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Discovered on the steps of the church as a baby, young Father Jamie Ignatius, raised by nuns, now preaches in his only home since birth. Lately, in prayer, asking the burning question of his life, "Who am I, Father?" he has experienced horrifying visions of murdering the people he loves.Soon Jamie begins to have waking visions of a tall figure wrapped in burial linens -- its face an image of his own! Fearing for his sanity, he seeks help from beautiful Maureen Sullivan, a woman he feels strangely, erotically drawn to. A student of parapsychology, she hypnotizes Jamie and guides him back to his past lives. They discover that she is his love and that Jamie is Judas Thomas, the main believed to be the twin brother of Jesus, who betrayed him to the authorities before his crucifixion. Jamie believes he has been reborn again and again to atone for his crime, and Maureen must agree when she sees a photograph of the Shroud of Turin, believed to be Jesus' burial cloth, and the face of the crucified man is Jamie's!In a shattering climax, the shrouded figure leads the entranced Jamie deep into the cathedral's crypt and toward his only chance to redeem his soul....
A young priest plagued by violent visions discovers a terrifying connection between his own identity and the ancient mystery of the Shroud of Turin. Father Jamie Ignatius, raised in isolation by nuns, struggles to reconcile his holy vocation with the horrific, murderous impulses that haunt his prayers. As he experiences waking visions of a shrouded figure bearing his own face, he turns to Maureen Sullivan, a parapsychology student, to unlock the secrets of his past. Their investigation into his previous incarnations leads to the unsettling revelation that Jamie may be the reincarnation of Judas Thomas, the twin brother of Jesus, destined to repeat a cycle of betrayal and atonement. The narrative follows their descent into the occult, testing the boundaries of faith, sanity, and historical truth.
This novel presents a blend of religious mystery and supernatural horror that relies on the tension between faith and the occult. The premise suggests a narrative focused on the psychological unraveling of a protagonist caught between his ecclesiastical duties and a dark, inherited past. Readers likely encounter a fast-paced exploration of reincarnation tropes, with the Shroud of Turin serving as a focal point for the story's metaphysical stakes. The work leans into the conventions of 1980s horror, prioritizing high-concept supernatural conflict and dramatic revelations over subtle character development.
Page Count:
288
Publication Date:
1984-02-23
Publisher:
HarperCollins Distribution Services
ISBN-10:
0006168841
ISBN-13:
9780006168843
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