughters of Jerusalem, addressed by Jesus in Luke 23:27-28.

She is honored In Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and certain other Christian traditions.  The account of St. Veronica is thought, by some, to be a legend originally derived from Historia ecclesiastica (written 312–324; Ecclesiastical History) by Eusebius of Caesarea. Eusebius tells us that at Caesarea Philippi there lived the woman whom Christ healed of a hemorrhage (Matthew 9:20). In the apocryphal Acts of Pilate (4th/5th century), this woman is identified with the name Veronica. Later tradition held that Christ gave the healed Veronica a miraculous cloth, which was allegedly used to cure the emperor Tiberius of leprosy, and the cloth was eventually understood as being the Veil of Veronica. In France, Veronica was reportedly married to the convert Zaccheus the tax collector (Luke 19:1–10). In the Bordeaux district, she supposedly brought relics of the Blessed Virgin to Soulac-sur-Mer, where she died and was buried.

There are no legends from the period which speak of Veronica either before or after her act of compassion. We do not know when she was born or when she died. She is literally lost to history.  However, the cloth may still exist today, kept safe at St. Peter's in Rome. This particular cloth bearing the likeness of Christ's face, although ancient and difficult to distinguish, is considered one of the most treasured relics in the Vatican. According to legend, it is the original relic, although throughout the ages many copies were created and some were passed along as genuine. Most of what we know about the veil was recorded in the medieval period, although it was first mentioned as being in the hands of Pope John VII in the early eighth century. The veil and the legend surrounding it became very popular in the thirteenth though fifteenth centuries when the veil was on public display. Indulgences were granted for people who performed devotions before it.  It was moved to St. Peter's in 1297 by command of Pope Boniface VIII. 

The fate of the veil was obscured by violence in 1527 by the Sack of Rome in which it may have been destroyed. Many reproductions were created at this time, and it is unfortunately unclear, to some historians, if the veil still kept by the Vatican is the original or a reproduction.

In 1616, Pope Paul V banned the production of all copies of the veil, which had become popular. In 1629, Pope Urban VIII went a step further and ordered the destruction of all copies, or that existing copies should be delivered to the Vatican. Anyone who disobeyed this order was to be excommunicated.  The Veil of Veronica has since been kept from the public and rarely has been seen since. There are six known copies in the world, and there is one kept in St. Peter's Basilica which is allegedly the same one from the Medieval period. If true, then it is possible this is the original relic. None of these relics have been photographed in detail or have been subjected to forensic testing.  The relic is kept in a frame, cut to match the outline of the original image on the cloth. The Vatican's relic is displayed, although briefly, on the 5th Sunday of Lent each year. According to those who have seen the relic up close, there is minimal detail. 

While she is not included in the Roman Martyrology, she is honored with a feast day. Her symbol is the veil bearing the face of Christ and the Crown of Thorns, she is honored with a feast on July 12. Her name has a long etymology.  Originally, the cloth was called, in Latin, the vera icona, “true image’.  This was slurred to the female name, “Veronica”.  It became the “veil of Veronica or the true image.  The explanation of a woman with the cloth, according to many, was spun from this name. Her icons show a woman holding a cloth upon which the face of Christ is imprinted. She is the patron of laundry workers and photographers.

Apart from the historical arguments, St. Veronica has great value.  She is a paragon of Christian faith.  Her image lives up to the ethic proposed by Jesus; “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40)  Veronica extended herself not to the brothers of Christ, but to Jesus Himself.