"I don't have any medical explanation for it, either," Castle said. "Wounds as severe as what we observed in the burn unit should have taken weeks to heal."

Looking closely, Dr. Castle could see in Dr. Lin's tests the dumbbell shapes that marked the end of what appeared to be every lash of the whip. The CT scans and MRIs confirmed what he observed when he first checked Father Bartholomew's wounds in the hospital on Wednesday morning.

"I am going to ask a priest, Father Middagh, to come over here and meet with us," Castle said to Dr. Lin. "He is an expert on the Shroud of Turin."

"So you think Father Bartholomew's wounds are going to look like the wounds of the man in the Shroud?" Dr. Lin asked.

"There appears to be a resemblance," Castle said. "But remember, I'm a psychiatrist. I've established that Castle has studied the Shroud and his subconscious may be strong enough to have manifested those wounds by itself."

"Do you think Father Bartholomew is mentally ill?" she asked, following up.

"I haven't come to that conclusion yet. I'm just beginning the a.n.a.lysis."

"Just have Father Middagh call me directly," she said. "I'm sure I can make the time to see him today."

"What about the wrist wounds?" Castle asked. "Have they continued to heal?"

"That's another mystery," Dr. Lin said, turning to the CT scans and MRIs of Father Bartholomew's wrists. "In the first set of tests I ran, before these whipping wounds appeared, I noted that the wrist wounds had begun to heal from within."

"I remember that you could not confirm the wounds pierced completely through the wrists," Castle said.

"That's right," Lin said. "Now, in these tests I ran last night, the healing within the wrists is almost complete. The wrist wounds are only superficial wounds, on the top and back. I don't even see evidence of scar tissue within the wrists. It's almost as if the tissue has completely regenerated without any evidence of injury."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

Thursday, late afternoon Beth Israel Hospital Day 15 I'm going to let you in to visit with Father Bartholomew," Dr. Castle told Father Morelli and Anne in the ICU waiting room. "But just for a few minutes. He is exhausted and he needs the rest."

From the moment Anne entered the room, Bartholomew sat up in bed, startled.

"Mother?" he asked in disbelief.

"No," Anne said, startled. "I'm your half sister."

"But I don't have a sister," Bartholomew said. "You look identical to my mother twenty years ago, when she was forty years old."

"My name is Anne," she said.

Bartholomew was startled as well. "Anne was my mother's name."

"I know," Anne said. "She was my mother, too, and I was named after her."

Observing closely, Castle concluded Bartholomew's reaction confirmed the truth of Anne's story. Remarkable though it was, Bartholomew appeared to have had no idea that he had a half sister, let alone one who so closely resembled their mother, even in name.

Just then, Castle's cell phone rang. It was Dr. Lin. "Father Middagh has just joined me," she said. "Can you meet with us in my office?"

"Yes," Castle answered. "I'm still in the hospital. Do you mind if I bring Father Morelli with me? The pope sent him here from the Vatican to help us with Father Bartholomew's case."

"No problem. Bring him along."

Giving Anne some time alone to visit with her brother, Dr. Castle and Father Morelli headed off to Dr. Lin's office. Castle was looking forward to comparing Father Middagh's images of the man in the Shroud with the CT scans and MRIs that Dr. Lin had taken of Father Bartholomew.

When Castle and Morelli arrived, Middagh was already hard at work a.n.a.lyzing the two sets of images. "It's remarkable," Father Middagh told Castle and Morelli as they settled into Dr. Lin's conference room. "I'm not skilled at reading CT scans and MRIs, but with the a.s.sistance of Dr. Lin here, I believe Father Bartholomew's scourge wounds match almost precisely the scourge wounds we observe in the man in the Shroud, blow for blow. Where Christ was beaten, Father Bartholomew was beaten. I don't see any blows that were missed, even on the back, or the legs and the feet. Even the dumbbell wounds are identical. It's hard to believe we are looking at two separate men who lived two thousand years apart."

"Do you agree, Dr. Lin?" Castle asked.

"This is really the first time I've looked at the Shroud of Turin," she said. "So I'm no expert. But reading the CT scans and MRIs, I do see the points of resemblance Father Middagh is pointing to."

"What about the wrist wounds?" Dr. Castle asked Middagh.

"They appear identical again," Middagh said. "As far as I can tell, the wounds in Father Bartholomew's wrists are placed exactly where we see the wrist wounds in the Shroud."

"Do you agree?" Castle asked Dr. Lin.

"Again, my first impression is that Father Middagh is right," she answered. "Except for the healing I see in Father Bartholomew's tests, his CT scans and MRIs are similar to the injuries in Father Middagh's computer images of the man in the Shroud."

Dr. Castle took in their conclusions without comment. In his mind, Castle was calculating that Bartholomew's rapid recovery could be a sign that the wounds were psychologically induced in the first place. If Bartholomew's subconscious was causing him to manifest the wounds of the man in the Shroud, his subconscious might equally bring him back to normal once the drama of the wounds being inflicted was over.

"What do you make of it, Dr. Castle?" Father Morelli finally asked him.

"It's pretty much what I expected," Castle answered. "What I need to do now is interview Father Bartholomew some more privately. When he suffered the stigmata, he said he experienced in his mind that he had returned to Golgotha and that he took the place of Christ being nailed to the cross. I want to see if he had the same experience with these more recent wounds."

"So, you suspect Father Bartholomew returned to Jerusalem to take the place of Christ being scourged at the pillar?" Morelli asked.

"Yes, I do. At least in his own mind, I believe Father Bartholomew went back in time and became Christ being scourged."

Morelli listened intently. "Went back in time? Does that mean you are becoming a believer?" he asked Castle.

Castle corrected himself. "I meant that Father Bartholomew felt felt he went back in time." he went back in time."

Morelli pressed further. "So you think he was hallucinating?"

"In a sense, yes," Castle answered. "Much of what goes on in the mind does not happen that way in what we call 'reality.' I know how compelling this evidence looks to you and I know how much Father Bartholomew looks like the man in the Shroud, but that's simply because he has long hair and a beard."

"And now we have the wounds that are very similar," Morelli added.

"I understand," Castle said, without granting any conclusions.

"Do you think Fernando Ferrar is going to broadcast his film of Father Bartholomew standing at the window?" Morelli asked.

"I have no doubt about it," Castle answered without hesitation.

"What are you going to do about it?" Morelli wondered, sounding panicked.

"For starters, I'm going to call the archbishop," the psychiatrist answered, taking out his cell phone. "Other than that, I'm not sure there is anything I can do."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

Thursday, 5:00 P.M. P.M.

Archbishop Duncan's office, St. Patrick's Cathedral rectory Day 15 Fernando Ferrar's broadcast from outside Beth Israel had been aired on national television all afternoon. His reports showed Father Bartholomew at the window, naked from the waist up, holding his arms out as if he were crucified. Ferrar focused on the scourge wounds on Father Bartholomew's chest and the stigmata in his wrists. "Has Christ returned?" Ferrar asked the audience. The news segment showed video clips of the ambulance rushing Father Bartholomew to the Beth Israel emergency room on Sunday and of Dr. Castle leaving the hospital that evening. "Is Father Bartholomew a madman?" Ferrar asked. "Why won't the archbishop talk?"

The next images shown were of the Shroud of Turin. Ferrar narrated: "Several knowledgeable experts have come forward to doc.u.ment that the wounds being displayed by Father Bartholomew resemble the Shroud of Turin." The report next showed the main library on the Columbia University campus on New York's Upper West Side. "Today I was able to interview Dr. Richard Whitehouse, a professor of medieval studies at Columbia University who has devoted decades to studying the Shroud of Turin."

The report showed Ferrar interviewing Dr. Whitehouse in the professor's office. "Tell me, Dr. Whitehouse, what first drew your attention to Father Bartholomew and the Shroud of Turin?"

"There's a long history of religious believers going back centuries exhibiting stigmata, most commonly the nail wounds Christ suffered on his wrists when he was crucified," Whitehouse said. "But when I saw your video of the wounds on Father Bartholomew's chest when he was in the hospital window today, I was surprised. Most people who experience the stigmata do not also experience wounds that look like the scourging that the gospels say Jesus Christ took at the pillar."

"So you compared this to the Shroud of Turin?" Ferrar asked.

"Yes, I did," Whitehouse acknowledged. "Your video images weren't clear enough to say for certain, but the pattern of wounds on Father Bartholomew's chest and arms looks similar to the wounds we see in the Shroud of Turin."

As Whitehouse said this, viewers saw side-by-side images: negative photographs of the torso of the man in the Shroud, and Father Bartholomew with his arms outstretched and chest naked in the window of his Beth Israel hospital room.

"It's also remarkable, don't you think, how much Father Bartholomew with his long hair and beard looks like Jesus?" Ferrar asked the professor.

Whitehouse proceeded carefully. "Again, I can't say the man in the Shroud is Jesus. That is still the subject of a lot of debate. But I can say that the face of the man in the Shroud and Father Bartholomew with his long hair and beard do resemble each other."

As Whitehouse answered, the camera showed close-ups of Father Bartholomew's face as seen through the hospital window and the face of the man in the Shroud.

"There you have it." Ferrar concluded his report. "Has Jesus Christ come back to life in the person of Father Bartholomew? Is the Second Coming upon us? So far, we have had no official comment from the Vatican."

EARLY T THURSDAY EVENING in Rome, a television rebroadcast of Ferrar's news report from outside the hospital had a big impact at the Vatican. "I think you need to hold a press conference as soon as possible and Father Morelli should attend to represent the Vatican," Pope John-Paul Peter I told Archbishop Duncan over the phone. "It's better if the press knows the Vatican is involved." in Rome, a television rebroadcast of Ferrar's news report from outside the hospital had a big impact at the Vatican. "I think you need to hold a press conference as soon as possible and Father Morelli should attend to represent the Vatican," Pope John-Paul Peter I told Archbishop Duncan over the phone. "It's better if the press knows the Vatican is involved."

"What do you want us to say?" Duncan asked.

"I doubt if there is much you can say," the pope answered. "Let Castle do most of the talking. He will be limited by the doctor-patient relationship, so there is little he can disclose, but I think he will be successful in damping down the enthusiasm of the press to sensationalize Father Bartholomew, if that's possible to do."

The press conference was set for 5 P.M. P.M. ET on Thursday in Archbishop Duncan's office at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. ET on Thursday in Archbishop Duncan's office at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

The press conference was packed. Multiple video crews broadcast back to their home studios through remote satellite uplinks via trucks parked on the side streets along the cathedral.

A table was set up in the front of the room for the press conference. Archbishop Duncan sat in the middle, flanked by Dr. Castle on his right and Father Morelli on his left.

The archbishop introduced the psychiatrist, allowing Dr. Castle to make a short introductory statement.

"Father Bartholomew was admitted to Beth Israel last Sunday under my care," Castle told the press. "There has been much speculation that Father Bartholomew's wounds are the wounds suffered by Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. There also has been some speculation that Father Bartholomew's wounds closely resemble the wounds displayed by the man in the Shroud of Turin. At this point, I can confirm neither."

"Is this what the Vatican thinks?" A reporter had interrupted, determined to ask the first question of Father Morelli.

"The Vatican is working with Archbishop Duncan and Dr. Castle," Morelli affirmed. "The Vatican has come to no conclusions."

"It sounds like the Catholic Church is stonewalling," Fernando Ferrar told Archbishop Duncan aggressively. "Why has the Vatican not responded to the questions from the news media about whether Father Bartholomew is manifesting the wounds that scholars like Dr. Whitehouse at Columbia see in the Shroud of Turin? Why have you waited until now to make a statement to the public?"

"If we were stonewalling, we wouldn't be giving this press conference," Duncan said firmly. "The Church is first and foremost concerned about Father Bartholomew's health. I can a.s.sure you that the Church is taking seriously all questions about Father Bartholomew, including questions that concern the Shroud of Turin. We will update you as soon as we have something more definitive to say. Right now, we would only ask the people who are coming to St. Patrick's Cathedral or Beth Israel Hospital to stay home. My office is working with the mayor and the New York Police Department to control crowds and make sure the streets of the city remain pa.s.sable. Father Bartholomew appreciates your prayers, but he asks you to stay home and pray, for the safety of everybody involved."

"Does the archdiocese believe Father Bartholomew is Jesus Christ?" Ferrar asked in a follow-up question.

"The archdiocese and the Vatican have reached no conclusions about what is happening to Father Bartholomew. We are working with Dr. Castle and we will notify the public once we have anything more definitive to say."

Ferrar persisted. "Dr. Castle is a psychiatrist. Does that mean the Catholic Church thinks Father Bartholomew is crazy?"

"Again, we have no comment," Archbishop Duncan said resolutely.

Fernando Ferrar was rapidly becoming an international press celebrity, as his television news reports about Father Bartholomew were rebroadcast around the world-in Italy by RAI, by Univision and Telemundo to the Spanish world in North America, and by countless other networks in dozens of different languages.

Rather than put the controversy regarding Father Bartholomew to rest, the press conference only fueled speculation and interest in the case.

That evening, the crowd in vigil outside Beth Israel grew to well over a thousand people.

Within twenty-four hours of Father Bartholomew's appearance in the window of his hospital room, over ten million viewers had viewed Ferrar's broadcasts on YouTube.

The next morning, the New York tabloids. .h.i.t the newsstands with top headlines that read SECOND COMING-IS JESUS IN NEW YORK CITY SECOND COMING-IS JESUS IN NEW YORK CITY? and BURIAL SHROUD OF CHRIST COMES TO LIFE IN NEW YORK PRIEST BURIAL SHROUD OF CHRIST COMES TO LIFE IN NEW YORK PRIEST? The front pages of both newspapers carried photographs of Father Bartholomew at the hospital window and the Shroud of Turin.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

Thursday night Dr. Stephen Castle's apartment, New York City 12:00 A.M. A.M. ET in New York City, 6:00 ET in New York City, 6:00 A.M. A.M. Friday morning in Rome Friday morning in Rome Days 1516 Gabrielli telephoned Castle from Bologna. "I think I am very close to reproducing the Shroud using only materials and methods that were known in the thirteenth century. If I succeed, this will be the crowning achievement of my career."

"How did you do it?" Castle asked.

"I have been experimenting with red ochre, a form of iron oxide that was a common paint at the time the Shroud was forged, and with vermilion, a red pigment that medieval painters typically formed from powdered mineral cinnabar, or red mercury sulfide. I also found a way to make linen photosensitive with a colloid mixture of various plants and mercury salts that alchemists used in the Middle Ages."

"I'm following you so far," Castle said.

"By covering a student with a combination of the red ochre and vermilion, I have managed to get the image to take hold by a combination of rubbing the linen against the student's body and exposing the linen, with the student underneath it, to the type of light sources a camera obscura lens concentrates from sunlight."

"Okay," Castle said. "Then what?"

"I bake the linen in an oven and wash the result in water. The end result looks a lot like the Secondo Pia negative, with the image visible in the white highlights of what otherwise looks like a negative."

"Are you sure this is the way the Shroud of Turin was produced?" Castle asked.