Not your fault... pictures of the Manoppello "Veronica's Veil" are extremely hard to find... and are not too well labeled when you do find them. Even the Catholic Exchange that published the article published a picture of the wrong "veil" reliquary.
The Official "Veronica's Veil", kept in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.
The Manoppello "Veronica's Veil", kept in the Sanctuary of the Holy Face, Manoppello, Italy.
There is a distinct difference. The Manoppello Veil is either the extremely rare Byssus cloth that was generally reserved for royalty 2000 years ago, or Cambric, a 16th Century French cotton that bears a very close resemblance to Byssus, but still a very costly cloth that would likely be used by a wealthy medieval woman to coyly "veil", but not hide, her face, neither of which is likely to be encountered on the Via De la Rosa. On the other hand, The Vatican's Veil appears to be (from those who have observed it closely) plain linen, something you would expect an average woman out shopping to wear to cover her head in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Which is more likely to be the "true" Veronica's Veil?
My considered opinion is that:
- Contrary to Pfieffer's theory, which is based purely on coincidence of dates and a 10 year later report of a broken reliquary glass, NOTHING was stolen from the Vatican during the reconstruction of Veronica's Chapel in 1608.
- In the previous century, someone, probably unaware of the provenance of the object, came into possession of the 100 year old, "miraculous," self-portrait of Raphael painted on either Cambric or Byssus, either of which were often used to make very fancy veils.
- That person saw this "miraculous" portrait and jumped to the conclusion that it was the "True" Veronica's Veil. It became their most valued possession.
- The owners of the "veil" used it to "ransom" a soldier from a nobleman of Manoppello. He obviously thought it extremely valuable. Perhaps the soldier was imprisoned because he bragged of his family's possession in the hearing of the "nobleman".
- The nobleman kept the "Veil" for 30 years, and in 1638, donated it to the local church, perhaps in anticipation of his own death.
- The church elders were, of course, delighted to acquire such an important relic to attract pilgrims and donations to their parish.
Monkapotamus' side-by-side comparison is good... I just wish we had a better view of the cloth inside the glass.