My Shroud story began in earnest in late January 2023 when I stumbled upon Father Andrew Dalton's appearance on Matt Fradd's YouTube channel, "Pints with Aquinas." I watched the first hour on the first night then an hour each night on the next two nights. The fact that the Shroud contains 3-dimensional data absolutely astonished me! How is that possible I wondered? I was fascinated, I was dumbfounded and then I had to ask myself this question, "how did I not know this?!" Immediately, my next thought was, "people have to see this!"
Before viewing this interview I had heard of the Shroud of Turin but for whatever reason I paid no attention to it.
When I learned from the interview that a pontifical university offered an online course named, "Post-graduate Certificate in Shroud Studies," I wanted in. Within days I signed up for the 2023-2024 course. Two months ago (May 2024) I completed the course. Earlier I had learned that the STURP official documenting photographer, Barrie Schwortz, offered for sale a full scale replica through his non-profit, STERA, Inc. (Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association) as well as life-size photographic negatives of the Shroud separated into front and back images. I had the idea to buy these items and donate them to my church. I figured that with a Shroud Studies course under my belt, I could give fully-qualified presentations about the Shroud to church members or maybe even to other churches in the area. It is a $4,000 investment so I needed some funding to do that. So, I sold my Harley. I ended up selling my motorcycle in the summer of 2023 for more than I needed to fund this project. In November 2023 I purchased all three items from STERA through Barrie. The items (Shroud replica and two life-size photographic negatives) arrived at my home on December 4, 2023 which was the 491st anniversary of the fire in Chambery, France (December 3-4, 1532) that nearly destroyed the Shroud.
While fully involved in the Shroud Studies course, I immediately went to work on acquiring the equipment needed to display the replica and photographs. I bought three easels and two telescoping photo background stands. I went through practice setups at home and at church enlisting the help of two friends that I knew from church. In January 2024 I formally offered to donate all the items to the church. They were excited! In February 2024 I gave my first Shroud presentation to the church leadership and staff. It was very well received.
Meeting Dr. Gilbert Lavoie
In December 2023 I had the good fortune of meeting and having lunch with Dr. Gilbert Lavoie, author of, "The Shroud of Jesus and the Sign John Ingeniously Concealed." During that meeting he agreed to come to our church in Fort Myers and give a Shroud presentation to our church (an inaugural presentation). So, on the Wednesday of Holy Week 2024, Dr. Lavoie gave a presentation to an overflowing audience in our church's chapel. It was a smashing success. Two days later, on Good Friday morning I gave only my second Shroud presentation. It went very well. I learned some lessons and I already have improvements lined up for whenever I do the next presentation. One of those improvements is for a sturdier display. While at our "cabin" in Maine this summer I designed and built a mobile wooden frame to display the replica and two life-size photographic negatives (see attached photo). I will be testing it and presenting with it upon my return to Fort Myers in October (2024). The mobile frame is designed to be assembled and disassembled without the use of tools.
Shareable Video of Shroud Replica Mobile Frame: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WCDq2xi7R6L3pYrd6