The linen cloth that reputedly enshrouded the body of Jesus Christ when it was taken down from the Cross. First brought to ecclesiastical attention in the 14th century, the cloth was discovered in a church in Lirey, France. More than 14 feet long and about four-and-a-half feet wide, the cloth is heavily stained with blood, scorch and water marks, and the full-body image, front and back, of a naked man that resembles popular images of Christ. No one knows for sure where the cloth came from, but tradition of the time suggested that a knight, perhaps a Knight Templar, had brought it back from the Holy Land during one of the Crusades.
While it was not officially acknowledged as a Holy Relic by the Church of that time, the shroud was considered valuable and sacred by many people of the area. Over the next several decades, it was passed from one noble family to another and was finally taken to Torino (Turin), Italy, where a special chapel was built for it. It has remained there until today.