Cristo — Chronology

Chronology

Key events in chronological order. A ? flag marks dates not yet verified against a primary source.

1. 6 BCE ?

   The life, as the sources date itBethlehem

   The birth of Jesus, as Matthew dates it: "in the days of King Herod"

   Matthew narrates that Jesus "was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod", and that the family fled to Egypt and returned only "when Herod had died". Scholars who follow Matthew's anchor place the birth a few years before 4 BCE.^{[3] [17] [18]}

   A range, not a date. Maas (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910) derives 7–5 BCE from Herod's death and Matthew 2:16; the encyclopedia's "General Chronology" reports that "many" place the birth in 4 BCE. Both put it before Herod's death, which Luke's census (6 CE) does not.

   Competing dates 7 BCE–4 BCE

   • 7 BCE–5 BCE Maas (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910), reckoning from Herod's death and Matthew 2:16^[17]
   • 4 BCE The date "many" hold, as the Catholic Encyclopedia's "General Chronology" reports^[18]
2. 4 BCE

   The life, as the sources date itJudea

   Death of Herod the Great

   Josephus places Herod's death shortly after an eclipse of the moon; the Catholic bishops' Bible notes that he "reigned from 37 to 4 B.C." Matthew's birth narrative is set in his reign, so the birth of Jesus falls before 4 BCE by Matthew's account.^{[11] [20] [3]}

   The majority date, from Josephus: the death follows a lunar eclipse that Whiston and the Catholic Encyclopedia identify as that of 12–13 March 4 BCE. A minority argues for 1 BCE (Filmer, 1966; Steinmann, 2009); those studies were not read for this dataset.

3. 6

   The life, as the sources date itBethlehem

   Luke's census "when Quirinius was governor of Syria"

   Luke narrates that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem to be enrolled in "the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria". Quirinius became legate of Syria in 6–7 CE, about a decade after Herod's death. The Catholic bishops' own Bible notes that there are "notorious historical problems" with this dating and that "the various attempts to resolve the difficulties have proved unsuccessful".^{[1] [11]}

   The census date is well attested (6–7 CE); that Jesus was born at it is Luke's narrative, which cannot be reconciled with Matthew's Herod-era birth.

4. 14

   The life, as the sources date itRome, Italy

   Tiberius succeeds Augustus

   Tiberius becomes emperor. Luke's "fifteenth year of Tiberius", which dates the start of John the Baptist's preaching, is counted from his reign.^{[2] [11]}

   19 August 14, per Whiston's note; the year is secure.

5. 18 ?

   The life, as the sources date itJerusalem

   Caiaphas becomes high priest

   Joseph Caiaphas is appointed high priest by the Roman prefect Valerius Gratus; his father-in-law Annas had held the office in 6–15. Both appear in the Gospels' account of the Passion.^{[22] [2]}

   "About A.D. 18" (Catholic Encyclopedia); the bishops' Bible note gives Caiaphas's high priesthood as 18–36.

6. 26

   The life, as the sources date itCaesarea Maritima, Israel

   Pontius Pilate becomes prefect of Judea

   Pilate succeeds Valerius Gratus; the bishops' Bible note calls him "prefect of Judea from A.D. 26 to 36". An inscription found at Caesarea in 1961 gives his title as prefect; Tacitus and later writers call him procurator.^{[2] [21] [11]}

7. 28 ?

   The life, as the sources date itJordan River

   "The fifteenth year of Tiberius": John the Baptist begins to preach

   Luke dates the start of John's preaching by a full set of anchors: the fifteenth year of Tiberius, when Pilate governed Judea and Herod Antipas Galilee, "during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas".^{[2] [17]}

   The bishops' Bible note puts the fifteenth year of Tiberius "between A.D. 27 and 29"; counted from an earlier co-regency it falls c. 26; Maas gives 25/26 or 29.

   Competing dates 25–29

   • 25–26 Maas (Catholic Encyclopedia), one of his two reckonings^[17]
   • 27–29 The U.S. bishops' Bible note on Luke 3:1^[2]
   • 29 Maas, his other reckoning^[17]
8. 28 ?

   The life, as the sources date itJordan River

   The baptism of Jesus and the start of his ministry

   The Gospels narrate that Jesus was baptized by John and began to preach; Luke says he was "about thirty years of age". The Synoptic Gospels can be read as describing a single year of ministry; John mentions three Passovers.^{[2] [17] [29]}

   A range, c. 27–29 on Luke's synchronism; Maas, reckoning from a 7–5 BCE birth, puts the public life earlier.

9. 30 ?

   The life, as the sources date itJerusalem

   The crucifixion of Jesus under Pontius Pilate

   The Gospels narrate that Jesus was condemned by Pilate and crucified at "the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha". Tacitus writes that "Christus … had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilatus" — the Roman historian's independent witness to the execution.^{[10] [8] [12] [29] [30] [17]}

   Two dates remain in play: Friday 7 April 30 and Friday 3 April 33 (Julian). Humphreys and Waddington favour 33 but write that "the date 7 April AD 30 is also strongly supported" and that the question cannot be decided conclusively; a patristic tradition cited by Maas gives 29. The Synoptic Gospels place the death on the day after the Passover meal, John on the day of preparation; Mark says the crucifixion was at the third hour, John that the sentence came "about noon".

   Competing dates 29–33

   • 29 A patristic tradition, as cited by Maas (Catholic Encyclopedia)^[17]
   • 30 Friday 7 April 30: "also strongly supported", in Humphreys and Waddington's words^[29]
   • 33 Friday 3 April 33: the date Humphreys and Waddington favour^{[29] [30]}
10. 30 ?

    The life, as the sources date itJerusalem

    The empty tomb and the Resurrection, as proclaimed

    The Gospels narrate that women found the tomb open "very early … on the first day of the week"; Paul hands on an earlier formula, that Christ "was raised on the third day" and "appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve". Christians profess the Resurrection; historians treat the proclamation as the earliest disciples' claim. This site records both, and adjudicates neither.^{[9] [6]}

    "The first day of the week" after the crucifixion — so 9 April 30 or 5 April 33, depending on the crucifixion year.

11. 30 ?

    The life, as the sources date itJerusalem

    The Ascension, as narrated

    Acts narrates appearances "during forty days" and that on the Mount of Olives "he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight".^[4]

    Acts gives forty days after Easter; Luke 24 appears to place the ascension at Bethany on Easter day itself.

12. 35 ?

    The life, as the sources date itDamascus, Syria

    The conversion of Paul

    Acts narrates that on the road to Damascus a light flashed and a voice said, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"^{[5] [25]}

    A reckoning, not a record: Prat (Catholic Encyclopedia) holds it "not prior to 34" and proposes 35; the absolute date depends on the crucifixion year.

13. 36

    The life, as the sources date itJerusalem

    Pilate is recalled; Caiaphas is removed

    Josephus writes that Pilate, "when he had tarried ten years in Judea, made haste to Rome", arriving after Tiberius had died; the Syrian legate Vitellius removes Caiaphas from the high priesthood.^{[11] [21] [22] [31]}

14. 49 ?

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesRome, Italy

    Suetonius: Claudius expels Jews "at the instigation of Chrestus"

    Suetonius writes that "since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus", Claudius expelled them from Rome — read by many as an early, garbled reference to Christ, by others as a different man.^[13]

    Suetonius gives no year; 49 rests on the 5th-century Orosius, not read here. Whether "Chrestus" means Jesus is disputed.

15. 62 ?

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesJerusalem

    Josephus: James, "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ", is stoned

    Josephus narrates that the high priest Ananus convened the Sanhedrin and had James, "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ", stoned.^[11]

    The year is an inference from the interval between the procurators Festus and Albinus; Josephus gives no number.

16. 64

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesRome, Italy

    Tacitus: Nero blames the Christians for the fire of Rome

    Tacitus records that Nero punished "Christians" for the Great Fire, and explains the name: "Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilatus".^[12]

    Tacitus dates the fire by the consulship of Laecanius and Licinius, which is 64.

17. 2 decades with no recorded events (70–89)
18. 93 ?

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesRome, Italy

    Josephus's Antiquities and the Testimonium Flavianum

    The Antiquities contain a paragraph calling Jesus "a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man" and saying "He was [the] Christ". Its authenticity has long been disputed; even the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910 wrote that "the difficulty has not been definitively settled. The passage seems to suffer from repeated interpolations."^{[11] [24]}

    93/94, the thirteenth year of Domitian — a date not confirmed in a source read here. The passage's authenticity is disputed.

19. 111 ?

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesBithynia, Turkey

    Pliny the Younger writes to Trajan about the Christians

    Governing Bithynia, Pliny reports that Christians "met on a stated day before it was light, and addressed a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity" — a Roman official's description of early Christian worship.^[14]

    Pliny's governorship of Bithynia is usually dated c. 111–113; no source read here gives the year.

20. 130 ?

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesJerusalem

    A temple is built over the site later venerated as the tomb

    Eusebius writes that the tomb had been buried and covered with "a gloomy shrine of lifeless idols to the impure spirit whom they call Venus" — the site Constantine later cleared.^{[15] [36]}

    Eusebius gives no year; the attribution to Hadrian's foundation of Aelia Capitolina, c. 130, is a tertiary source's.

21. 18 decades with no recorded events (140–319)
22. 326

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesJerusalem

    Constantine clears the site and the tomb is found

    Eusebius narrates that when the ground was cleared, "contrary to all expectation, the venerable and hollowed monument of our Saviour's resurrection was discovered", and reproduces Constantine's letter ordering a church. The identification is Eusebius's and the Church's; the Catholic Encyclopedia notes that knowledge of the place was held to have been handed down by oral tradition. Eusebius does not mention the Cross here.^{[15] [28]}

    c. 326, per the Catholic Encyclopedia; Eusebius gives no year.

23. 327 ?

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesBethlehem / Jerusalem

    Helena founds churches at Bethlehem and on the Mount of Olives

    Eusebius narrates that Constantine's mother Helena "dedicated two churches", one at the grotto of the Nativity and one "on the mount of his ascension".^{[15] [53] [33]}

    The Catholic Encyclopedia dates the journey after 324; the Biblical Archaeology Society gives 327; Eusebius gives no year.

24. 335

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesJerusalem

    The church of the Holy Sepulchre is dedicated

    Bishops gather at Jerusalem for the dedication of Constantine's church at the tomb, per Eusebius.^{[16] [36] [28]}

    13 September 335, per the tertiary source; the Catholic Encyclopedia gives 336. Eusebius places it in Constantine's thirtieth regnal year (July 335 – July 336).

    Competing dates 335–336

    • 335 13 September 335, per the tertiary source^[36]
    • 336 The Catholic Encyclopedia^[28]
25. 339 ?

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesBethlehem

    The Church of the Nativity is consecrated

    The basilica over the grotto venerated as the birthplace is consecrated, per the Biblical Archaeology Society, which adds that the church standing today is Justinian's 6th-century rebuilding.^[33]

    31 May 339, per one popular-scholarly source; no institutional page confirming it was read.

26. 348 ?

    The objects venerated as relicsJerusalem

    Cyril of Jerusalem: the wood of the Cross is already distributed

    In his Catechetical Lectures, Bishop Cyril of Jerusalem says that "the whole world has since been filled with pieces of the wood of the Cross", taken from Jerusalem by the faithful — the earliest attestation of Cross relics this project located. Cyril does not name Helena.^{[71] [72]}

    The Catechetical Lectures are dated c. 348–350.

27. 3 decades with no recorded events (350–379)
28. 381 ?

    The objects venerated as relicsJerusalem

    Egeria sees the wood and the title venerated on Good Friday

    The pilgrim Egeria describes a silver-gilt casket brought out at Golgotha on Good Friday, from which "both the wood of the Cross and the title" are placed on a table and guarded by deacons, because someone had once bitten off a piece.^[73]

    Egeria's pilgrimage is dated c. 381–384.

29. 395

    The objects venerated as relicsMilan, Italy

    Ambrose credits Helena with finding the Cross

    In his funeral oration for Theodosius, Ambrose of Milan narrates that Helena found three crosses and identified Christ's by its title, and that she found the nails — the first account this project located that connects Helena with the finding. Eusebius, writing earlier about her journey, does not; later writers such as Rufinus say the Cross was recognised by a miracle, not by the title.^{[74] [75] [73]}

    Delivered on 25 February 395, per the Judaism and Rome commentary.

30. 12 decades with no recorded events (400–519)
31. 525 ?

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesRome, Italy

    Dionysius Exiguus numbers the years from the Incarnation

    Preparing an Easter table, the monk Dionysius Exiguus counts years "from the Incarnation" rather than from the persecuting emperor Diocletian — the origin of the Anno Domini era. By Matthew's account, which puts the birth before Herod's death in 4 BCE, the era's own epoch is several years late.^{[19] [18] [37]}

    525 per the tertiary source; "about the year 527" per the Catholic Encyclopedia.

    Competing dates 525–527

    • 525 The tertiary source^[37]
    • 527 "About the year 527", per the Catholic Encyclopedia's "General Chronology"^[18]
32. 8 decades with no recorded events (530–609)
33. 614 ?

    The objects venerated as relicsJerusalem

    The Persians take the relic of the Cross from Jerusalem

    Persian forces capture Jerusalem and carry off the relic of the Cross, per the Custody of the Holy Land and the Catholic Encyclopedia.^{[77] [76] [92]}

    The Custody of the Holy Land and the Catholic Encyclopedia's "Jerusalem" give 614; the same encyclopedia's "Holy Lance" gives 615.

    Competing dates 614–615

    • 614 The Custody of the Holy Land, and the Catholic Encyclopedia's "Jerusalem"^{[77] [76]}
    • 615 The Catholic Encyclopedia's "Holy Lance"^[92]
34. 630 ?

    The objects venerated as relicsJerusalem

    Heraclius restores the Cross to Jerusalem

    The Byzantine emperor Heraclius brings the relic back to Jerusalem. The Catholic Encyclopedia links the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (14 September) to his return — a feast, an act of cult.^{[77] [76]}

    The Custody of the Holy Land gives 630; the Catholic Encyclopedia gives 629.

    Competing dates 629–630

    • 629 The Catholic Encyclopedia^[76]
    • 630 The Custody of the Holy Land^[77]
35. 43 decades with no recorded events (640–1069)
36. 10751075-03-13 ?

    The objects venerated as relicsOviedo, Spain

    The Arca Santa of Oviedo is opened: the Sudarium enters the record

    At the solemn opening of the Arca Santa before King Alfonso VI, the relics listed include "de sudario Domini", per the cathedral — the first unambiguous attestation of the cloth now called the Sudarium of Oviedo. The cathedral's account of the ark's journey from Jerusalem in 614 is its tradition.^[57]

    13 March 1075 per Oviedo Cathedral; secondary accounts give 14 March. The record of the opening itself was not read.

37. 1098 ?

    The objects venerated as relicsAntioch (Antakya), Turkey

    A lance is "found" at Antioch

    During the First Crusade, the Provençal pilgrim Peter Bartholomew reports visions of the apostle Andrew and leads a dig that produces a lance, per the chronicler Raymond d'Aguiliers. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls it a "discovery under very questionable circumstances"; which, if any, of the surviving lances it was is disputed.^{[96] [92]}

    June 1098, during the siege of Antioch; the day was not established.

38. 1101

    The objects venerated as relicsGenoa, Italy

    The Sacro Catino reaches Genoa

    Guglielmo Embriaco brings to Genoa a green hexagonal dish long held to be emerald and later called the Holy Grail, per the Italian Ministry of Culture. In 1806 it was established to be glass.^[106]

39. 4 decades with no recorded events (1110–1149)
40. 1156

    The objects venerated as relicsArgenteuil, France

    The Argenteuil tunic is first attested

    A charter records an exposition of the tunic at Argenteuil organised by the Archbishop of Rouen in the presence of Louis VII — the first attestation, per the custodian parish, whose tradition dates the tunic's arrival to Charlemagne's time.^[66]

41. 2 decades with no recorded events (1160–1179)
42. 11871187-07-04

    The objects venerated as relicsHorns of Hattin, Israel

    The crusaders' relic of the Cross is lost at Hattin

    At the battle of Hattin the crusader army carries its relic of the Cross and loses it: "The Holy Cross also was lost," one contemporary account records; another reports a Templar's claim to have buried it, and a search that found nothing.^[78]

43. 11961196-05-01

    The objects venerated as relicsTrier, Germany

    The Holy Tunic of Trier is first attested

    Archbishop Johann I encloses the tunic in the new high altar of Trier Cathedral, per the Gesta Treverorum as the diocese reports it. The diocese itself describes the story of Helena sending the tunic to Trier as a legend: "a historical event was invented to explain a state of affairs".^{[63] [64]}

44. 3 decades with no recorded events (1200–1229)
45. 12391239-08-19

    The objects venerated as relicsParis, France

    Louis IX brings the Crown of Thorns to Paris

    Having redeemed the Crown from the Venetian bankers to whom the Latin emperors of Constantinople had pledged it, Louis IX receives it at Villeneuve-l'Archevêque on 10 August and carries it barefoot into Paris on 19 August, per the Diocese of Paris.^[87]

46. 12481248-04-26

    The objects venerated as relicsParis, France

    The Sainte-Chapelle is consecrated to house the Crown

    The royal chapel Louis IX built for the Crown and his other Passion relics is consecrated. The Crown stays there until the Revolution; the Sainte-Chapelle does not hold it today.^{[89] [88] [87]}

47. 4 decades with no recorded events (1250–1289)
48. 1291

    The objects venerated as relicsBruges, Belgium

    The Holy Blood procession is first mentioned

    A by-law of the Bruges porters' guild contains the oldest mention of the procession, per the Basilica of the Holy Blood — which also records that most historians strongly doubt the story of the relic's arrival in 1150 and trace the oldest reliable sources to the 13th century.^[69]

49. 5 decades with no recorded events (1300–1349)
50. 1353 ?

    The objects venerated as relicsLirey, France

    The Shroud appears at Lirey

    The knight Geoffroi de Charny founds a collegiate church at Lirey in which a cloth bearing the double image of a man is shown for veneration — the first unambiguous appearance of the object now kept in Turin.^{[55] [54]}

    The Catholic Encyclopedia's "Troyes" dates the founding of the Lirey church to 20 June 1353; its "Holy Shroud" says "we first hear of it about the year 1360". The documentary start of the cloth is dated c. 1353–1360.

    Competing dates 1353–1360

    • 1353 The founding of the Lirey church, 20 June 1353, in the Catholic Encyclopedia's "Troyes"^[55]
    • 1360 "We first hear of it about the year 1360", in its "Holy Shroud"^[54]
51. 2 decades with no recorded events (1360–1379)
52. 1389 ?

    The objects venerated as relicsTroyes, France

    Bishop Pierre d'Arcis: the Lirey cloth is "cunningly painted"

    In a memorandum to the Avignon pope Clement VII, the Bishop of Troyes writes that an earlier inquiry by his predecessor had found the cloth "cunningly painted, the truth being attested by the artist who had painted it". The memorandum is his account; defenders of the Shroud dispute its status.^{[56] [54]}

    c. 1389. The memorandum survives as an unsigned, undated draft; whether it was sent is disputed.

53. 13901390-01-06 ?

    The objects venerated as relicsAvignon, France

    Clement VII rules on the Lirey expositions — read two ways

    The Avignon pope issues bulls on the Lirey cloth. The Catholic Encyclopedia's "Troyes" says they "approved the exposition as lawful"; its "Holy Shroud" says the pope required the priest to "declare in a loud voice that it was not the real shroud of Christ, but only a picture made to represent it". Either way the act regulates exposition; it is not a ruling that the cloth is authentic.^{[55] [54]}

    The bulls themselves were not read; both readings below are the Catholic Encyclopedia's, in two different articles.

54. 9 decades with no recorded events (1400–1489)
55. 1492

    The objects venerated as relicsVatican City

    Sultan Bayezid II sends a lance to Innocent VIII

    A lance kept in Constantinople is given to Pope Innocent VIII by the Ottoman sultan, per Vatican News; it is still exposed in St Peter's in Lent. The Catholic Encyclopedia records that "great doubts as to its authenticity were felt at Rome" at the time, because of rival lances.^{[93] [92]}

56. 14921492-02-01

    The objects venerated as relicsRome, Italy

    The Titulus Crucis is found at Santa Croce

    During works at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, a lead box is found bearing the inscription "HIC EST TITULUS VERAE CRUCIS", per the diarist Stefano Infessura; three other contemporaries give differing versions of where and how. A Leiden medievalist reads the timing as tied to the fall of Granada; the basilica calls the tablet a relic "probably" brought there in the 6th century.^{[84] [82]}

57. 3 decades with no recorded events (1500–1529)
58. 1532

    The objects venerated as relicsChambéry, France

    The Shroud is damaged by fire at Chambéry

    A fire in the Savoy chapel at Chambéry leaves the burn lines and holes still visible on the cloth, per the custodian archdiocese.^[39]

    The year is the custodian's; the day was not verified.

59. 1543

    The objects venerated as relicsGeneva, Switzerland

    Calvin's Treatise on Relics

    Jean Calvin argues that the pieces of the Cross shown across Europe would fill "a good big ship" though the Gospel says one man could carry it — the classic Protestant case against the relics, answered in 1870 by Rohault de Fleury.^[79]

60. 2 decades with no recorded events (1550–1569)
61. 1576

    The objects venerated as relicsMonza, Italy

    Borromeo establishes the cult of the Holy Nail at Monza

    Archbishop Carlo Borromeo establishes the cult of the Sacred Nail "to make official the recognition of the diadem as a relic", per the Monza cathedral museum — an act of cult about the Iron Crown's inner band. The same museum reports recent studies dating the crown to between the 4th–5th and the 9th centuries.^[86]

62. 15781578-09-14

    The objects venerated as relicsTurin, Italy

    The Shroud is moved to Turin

    The Dukes of Savoy move the cloth from Chambéry to Turin — to shorten the pilgrimage of Archbishop Carlo Borromeo of Milan, per the custodian archdiocese.^[41]

63. 1589

    The objects venerated as relicsRome, Italy

    Sixtus V moves the Scala Sancta

    The stairs venerated as those of Pilate's palace are moved to their present site beside the Lateran. The tradition that Helena brought them to Rome is attributed by the Catholic Encyclopedia to "the historians of the monument".^{[100] [98]}

64. 21 decades with no recorded events (1590–1799)
65. 18061806-08-10

    The objects venerated as relicsParis, France

    The Crown of Thorns is assigned to Notre-Dame

    After the Revolution moved it to Saint-Denis and the national library, the Crown is handed to the Archbishop of Paris and placed in the treasury of Notre-Dame, per the Diocese of Paris.^[87]

66. 4 decades with no recorded events (1810–1849)
67. 18531853-06-13

    The objects venerated as relicsRome, Italy

    Pius IX entrusts the Scala Sancta to the Passionists

    By the constitution Decet Romanum Pontificem, and a second act of 1854, Pius IX gives the sanctuary's custody to the Passionist Fathers, per the sanctuary — acts about custody, not about the stairs' origin.^[99]

68. 1870

    The objects venerated as relicsParis, France

    Rohault de Fleury measures the relics of the Cross

    Answering Calvin, the antiquarian Charles Rohault de Fleury estimates the known Cross relics at about 5 million cubic millimetres and argues that, even tripled for relics unknown, they make under a tenth of the 180 million he computes for a cross. The Catholic Encyclopedia later restates his figures slightly differently; neither calculation is established fact.^{[80] [81]}

69. 18981898-05-25

    The objects venerated as relicsTurin, Italy

    Secondo Pia photographs the Shroud

    During an exposition, the lawyer Secondo Pia, authorised by the House of Savoy, photographs the cloth for the first time; his negative shows a positive-looking image, per the custodian archdiocese.^[42]

    The exposition ran from 25 May to 2 June 1898; the photograph was taken during it.

70. 6 decades with no recorded events (1900–1959)
71. 1961

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesCaesarea Maritima, Israel

    The Pilate inscription is found at Caesarea

    An Italian excavation finds a limestone dedication naming "[Pon]tius Pilatus … [Praef]ectus Iudae[ae]", reused in the theatre; it is now in the Israel Museum.^{[35] [32]}

72. 1978

    The objects venerated as relicsTurin, Italy

    STURP examines the Shroud

    After the fourth-centenary exposition, 44 scholars — among them the American Shroud of Turin Research Project — examine the cloth for 120 hours, per the custodian. STURP's 1981 summary reports no pigments on the fibrils and a real human form; the microscopist Walter McCrone argued the image was paint. The disagreement is recorded, not resolved.^{[43] [51] [52]}

73. 19831983-03-18

    The objects venerated as relicsTurin, Italy

    The Shroud passes to the Holy See

    At the death of Umberto II of Savoy, the cloth passes by his bequest to the Holy See, which has owned it since; the Archbishop of Turin keeps it as Pontifical Custodian.^{[38] [40]}

74. 19891989-02-16

    The objects venerated as relicsTucson, Arizona, USA / Oxford, England / Zurich, Switzerland

    Radiocarbon dating places the Shroud's linen in 1260–1390

    The Arizona, Oxford and Zurich laboratories report in Nature that "the age of the shroud is obtained as AD 1260-1390, with at least 95% confidence". Later critiques contest the sample and the statistics, among them a 2019 analysis of the raw data in Archaeometry; the result and the critiques are each their authors'.^{[48] [49] [50]}

75. 1990

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesJerusalem

    The Caiaphas ossuary is found

    Construction work south of the Old City exposes a family tomb; one ossuary is inscribed "Yehosef bar Qayafa", Joseph son of Caiaphas. Its identification with the Gospels' high priest is held possible by some scholars and challenged by others.^{[31] [32]}

76. 19971997-04-11

    The objects venerated as relicsTurin, Italy

    Fire in Turin Cathedral; the Shroud is carried out undamaged

    Fire destroys Guarini's chapel; the cloth, moved to the choir in 1993, is carried to safety and found to have suffered no damage, per the custodian.^[44]

77. 19981998-05-24

    The objects venerated as relicsTurin, Italy

    John Paul II: the Church "has no specific competence to pronounce"

    Visiting the exposition, John Paul II says: "Since it is not a matter of faith, the Church has no specific competence to pronounce on these questions. She entrusts to scientists the task of continuing to investigate". He calls the cloth "a mirror of the Gospel" — a devotional reading, not a verdict either way.^[46]

78. 2002

    The objects venerated as relicsRome, Italy

    Radiocarbon dating places the Titulus in 980–1146

    Physicists of Roma Tre University report in Radiocarbon that the walnut tablet dates to AD 980–1146 (two sigma), and note that this "permits one to consider" that it is a copy of an original. The result is the laboratory's.^[83]

79. 2004

    The objects venerated as relicsArgenteuil, France

    The Argenteuil tunic is radiocarbon-dated to 530–650

    A dating by the French CEA laboratory at Saclay gives "between the years 530 and 650", per the custodian parish, which reports the researchers' warning about contamination and maintains its case for authenticity. A 2005 test on another fragment, commissioned privately, gave 670–880 and is contested.^{[66] [68]}

80. 2004

    The objects venerated as relicsVienna, Austria

    Vienna's Holy Lance is dated to the 8th century

    A University of Vienna study, with the gold and silver sleeves removed for the first time since 1924, finds a winged lance of a form "typical of the second half of the 8th century". The Kunsthistorisches Museum, which keeps it, writes that its central pin later came to be venerated as a Nail and the lance, in the 13th century, as that of Longinus.^{[95] [94]}

    The sleeves were removed in February 2004 for the study of 2003–2004.

81. 20062006-09-01

    The objects venerated as relicsManoppello, Italy

    Benedict XVI visits the Volto Santo of Manoppello

    The pope makes what the text calls a private pilgrimage to the Capuchin shrine, speaking of the Holy Face; the address does not use the words "veil" or "relic". The shrine identifies its image with the Veronica, which St Peter's still exposes as its own.^{[61] [62]}

82. 20102010-05-02

    The objects venerated as relicsTurin, Italy

    Benedict XVI calls the Shroud "the Icon of Holy Saturday"

    At the 2010 exposition the pope describes the cloth as "an Icon written in blood" — a devotional reading, recorded as an act of cult.^[47]

83. 2012

    Outside witnesses and memory-sitesBethlehem

    The Church of the Nativity becomes a World Heritage site

    UNESCO inscribes the "Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem" and places it on the List of World Heritage in Danger, from which it was removed in 2019.^[34]

84. 20122012-04-13

    The objects venerated as relicsTrier, Germany

    The Holy Tunic is shown at Trier

    The most recent Trier pilgrimage. The cathedral, which keeps the tunic out of sight in a climate-controlled case, states that "the question of the Holy Robe's authenticity cannot be answered with certainty".^[65]

    The pilgrimage ran from 13 April to 13 May 2012.

85. 20192019-04-11

    The objects venerated as relicsRome, Italy

    The marble of the Scala Sancta is uncovered

    After restoration, the 28 steps are shown without their wooden covering for 60 days, "for the first time after almost 300 years", per the Vatican Museums.^[101]

86. 20192019-04-15

    The objects venerated as relicsParis, France

    The Crown of Thorns is rescued from the Notre-Dame fire

    As Notre-Dame burns, the Crown is carried out; the fire brigade's chaplain, Jean-Marc Fournier, has described his part on air, and reports credit a chain of firefighters and police.^{[91] [87]}

87. 20192019-11-22

    The objects venerated as relicsRome, Italy / Bethlehem

    A fragment of the Holy Crib is sent to Bethlehem

    At Pope Francis's wish a fragment of the wooden slats kept at Santa Maria Maggiore is taken for the Franciscans of Bethlehem, per Vatican News — a gift and an act of cult. The basilica says the slats were "scientifically" dated to the time of Christ's birth but cites no study.^{[107] [108]}

88. 20242024-12-13

    The objects venerated as relicsParis, France

    The Crown of Thorns returns to Notre-Dame

    Six days after the cathedral reopens, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich presides over the Crown's return to Notre-Dame, where it now rests in a new reliquary, per the Diocese of Paris.^{[87] [90]}

89. 20252025-08-04

    The objects venerated as relicsTurin, Italy

    The Custodian declines to rule on new Shroud hypotheses

    Answering claims published in 2025, the Pontifical Custodian, Cardinal Roberto Repole, states that he "has no reason to enter into the merits of hypotheses freely put forward by scientists".^[45]

90. 20262026-03-22

    The objects venerated as relicsVatican City

    St Peter's exposes the Veronica

    The annual Rite of the Holy Face on the fifth Sunday of Lent shows the veil from the Veronica loggia as "the Major Relic of the Holy Face" — an act of cult.^{[60] [59]}

91. 20262026-04-16

    The objects venerated as relicsRome, Italy

    Santa Croce's relic chapel closes for urgent works

    The basilica announces that its Chapel of the Relics — which holds the Cross fragments, the Titulus and a Nail — is temporarily closed by order of the Vicariate of Rome and the Ministry of Culture.^[82]

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