Rome Police Force Uses Modern Investigative Techniques to Show the 12-Year-Old Jesus

Want to see what the boy Jesus really looked like?  The scientific unit of Rome’s police force has produced a computer-generated image which, they believe, shows for the first time what Jesus must have looked like at the age of twelve.

The Italian investigators have long used computer aging techniques, like those used in the United States, to determine what a criminal would look like, years after he was last seen.  The aging technique has helped them to identify Mafia criminals after decades on the run, by adding computer-generated wrinkles to their faces in older photos.

To create an image of the Child Jesus, the technique was reversed: Researchers used the image of Christ found on the Shroud of Turin, removing his beard and making other adjustments to make the person appear younger. (I do not have license to publish the image, but you can see it for yourself here.)

The Christian Times quotes Elena Guarnieri, host of a television news special on Jesus, who believed the researchers had achieved their goal.  Guarnieri noted that people have always been wondering how Jesus looked like as a boy, and said, “If that is the face on the shroud, then this is the face of Jesus as a child.”

But not everyone agrees.  The Christian Times quotes Paul Damon, a geoscientist who worked on the 1998 carbon-14 dating test on the Shroud.  Damon calls the police department’s reconstruction “malarkey,” noting that they’ve made Jesus blonde and, as a Jew, he would have most likely had dark hair.

As of this writing, the Vatican has not commented on the image.

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In order to protect the ancient linen from decay, the Shroud of Turin is usually kept in a closed case in the royal chapel (Chapel of the Shroud) at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.  On rare occasions, the Shroud is exhibited for the public to venerate.  I was able to see it in 2000, declared a Holy Year by Pope John Paul II, when it was mounted in a glass case in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.  The Shroud has just gone on exhibit again, and will be available for viewing until June 24.  (Pope Francis plans to visit Turin n June 21-22, and is expected to view the Shroud–so if you’re interested in going, you should probably make reservations before that date.)

The Shroud of Turin Blog carries information regarding how visitors can make reservations to see the Shroud.  Tickets are not yet available, but when reservations are opened, tourists can reserve their tickets at this site.