The following is from the Message of Pope Benedict for the Pilgrimage to the Holy Tunic of Trier, addressed to Stephan Ackermann, Bishop of Trier. The exposition of the Holy Tunic, the first for this century, began yesterday (April 13, 2012). Among the pilgrimages to this relic will be one organized for Traditional Catholics from April 20 to 22 and climaxing with a Solemn Pontifical Mass according to the 1962 Missal by Walter Cardinal Brandmüller (as earlier reported on Rorate).
Since its first exposition in the year 1512 the Holy Tunic has attracted the faithful. This relic makes present the final dramatic moments of the earthly life of Jesus: His death on the cross. The soldiers’ division of the garments of the crucifixion might seem to be only a marginal episode, to which the Synoptic Gospels allude only in passing. The evangelist John, however, develops this episode with a certain solemnity. It is the only mention of the tunic which was “seamless, woven in one piece from the top down" (Jn 19, 23). It makes explicit the event and help us, thanks to the relic, to look with faith on the Mystery of salvation.
The tunic, John says, is all of one piece. The soldiers who, according to Roman custom, divide the meagre effects of the One who is crucified, do not want to tear the tunic. They cast lots, and thus it remains whole. The Fathers of the Church see in this passage the unity of the Church, founded as a unique and indivisible community by the love of Christ. The Holy Tunic intends to make it visible. The love of Saviour holds together that which is divided. The Church is the unity of the many. Christ does not abolish the plurality of men, but links it together with being Christians, one for the other and with the other, so much so that they might become, in their diversity, mediators with God.
The Robe of Christ is "woven in one piece, from the top down" (Jn 19, 23). This too is an image of the Church that lives not by its own strength, but through the action of God. As a unique and undivided community it is the work of God, not the product of men and their abilities. The Holy Tunic ought to be, at the same time, a warning to the Church to remain faithful to its origins, to become aware that its unity, its consensus, its effectiveness, its testimony – which is ultimately a work from above – can only be a gift from God. It is only when Peter confessed: "You are the Christ" (cf. Matt 16:16), that he received the power of binding and loosing, and thus the ministry of service for the unity of the Church.
The Holy Tunic, finally, is not a toga, an elegant garment that expresses a role in society. It is a modest garment that serves to cover and protect the wearer, keeping him from exposure. This garment is the undivided gift of the Crucified to the Church that He has sanctified with His blood. For this reason, the Holy Tunic reminds the Church of her dignity. But how often do we see that we bear in fragile vessels (cf. 2 Cor 4, 7) the treasure Christ has entrusted to us in the Church? that, on account of our own selfishness, our weaknesses and errors, the integrity of the Body of Christ is wounded? There is need of a constant openness to conversion and humility, that we might be disciples of the Lord in love and in truth. At the same time, the particular dignity and integrity of the Church can not be sold and abandoned to the noise of a summary judgment on the part of public opinion.
