Mark Ranalletti, age 11, of South Portland, Me., for his question:

WHAT IS THE SHROUD OF TURIN?

The Shroud of Turin is a cloth that measures 14 feet long and three and a half feet wide. It is kept in Turin, Italy.

Tradition claims that this large piece of cloth was used to wrap the body of Jesus Christ after He was crucified and before He was put into a tomb.

Photographic reversal of the light and shadows of the stains on the shroud, which are largely negative, reveals a life size front and back figure of a man who was crucified, scourged, lanced and bloodily crowned.

We will probably never know for sure if this shroud did indeed cover Jesus' body. Some recent scientific findings indicate that perhaps "the cloth isn't old enough to be genuine.