In 1898 the first photograph of the Holy Shroud made its sensational revelation. The Popes reaffirmed the authenticity of the Shroud all the more emphatically as the significance of the new evidence became clearer.
         Leo XIII, who had granted special indulgences for the exposition of 1898, afterwards wrote to Cardinal Richelmy, Archbishop of Turin, to express the consolation he felt over the great number of Catholic men and women who had come from all parts "to venerate the Sacred Shroud of Christ."
         The photograph taken by Secundo Pia was presented to Leo XIII. On that occasion Leo declared that this photograph, with its undeniable revelation of the true likeness of Christ, was a providential event and "A means well adapted in our time to stimulate everywhere a revival of the religious spirit."
         Benedict XV, like his saintly predecessor Pius X, desired that this Image be diffused throughout the world, and that it be venerated in all Christian homes.
         The profound veneration that Pius XI fostered for the Holy Shroud is noteworthy. During his lifetime, he made a careful study of this remarkable relic of which, in his latter years, he became a fervent and enthusiastic devotee. He took every opportunity to speak of the wonder of the Shroud and to exhort to the love of the Savior, Who left us this moving memorial of His Sufferings and Death. In his later days when he was afflicted and exhausted, the thought of the Shroud seemed never to leave his mind.
         The first recorded expression of the personal opinion of Pius XI is contained in a letter dated January 15, 1923, which Cardinal Gasparri wrote at his direction to acknowledge the gift of Milijay,s writings in defense of the Shroud: "With all his heart, His Holiness congratulates you for having expounded ever more clearly those two august memorials of the great mystery of our Redemption -- The Holy Shroud and the Holy Face".
         In a radio discourse held on December 24, 1932, and in the Encyclical "Quod Nuper", January 1, 1933, in which he promulgated the Jubilee in commemoration of the nineteenth centerary of the Redemption through the death of Christ on the Cross, Pius XI expressed the desire that the relics of the Passion and Death of Christ be publicly exposed to the veneration of the faithful during the Jubilee year. Privately he told Cardinal Fossati that he had the Shroud especially in mind, and he proposed that his Eminence approach King Vittorio Emanuele and request his consent to a public exposition. It was this desire of Pius XI that was decisive in bringing about the extraordinary exposition of 1933.
         On February 3, 1939, seven days before his death, he received Cardinal Villeneuve, Archbishop of Quebec, and several other Bishops of Canada. He gave them pictures of the Holy Face taken from the Holy Shroud, assuring them that they represent the true likeness of Christ. He explained how the diffusion of the imprint lends a singular force to the expression of the Face.
         On February 6, when he was almost face to face with death, he received a group of children ... the last audience of his glorious Pontificate. With the photograph of the Holy Shroud in his hand, that Pontiff of heroic achievements, that scholar of immense erudition, explained in words that the children could understand that this was the true image of the Holy Face of the Redeemer, brought to us by the Shroud of Turin. And this picture of the entire figure of the Savior ... how beautiful it is! How it speaks to the heart through all these marks of His Sufferings and His death!
         Pius XI died four days later, on February 10, 1939. He had prepared for that moment by meditating on the Passion and the Resurrection of Christ from the Sacred Scroll of the Shroud.
         Pius XII also joined the choir of Pontiffs who have proclaimed the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. In reply to the filial homage of the International Congress of Sindonological Studies held in Rome in 1950, Pius XII referred to the Shroud as "a glorious witness to the Passion of the Divine Redeemer", and he augured a new and valuable contribution by the congress which would foster "universal veneration to that great relic".
         On September 13, 1953, in a radio address to the National Eucharistic Congress held at Turin, Pius XII numbered among the glories of that city the fact that "it guards as a precious treasure the Holy Shroud, upon which we behold with deep emotion and solace the image of the lifeless Body and the broken Divine Countenance of Jesus".
         On February 6, 1959, His Holiness Pope John XXIII received in audience the Cultores of the Holy Shroud of Turin together with a group of devotees of the Holy Face from Ariola, Benevento. The group included members of the Clergy, Sisters and lay people. His Holiness spoke of his many visits to Turin where he had offered Mass at the Altar of the Holy Shroud. He also recalled the devotion St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis De Sales held for the Sacred Relic. His Holiness stated that he was especially pleased with the devotion to the Holy face, which is now shared by so many. At the termination of the audience, Pope John Paul XXIII gave a special blessing to the group, their families and friends, that they would thereby persevere in all their efforts for the diffusion of the Cult of the Shroud.
         On November 23, 1973, the Holy Shroud was shown on Italian television in a live broadcast from Turin. His Holiness Pope Paul VI delivered a message that had been recorded previously. An excerpt from the message follows:
         "... We personally still remember the vivid impression it made on us when in May, 1931 we had the good fortune to be present, on the occasion of a special celebration in honor of the Holy Shroud, at its projection on a large, luminous screen, and the Face of Christ represented thereon, appeared to us so true, so profound, so human and divine, such as we had not been able to admire and venerate in any other image; it was for us a moment of extraordinary delight...
         As we gather round this precious and pious relic, His mysterious fascination will grow in all of us, believers and unbelievers."