Local man plans March 15 event at Cathedral
DAVID CITY (SNR) – Jim Bertrand of Lincoln gave presentations Feb. 12 at Aquinas Middle and High School and at St. Mary Parish in David City, using a life-sized replica of the Shroud of Turin.
The Shroud of Turin is believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.
Bertrand, a member of St. Peter Parish in Lincoln and a science teacher at Pius X High School in Lincoln, is an affiliate of the Turin Shroud Center (TSC) headed by Dr. John Jackson in Colorado Springs, Colo.
In 1978, Dr. Jackson led a 40-person team of international scientists to Turin where they, under the auspices of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), examined the Shroud for nearly a week. No one since that time has secured such full scientific research access to the cloth. Significant amounts of different scientific data were extracted. Dr. Jackson became the primary custodian of this data and, along with his scientific colleagues in Colorado, he has continued the thrust of Shroud research and is director of the Turin Shroud Center.
Dr. Jackson’s wife Rebecca, a convert to Christianity from Orthodox Judaism, serves as associate director. She runs the TSC Exhibit Presentation Center and also conducts her own research into the first Century Jewish aspects of the Shroud.
The mission of The Turin Shroud Center of Colorado is dedicated to continuing its research on the Shroud of Turin and publishing its findings. They are also dedicated to educating the public on all the historic, forensic and scientific data concerning the Shroud.
“We think,” the TSC website says, “that the current complex of historic, forensic and scientific knowledge about the Shroud justifies the rational judgment that the Shroud once wrapped the body of Jesus of Nazareth in the tomb.”
Bertrand visited Aquinas School Feb. 12 and gave an educational presentation on the history of the Shroud of Turin and the forensic and scientific data surrounding the Shroud. In his presentation, Bertrand estimated that half of today’s teens have never heard about the Shroud of Turin.
“It was an awesome day there in David City, getting to see students all day long and nurturing their faith,” he said. “That evening there was a wonderful turnout at St. Mary’s, some 140 people came - despite the fact that Aquinas had a home basketball game and many were out of town that evening for a funeral.”
Bertrand plans a similar presentation in Lincoln March 15. He will speak at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ, 3500 Sheridan Blvd., at 6:30 p.m. The event is open to the public, and all are welcome to attend.