Shroud of Mystery

Cheryl H. White, PhD, is professor of history at Louisiana State University at Shreveport, where she holds the endowed Hubert Humphreys Professorship. Her primary field is medieval and early modern Europe, and she has been engaged in Shroud scholarship for nearly 30 years. She is a member of the American Confraternity of the Holy Shroud, a board member of the Shroud of Turin Research and Education Association, and the co-host of a popular international podcast series, Who Is the Man of the Shroud?

Russ Breault has been researching and lecturing on the Shroud of Turin for over 30 years. His highly acclaimed presentation known as "Shroud Encounter" makes use of over 200 superb images and unfolds like a CSI investigation. Carefully designed to be educational and entertaining, he delivers a dynamic, fast-paced experience.  

He has presented to hundreds of audiences from New York to Hawaii. College and university presentations include Duke, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, Cal State, and many others.

He has appeared in several nationally televised documentaries, including Mysteries of the Ancient World on CBS.  Most recently, he appeared in the highly acclaimed, Uncovering the Face of Jesus — a two-hour documentary on The History Channel. Mr. Breault was both advisor and a primary expert for this groundbreaking program. He was a primary expert for EWTN’s documentary, The Holy Winding Sheet. He has also been interviewed for Good Morning America and World News Tonight and was a consultant for CNN’s "Finding Jesus" episode on the Shroud. 

He has participated in over a dozen international research symposiums since 1981 and three public exhibitions in Turin, Italy, in 1998, 2000, and 2010. 

He is a member of the Shroud Science Group, an international consortium of scientists and scholars dedicated to further research. He is also a senior adviser to Sign From God Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to advancing awareness of the Shroud. 

Mr. Breault is the president and founder of the Shroud of Turin Education Project Inc. The mission is to: “Advance the knowledge of the shroud to a new generation.”  

Very Rev. Peter B. Mangum is the rector of the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans in the Diocese of Shreveport. He attended Holy Trinity Seminary at the University of Dallas and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, receiving degrees in sacred theology and canon law. He also serves as the judicial vicar, chancellor of canonical affairs, and director of vocations.  Since 2018, he has overseen the Shroud art and educational collection at the cathedral, and, with credentials to the Vatican Secret Archives, has studied medieval documentation related to the Shroud, resulting in international journal publication. In 2018, Father Mangum hosted a major event at the cathedral to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), and has been privileged to meet with both the religious and scientific communities in Turin to forge collaborations. He has given numerous talks on the topic to all sorts of groups, including Catholic seminaries, seeing the Shroud as the most important tool of evangelization today.  

Joseph Marino has a BA in theological studies from St. Louis University and is a long-time sindonologist (one who studies the Shroud of Turin). He has researched, written, and lectured extensively on the Shroud since 1977. He currently works at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1977, he saw a book on the Shroud of Turin, which he had never heard of before, even though he was raised as a Catholic. He read the book in one sitting and became fascinated. In January 1980, he started living at the Benedictine monastery St. Louis Priory, which later became known as the St. Louis Abbey. In 1986, he attended his first Shroud conference and met many of the top scientists and researchers involved. In the early 1990s, he felt drawn to the priesthood and was subsequently ordained in 1994.

In 1997, Marino received a call from M. Sue Benford, who informed him of her spiritual insights about the Shroud. After many discussions via phone and emails about the Shroud and other spiritual matters, he began to experience God in a whole new way. Joseph felt powerfully drawn to leave the monastery to pursue Shroud research and other spiritual paths with Benford.

Marino believes the Shroud can be shown to be the burial cloth of Jesus — then it would be an interesting archaeological object — however, he believes that it's more important for the spiritual message it can bring. As a former Benedictine monk and Catholic priest, Joseph believes organized religion has often depicted Jesus as an unreachable deity whose standards we can never reach. With his work he hopes to show that the Shroud represents a more human Jesus, who is someone we can not only approach, but, as indicated in the Gospel of John, a person we can even surpass in doing great things.

"It is my hope and desire that our work can get this message across, and, it is my belief that this is the destiny to which I've been called, which is why I have been given the passion I possess for the Shroud.”