Two million people set to see Shroud of Turin

Turin (Italy), Feb 18(ANI): Some two million people are expected to view the Holy Shroud of the Cathedral of Turin, the purported burial cloth of Jesus Christ, when it goes on public display from April 10 to May 23 for the first time in 10 years.

The shroud is kept in a bulletproof climate-controlled case, and viewing is free by reservation, which can be made online, The Daily Express reports.

According to the organizers, visitors to the Turin cathedral will get three to five minutes to admire the shroud, but it will also depend on how packed the cathedral is.

Organizers are expecting as many as two million over the 44 days, with interest bolstered by the presence of the Pope on May 2.

Traditionally, the public gets a view of the shroud every 25 years, but the last showing was arranged after only two years in 2000 for the new millennium - a holy year for the Roman Catholic church.

The rectangular piece of cloth measuring 4.4 by 1.1 metres was discovered in the French city of Troyes, southeast of Paris, in the mid-14th century. (ANI)