Veronica

Life (Tradition)

Veronica is not named in the canonical Scriptures, and nothing is recorded of her origins or the dates of her birth and death. The stories about her took shape through apocryphal writings (ancient texts not included in the canon) and medieval tradition.

• The woman appears in the apocryphal Acts of Pilate, generally thought to have been written around the fourth century and commonly transmitted as part of the Gospel of Nicodemus. In this work she testifies at the trial of Jesus that she had suffered from an issue of blood and was healed by touching the hem of his garment. Her name is given as Veronice (Greek "Berenike"). Because of this account, she came to be identified with the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25–34 and Luke 8:43–48.
• Medieval tradition added further details. When Veronica wiped the face of Jesus on his way to Golgotha, the image of his face was said to have been imprinted on the cloth. A Latin tradition also relates that this cloth healed the Roman emperor Tiberius of an illness.

Development and Place of the Tradition

• Interpretation of the name: In the Middle Ages the name was sometimes explained as a combination of the Latin vera ("true") and the Greek eikon ("image"), meaning "true image." Today many scholars regard it as a Latinized form of the Greek name Berenike.
• Early records: The fourth-century church historian Eusebius wrote in his Ecclesiastical History that at Caesarea Philippi (Paneas) there stood a statue depicting the woman with the issue of blood and Jesus, and that the woman was said to have come from that town. Eusebius, however, does not record her name.
• Stations of the Cross: The Stations of the Cross devotion in the Catholic Church divides the Passion of Jesus into fourteen scenes, or stations, for meditation. The Sixth Station depicts Veronica wiping the face of Jesus. The devotion is prayed especially during Lent.
• Relic: A cloth known as the "Veil of Veronica" is said to be preserved in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

In the Korean Church

The Catholic Church in Korea honors Veronica as a saint, and her name is also commonly used as a baptismal name (a Christian name received at baptism).

Protestantism does not practice the veneration of saints or relics, and Protestant churches therefore hold no observances specifically honoring Veronica. Her story is nonetheless sometimes used in Holy Week sermons, devotions, and passion plays as an illustration of an unnamed woman who accompanied Jesus along the way of his Passion. Some Protestant churches also hold Holy Week events adapted from the Stations of the Cross. The scene also appears in Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ (2004), which made it familiar to Protestants as well.

Assessment

• Protestant view: Protestants generally regard the Veronica story as a later tradition without basis in the Bible. The veneration of relics such as a cloth bearing the image of a face has been criticized since the Reformation. John Calvin is known to have written a treatise criticizing the veneration of relics (objects said to be associated with saints or with Jesus).
• Catholic view: The Catholic Church respects the Veronica story as a tradition that aids the piety of the faithful, but it has not defined its historical accuracy as doctrine.
• Historical scholarship: Historians regard Veronica as a figure formed over several centuries through the convergence of the story of the woman with the issue of blood, interpretations of the name, and traditions about an image-bearing relic.