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Veronica’s veil is known by all educated Catholic schoolchildren. It is part of the 14 Stations of the Cross that we pray during lent.

In the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” a scene is depicted of a local woman who sees the procession with Jesus carrying the cross, and she manages to get close to him and to wipe his face of the blood and sweat using her white veil. Go back and watch this scene. The woman is then shown watching as Jesus passes by and her veil is open with the imprint of his face on the veil. That is the story of Veronica, a name that comes from the Latin terms ‘Vero’ meaning “true”, and ‘iconi’ which means ‘icon’. Early Christians were in possession of this veil, and the actual name of the woman is not known, but believed that she became part of the Christian community. So she was called ‘Veronica’, meaning true image.