Geoffrey de Charny

This page is best understood by first reading the page about the History of the Shroud of Turin

The French knight, Geoffrey de Charny, was the first known Western European owner of the Shroud that has come to be known as the Shroud of Turin. No records have been located to indicate who might have owned the cloth before Geoffrey.

He wrote to Pope Clement VI that he planned to build a church at Lirey, France, to honor the Holy Trinity who answered his prayers for a miraculous escape from the English who held him as a battlefield prisoner. He was already in possession of the Shroud. Some historians believe he acquired it in Constantinople. But others argues that it was likely obtained from someone in France. The record just isn't clear.

Large numbers of pilgrims visited the church at Lirey to view expositions and displays of the relic. A special medallions was struck to commemorate one such exposition. One such medallion is displayed at the Cluny Museum in Paris.

Geoffrey de Charny was killed at the Battle of Poitiers, fighting at the side of the King of France.

The Shroud remained with the de Charny family for about one hundred years. It then passed into the hands of the Savoy family. It remained a possession of the Savoy family until well into the 20th century when it was willed to the Pope in Rome.

The Shroud of Turin remains in Turin, Italy.