Vicki Yamasaki, Founder, Corpus Christi for Unity and Peace, CUP@corpuschristiforunityandpeace.org
"By offering My Face to My Eternal Father, nothing will be refused, and the conversion of many sinners will be obtained." - Jesus to Sister Marie of St. Peter
On that fateful day, the crowd either jeered at Our Lord or watched in fearful silence as He stumbled under the weight of the Cross. Even Simon of Cyrene had to be compelled to carry the burden for our Savior. Yet amidst the hostility and chaos, one woman stepped forward—a beacon of compassion and courage. Overflowing with love for Our Lord, she offered her veil as a small, tender act of kindness and mercy. In that moment, His image was imprinted upon Veronica’s veil, forever capturing His divine countenance for us to adore.
Hidden away within the Vatican, lay Veronica’s veil for centuries until 1849 when it was most needed to be revealed.
Revolutionaries and Blasphemies
In 1848, a revolution swept through Catholic France, directly targeting the pope and driving him from Rome into exile.
The revolution in the Papal States was part of a broader movement characterized by a rise of Godless nationalist sentiments and the push for unification in Italy during the mid-19th century. These forces aimed to eliminate the temporal power of the papacy and promote secular governance.
What are the Papal States?
The revolution was fueled by the growing influence of freemasonry and socialist ideologies, which stood in stark opposition with the Church’s teachings and authority. Their aim: to promote a secular agenda that undermined the Church’s influence in public life. The Church faced significant challenges from these movements, which aimed to establish a new order that often conflicted with traditional ecclesiastical authority and moral teachings.
Freemasons and communists, with their revolutionary concepts, were sweeping through Europe replacing the reverence for God and the sanctity of the Lord’s Day with an atheistic worldview. This shift was becoming deeply ingrained in the fabric of life.
Communist Powder Keg
The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848, a year marked by widespread revolutionary activity across Europe, including in Italy, where the Carbonari and other groups were challenging the established order, including the papacy.
During this period, the intellectual groundwork for communism was being laid, with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels articulating their critiques of capitalism and advocating for a classless society. The Communist League, which commissioned the Manifesto, sought to unify various socialist and communist factions, reflecting the growing discontent with existing socio-economic structures.
The impact of these revolutionary ideas was profound, leading to significant social and political upheaval. The Church, recognizing the threat posed by these ideologies, condemned both socialism and communism for their materialistic and atheistic foundations, which were seen as undermining the dignity of the human person and the moral order established by God.
In our present time, we find ourselves confronted by comparable threats—both communist and masonic—that encircle us from all directions, both within America and beyond our borders. Jesus, it seems, is urging us to awaken to this encroaching Godless tyranny.
The Revelations Made to Sr. Marie of St. Peter
In the midst of this revolutionary period, Jesus would appear (1843-1848) to a French Carmelite nun, Sr. Marie of St. Peter to warn her of the outrages against God and the threat of Divine Punishment from a God who is “already too much offended.”
Receiving full approval from the Church, the revelations from Jesus to Sr. Mary Peter, fall into 3 distinct phases:
- Our Lord reveals His desire that reparations be made for his blasphemy, and that confraternity be founded to carry out the ‘work of reparation.’
- He reveals that His Holy Face is to be the exterior object of adoration for the ‘work of reparation.’
- He reveals that, He intends to punish mankind through the “malice of revolutionary men” and particularly by means of Communism, and that this evil can be averted by the “work of reparation.”
Jesus shared with Sr. Marie that blasphemy is a poisoned arrow that is ever wounding to Jesus’ Divine Heart. Jesus gave Sr. Mary, a Golden Arrow prayer to wound His Heart delightfully and heal the wounds that have been inflicted by sinner’s malice.
On October 27, 1845, Jesus vividly portrayed before Sr. Marie the pious and charitable act of Veronica who wiped His Holy Face. He told Sr. Marie that He wished many souls would imitate the zeal of the pious Veronica. He wishes us to render to Him the same service as the heroic Jewish women. When we promote the take part in this Reparation to His Holy Face, we are His Veronica’s.
After Sr. Marie of St. Peter’s death on July 8, 1848, her work was carried on by layman, Venerable Leo DuPont also known as the “The Apostle of the Holy Face.” DuPont established a shrine to the Holy Face in his home, through which many certified miracles took place. In 1875, the Archbishop of Tours, Msgr. Charles Colet, formally approved the revelations and ordered Sr. Marie of St. Peter’s account of the events to be published. In 1876, after DuPont’s death, Archbishop Colet, established the Shrine in DuPont’s home as the Oratory of the Holy Face. He also founded a new order, the Priests of the Holy Face, to serve at the Shrine. Leo DuPont was declared “Venerable” during Pope Pius XII pontificate.
Revolutionaries Within Footsteps of the Vicar of Christ
Six months after Sr. Marie of St. Peter’s death, the hatred of revolutionary men would be directed against Pope Pius IX.
The threat to the papacy and Church was very real. The assassination of Count Pellegrino Rossi, a trusted advisor to the Pope, by members of the Carbonari marked a turning point. Following this event, Pope Pius IX was besieged in the Quirinal Palace and was forced to accept a revolutionary ministry, which he did reluctantly. His situation became untenable, leading to his escape to Gaeta in 1848 where he lived in exile for a time.
About the Carbonari
The Miracle: The Holy Face Illuminates
In January 1849, from his retreat in Gaeta, Pope Pius IX requested public prayers for the Papal States and had the relic of Veronica’s veil placed for public veneration in Rome. Those in attendance were astonished on the third day of the exposition when the image on the veil became transformed.
“The Divine Face appeared distinctly, as if living, and was illuminated by a soft light. The features assumed a death-like hue, and the eyes, deep sunken, wore an expression of great pain.”
On the evening the miracle occurred, copies of Veronica’s Veil were made and were touched to the three instruments of Our Lord’s passion. They were touched to Veronica’s Veil, touched to the true Wood of the Cross, and touched to the spear that pierced Christ’s side. Pope Pius IX stated that on Palm Sunday for the next 50 years after the miracle copies of Veronica’s Veil would e touched to these instruments and would be sent around the world to be venerated. Only a rare few of these images remain today. Remarkably, one of these images, having been in contact with the three instruments of Our Lord’s Passion in 1855, now resides in my home for a week, where it is venerated.
CUP will also be offering veneration of the Sacri Vultus (Holy Face Relic) at the October 3 CUP Event, Fr. Ted: Faith & Elections.
Archconfraternity Established
Pope Leo XIII in 1885 established the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face. Its members made reparation for the blasphemies hurled at Jesus. St. Therese of Lisieux and her family were among the first members of the Confraternity.
One of the promises given to St. Gertrude the Great was that those who promote the Image of the Holy Face, will shine brighter than others in heaven. “By their likeness to My Face, they shall shine with a brightness surpassing that of many others in Eternal Life.”
Consoling His Holy Face
Let us console His wounded Heart and His Wounded Holy Face by asking St. Veronica to pray for the growth in the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.
The Litany of the Holy Face of Jesus along with the Golden Arrow prayer, is an important part of Devotion to our Lord in His Holy Face.
CUP extends heartfelt gratitude to Mary Mutti, whose life’s work has been dedicated to fostering veneration of the Holy Face Devotion. Without her steadfast leadership in this ministry, we would not be able to provide this meaningful veneration experience or offer excellent education on the roots of this devotion.