Rare ‘Divine Blood’ on Shroud of Turin Sparks New Claims of Authenticity

For centuries, the Shroud of Turin has been hailed by believers as the burial cloth of Jesus Christ — and dismissed by skeptics as a medieval fake. Now, new claims about its bloodstains are reigniting one of the most heated debates in religious history.

Dr. Jeremiah Johnston, a biblical scholar, told the Tucker Carlson Network that scientific testing has identified a rare AB blood type on the Shroud — the same type found on the Sudarium of Oviedo, a face cloth also linked to Christ’s burial.

“This is type AB blood, Semitic in origin, present in only six percent of the population,” Johnston said. “It’s human, it’s male, and it’s both premortem and postmortem. If you tried to fake this, you’d have to actually kill someone.”

According to Johnston, roughly 700 visible wounds mark the Shroud’s image, consistent with Roman crucifixion methods. “We’re talking pints of AB blood, from a man who was brutally tortured,” he said.

First displayed in France in 1354, the Shroud quickly drew suspicion. The Catholic Church once denounced it as a hoax, but later embraced it as genuine. In 1988, radiocarbon dating suggested it originated between 1260 and 1390 AD — fueling claims it was a medieval forgery. Johnston disputes those results, saying only a contaminated corner patch was tested. “The actual linen has never been dated,” he insisted.

The Shroud’s image — a faint, full-body imprint of a bearded man — is itself a scientific mystery. Johnston notes it is only two microns thick and does not penetrate the cloth. “If it were painted, the pigment would have soaked through. Instead, it’s so thin we could shave it off with a razor,” he said.

Italian researchers have suggested the image could have been created by a burst of energy. Paolo Di Lazzaro, a physicist at ENEA Laboratories, replicated similar chemical changes in linen fibers using a short, massive laser blast — 34 trillion watts over a fraction of a second.

The AB blood finding dates back to 1982, when Italian pathologist Dr. Pierluigi Baima Bollone sampled a stain from the Shroud’s pierced side. Subsequent tests on the foot area revealed M, N, and S antigens, confirming the blood was human.

Researchers used two methods: antibody testing by exposing fibers to red blood cells, and antigen testing through mixed agglutination with anti-A and anti-B serums. In both cases, results pointed to AB blood.

Not all scientists are convinced. Dr. Kelly Kearse, an immunologist, argues that the testing lacked controls and could have been skewed by bacterial contamination or centuries of degradation. “It could be AB, but I don’t think the evidence is solid,” he wrote in a 2020 study.

For believers, the latest findings deepen the case for authenticity. For skeptics, the mystery remains unsolved. Johnston calls the Shroud “the most lied-about and misunderstood artifact in the world.”

Whether it is proof of the Resurrection or the most elaborate relic in history, one fact is certain: the debate over the Shroud of Turin isn’t going away.