The painting "Veil of Veronica" by Domenico Fetti According to extra-biblical sources Veronica was a woman from Jerusalem who encountered Jesus on the way to Calvary. She is said to have wiped the sweat off his face with her veil, which left his image imprinted on the cloth. This event is commemorated by one of the Stations of the Cross.
According to legend Veronica later traveled to Rome to present the cloth to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The story of Veronica and her veil does not occur in the Bible, though the apocryphal "Acts of Pilate" mentions a woman who was cured by touching the hem of Jesus' cloak. The name "Veronica" is a combination of the Latin and Greek words meaning "true image."
The white, diaphanous cloth that was venerated as Veronica's Veil during the middle ages reportedly measured about 6.5 inches by 9.5 inches and displayed the features of a bearded man with long hair and open eyes. Its provenance prior to the 12th century is uncertain, but from then until 1608 it was kept in the Vatican Basilica and is mentioned in Canto XXXI of Dante's "Paradise." In 1297, by the order of Pope Boniface VIII, the image was brought to Saint Peter's. On the occasion of the first Holy Year in 1300, the Veil of Veronica was publicly displayed and became one of the "Mirabilia Urbis"' ("wonders of the City") for the pilgrims who visited Rome.
When the part of the Basilica housing the relic was remodeled, the veil disappeared. In 1616, Pope Paul V prohibited the manufacture of copies of Veronica's veil unless made by a canon of Saint Peter's Basilica. Urban VIII (Pope from 1623 to 1644) not only prohibited reproductions of Veronica's veil from being made, but also ordered the destruction of all existing copies.
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