Some bend down and kiss it. Some stand and cry. Others simply stare and do nothing.

They’ve all come to see an exact replica of what some believe to be a sacred burial cloth placed over crucified Jesus.It’s a second coming for the shroud. It visited the same church in Shenandoah in 2013 and drew 10,000 onlookers. With that kind of turnout, the church decided to bring it back for a return visit.The Shroud of Turin replica was placed on display Aug. 14 at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in collaboration with St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, St. Clair, according to Monsignor Myron Grabowsky, pastor.It’ll remain there until Aug. 28, part of Shenandoah’s 150th anniversary celebration.The faithful are flocking in great numbers once again to gaze upon what many believe to be a divine, full-body image of Jesus Christ. It was commissioned and blessed by Pope John Paul II.“There were a lot of people here yesterday,” said Carol Kalavage of Shenandoah on Monday morning.Some say it’s better, in some respects, than a visit to the original shroud housed in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy.“With the original one, you can’t get near it,” said Christina Bankes of Barnesville. Bankes said she never visited the original shroud but heard accounts from others.Image detailsThe exhibit is a Vatican-approved replica.Visible on the linen cloth is the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion.The man depicted appears to have been scourged, wearing a crown of thorns and had his wrists and feet pierced by nails.Blood stains on the linen appear to match the wounds of crucifixion suffered by Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in all four Gospels.The image on the cloth, made of flax, appears to be a result of a burn from an intense light energy source and is still being studied.The display is very large, measuring 14.2 feet by 3.7 feet.“Jesus was a tall man,” noted a volunteer.The exhibit is set up in front of the iconostasis, or icon wall, at the ornate, onion-domed church located at the corner of Oak and Chestnut streets.The shroud is carefully positioned, angled and presented knee-high so that visitors can see it in its entirety simply by walking past.The church vestibule features a display and pamphlets to help visitors understand the significance of the replica shroud. A 30-minute video also is presented in the lower level. The display is one of nine, all blessed by the pope, and currently in circulation around the world.Lay persons from various churches are on hand from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to guide visitors to the display.The version displayed locally commands a dramatic presence, according to visitors.“It’s been through hundreds of tests,” said Paul Kerrick of Barnesville, speaking of carbon dating done over the years on the original.Kerrick said the church has been careful about declaring it the real thing.“I think they believe it to be (authentic), but they don’t say it is. They don’t have the hard-line evidence. It’s not in the Gospels except for the mention of the shroud when they took Jesus to the tomb.”The original shroud’s fibers have been extensively tested and traced to the Middle Ages.However, as Kerrick noted, the Catholic Church has neither formally endorsed nor rejected the shroud.However, in 1958, Pope Pius XII approved the image in association with the Roman Catholic devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.“I see them coming and I see the tears flowing. It has to be real,” Grabowsky said.ProvenanceThe original shroud has been in Turin, Italy, for more than 400 years since 1578.Before than, it was in France for 200 years beginning in 1356.All that time, it has been preserved and revered as the actual burial shroud that wrapped Jesus as recorded in the Bible.It was owned from 1450 to 1982 by the royal Savoy family until the former King of Italy, Humberto II, passed away and willed it to the Catholic Church.While in Italy, the Catholic Church acted as custodian of the cloth even though it was officially owned by the Savoys.Carbon-14 dating tests done in 1988 placed the origin of the shroud in the 14th century. If it’s a 14th century artifact, it cannot be the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. But even the testing itself has been criticized and methodologies questioned.Is the shroud a pious icon? Or a medieval hoax?One thing is certain, the shroud continues to be one of the most studied and controversial artifacts of human history.Just like those who witness beauty, the significance of the vision lies in the eyes of the beholder.