Newly found evidence suggests that the cloth believed to have been laid upon Jesus Christ after His death–the Shroud of Turin– has been found to possibly date back 2,000 years.
Measuring 4.3 meters long and 1.1 meters wide and first recorded in 1354, this cloth’s history dates back hundreds of years, in regards to its authenticity, and likely raised more questions than anyone can count.
Carbon dating was the process used to find the first approximate age of the Shroud of Turin. Also known as radiocarbon dating, the process was conducted by counting the amount of radioactive carbon inside of the object along with the amount of organic material paired with it.
Though some may believe that it would be impossible to find the age of a cloth that is possibly thousands of years old, chemistry teacher Dr. Caroline Gochoco-Tsuyuki shared her take on the use of carbon dating. “Carbon is one of the most stable elements. There’s relative accuracy if you think thousands of years or even millions of years ago because of how stable carbon can be,” she said.
Some have viewed this discovery as monumental proof of their faith. They have high hopes that this will reflect positively on Catholicism, and Christianity as a whole.
AJ Datoc ’27 said, “I think that it’s a really cool foreshadowing of what could come next.”
The newfound information of the Shroud of Turin reveals that the belief of it being authentic may just be true. Using WAXS, or wide angle x-ray scattering, the printing of the blood found across the Shroud of Turin was found to match the wounds that Jesus Christ may have had inflicted.
In regards to the news of the newfound information, Deacon Chris Mariano expressed his faith by saying, “I think the evidence with the new dating really gives hope and understanding that God works.”
