The Tilma and the Shroud - 7 Strange Similarities

In the many Catholic relics and artifacts that have been a part of our rich multi-cultural heritage two objects stand out. The Tilma of Juan Diego which features an image of Mary and the Shroud of Turin which features an image of Jesus. They are both pieces of cloth or fiber woven together, the work of human hands and yet they are both miraculous and supernatural, the work of divine or angelic hands. 

Here we have the New Adam (Jesus) and the New Eve (Mary) who both leave behind a cloth garment of sorts so that they could be unraveled, unfolded and unveiled only to reveal an incredible photo quality picture of themselves. 

Compare this to the first Adam and the first Eve who, immediately after they sinned, hid themselves in shame under clothing.

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (Gn 3:7-8).

The sinless Jesus and the sinless Mary have nothing to hide. They are both pure and radiant. They have shed their garments and left them to the Church, the Tilma and the Shroud. In doing so they have unveiled their splendor. 

Here are seven strange similarities that the tilma and the Shroud share...

1. Both defy scientific scrutiny: In the 1970’s, the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STRP) which included scientists from NASA did various tests to rule out what might have caused the image. In the end they were baffled and unable to explain how the image was produced. The project's findings included:The blood on the shroud is real. The image was not painted. The image was not created by heat. The shroud is made of a linen that was hand-spun and woven in a herringbone twill, a type of linen that was made in Roman times but not known in the Middle Ages. In 1983, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) published an interim report on studies on the tilma, noting  remarkable features: the rough cloth 'should have' decayed by now; the pigments and colours display unusual preservation for the age of the image.

2. Both survived a fire: The S.T.R.P. team found that the Shroud of Turin image was resistant to water and high heat, even after the shroud was exposed to both during a fire in 1532. The fire left scorch marks on the edges of the folds but did not affect the image. 
The Tilma survived a fiery explosion. On November 14, 1921, a bomb hidden within a basket of flowers and left directly under the Tilma by an anti-Catholic secularist exploded and damaged the altar of the Basilica and bent a metal crucifix, but the Tilma was unharmed.

3. Both have mysterious preservation:  The Tilma is made of a rough cactus fiber which normally disintegrates in 15 to 30 years. Yet, the image of Guadalupe has remained intact for 491 years without fading or cracking. The Shroud is made of linen fibers and dates back to 2000 years.In spite of its age it is still intact. 

4. Both have a quality of fresh life: The blood on the Shroud of Turin is red in color. How do blood stains stay red for 2000 years? When scientists took the temperature of the Tilma it was a constant 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the same as a human body temperature; this is considered a miraculous aspect of the image. 

5. Both have Indigenous fibers and trace evidence that connects them to where they originated: Both the Tilma and the Shroud are connected to the place of their origin. The cactus fiber from which the Tilma is woven is from the desert region of Mexico and the Shroud linen fibers as well as the herringbone weaving pattern were common in ancient Jerusalem. There is also pollen on the Shroud which is produced by certain plants indigenous to the Middle East. 

6. Both correspond to scripture : The Shroud of Turin has all the marks that correspond to all four Gospel accounts of the torture and crucifixion of Jesus. The nail holes, the wounded side, the crown of thorns and the scourging wounds all all accounted for. In addition to that in John’s Gospel there is a direct mention of the burial cloths still in the tomb after the resurrection. 
The biblical story that the Tilma tells is from the book of Revelation chapter 12. A woman who is pregnant and clothed with the sun is standing on a moon and crowned with stars. All of these cosmic features are in the image including the pregnancy which is shown by the bow tied around the woman’s waist. 

7. Both have a power to convert non-believers: The image of Our Lady of Guadelupe on the Tilma has been attributed for the conversion of millions of indigenous people in South America at a time when in Europe the Church was breaking apart in the post-Reformation period. Countless others around the world have been moved to grow in faith by the blessings of the image. As for the Shroud of turin, the number is less clear. It has been around much longer and it has been often used to evangelize a more sophisticated, scientific minded crowd. Both images continue to be employed in evangelization. 

There are countless other mysteries and miracles associated with both relics but these were just seven top of mind similarities between the two that scholars rarely connect.