St. Peter’s Basilica: the Rite of the Holy Face will be held on 22 March

On the Fifth Sunday of Lent, 22 March, the exposition of the Major Relic of the “Holy Face” (the Veil of Veronica) will be held.

VATICAN, 18 MAR – On Sunday 22 March, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, St. Peter’s Basilica will be the station church. This is a rite of very ancient tradition in the Roman Church during the Lenten season, through which the faithful and pilgrims, every day for forty days, gather and pause in one of the churches of the City where relics of martyrs and saints are venerated.

At 6:00 p.m., during the chanting of the litanies, the faithful will process through the naves of the Basilica.

From the Veronica Loggia, the relic of the Holy Face (the Veil of Veronica) will be displayed.

This will be followed, at the Altar of the Chair, by the Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, in the presence of the canons of the Basilica, the priests who wish to concelebrate, and the holy people of God.