Scottish Catholic Observer

Pupils at St Margaret Mary’s Secondary School, Castlemilk, were introduced to a replica of the shroud on Thursday November 28, which many believe to be the burial garment used after Jesus was Crucified.

The school was joined by pupils and staff from St Paul’s High, St Oswald’s Secondary, Holyrood Secondary and St Andrew’s Academy in Paisley, as they enjoyed their second annual prayer breakfast.

Archbishop Tartaglia of Glasgow joined proceedings and listened to the talk from Henry James Creechan, owner of the replica shroud.

The real shroud resides in Turin Cathedral, Italy. It is a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man widely believed to be Jesus Christ. The replica shroud linked in with the prayer breakfast’s theme, ‘Seeing is Believing.’

Feedback

Mr Creechan said his talk went ‘very well’ as he discussed the theology, history and science behind the shroud.

“The feedback was phenomenal,” he said. “It was hard to cram the talk and presentation into a 40-minute slot, but the feedback I received afterwards was great. Angela Deighan, the teacher who organised the talk, was delighted and the shroud will be at the school for another week or so.”

Mr Creechan, a former Maths and Physics teacher, now fits and designs bespoke kitchens and bathrooms, and in his free time he brings the replica of the Turin Shroud to various parishes and schools who are interested in the artefact.

His interest in the shroud stems from his own childhood, having learnt about it in RE at school.

Inspiration

He joked: “I think it was the only RE lesson I remembered! That was 35 years or so ago, and there were no pictures of the shroud. Many years later I was in a bookshop in Glasgow and picked up a book on it that captivated me. So I went on the internet and found a real, life-size replica. I couldn’t believe it—so I got it sent over from America and after seeing the quality was good I figured I could do something with it.”

After being inspired to spread the word of the shroud, Mr Creechan had the replica placed in a glass case and bought a life-sized copy of the photographic negative, which shows the face of the man thought to be Jesus.

Mr Creechan said the shroud is a ‘great evangelisation tool,’ and added: “My plan is to get it into as many parishes and schools as possible, but because of my work commitments I’ve had it in about four parishes and two or three schools.”

Seeing is believing

Angela Deighan, a Physics teacher and Caritas coordinator at St Margaret Mary’s and organiser of the prayer breakfast, said: “As the theme of the breakfast was ‘Seeing is Believing,’ the talk on the Shroud worked well as it reflected on how our Lord uses miracles to help us believe.

“The pupils loved it. Some of them said they loved the science behind the shroud, the fact that Henry was so inspired by it, and many of them hadn’t heard of it before. I’d recommend the prayer breakfast and talk to other schools as it is a great catalyst for discussion.”

If you would like the Turin Shroud replica to visit your school or parish, contact: [email protected]