While carrying the heavy cross up to Golgotha, or Calvary, Christ is suddenly approached by a woman, who wipes the sweat from his face with a cloth. An imprint of Christ’s countenance was left in the material. The woman in this apocryphal (non-canonical) story later became known as Veronica. She is nearly always depicted in representations of the bearing of the cross and Calvary, the hill where Christ was crucified. Veronica’s cloth or sudarium is preserved as a holy relic in Rome. In art the cloth is also depicted as an independent motif, showing the features of Christ’s face and usually held by angels. The name Veronica combines of the words vera and icon, which together mean ‘true image’. The cloth is said to convey Christ’s ‘true countenance’.
