LINCOLN (SNR) – Jim Bertrand of Lincoln, a member of the American Confraternity of the Holy Shroud, will appear on EWTN Live with Father Mitch Pacwa Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. (CT).
Bertrand, M.Ed., a retired science teacher, will speak about the Shroud of Turin, a linen burial cloth that is believed to have covered the body of Jesus after His crucifixion. Bertrand has given more than 100 presentations on the artifact. Measuring 14.5 feet long and 3.5 feet long, the Shroud bears the image of a crucified man, with evidence of wounds on the head, hands, feet and side.
Scientists have studied the Shroud since the early 1900s. While some claim the cloth is a forgery, many others point to a host of evidence that says otherwise.
Bertrand said he first read about the Shroud in a National Geographic magazine article in 1981. The publication featured photos from a 1978 scientific study called the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP).
In 2014, Dr. John Jackson, STRUP team leader, and Bishop Michael Sheridan of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, founded the American Confraternity of the Holy Shroud to help people learn about the shroud and grow closer to Jesus.
Bertrand, who struck up a friendship with Jackson during the scientist’s 1996 visit to speak about the Shroud in Lincoln, summarized into a PowerPoint presentation the 148-page Critical Summary on the Shroud, a collection of four decades of research. The presentation became a pilot program of training people to present factual information about the Shroud. Bertrand himself has presented in parishes throughout the state and even across the country.
He also purchased an exact replica of the shroud with the help of the Knights of Columbus Council #10510 and the PCCW of St. Peter Parish in Lincoln. When Bertrand retires from giving Shroud presentations, he said the replica will be returned to his parish and put on permanent display.
EWTN Live airs each Wednesday night. In the program, Father Pacwa, a Jesuit priest fluent in 13 languages who has made more than 50 Holy Land pilgrimages, interviews various guests seeking to teach and prepare viewers for evangelism. It aims to help viewers learn more about the faith and reawaken their desire to bring others to the Church.
Bertrand, who will visit EWTN between giving Shroud talks in Wichita and Birmingham, is looking forward to the opportunity.
“I hope to share some lesser-known things about the Shroud, as well as answer some live call-in questions,” he said.
