Another friend of Collegamento pro Sindone left us: on July 14, 2007 the chemist Giovanni Novelli, an authority in the field of minerals at a world-wide level, passed away in Livorno (Italy). He was also an expert in coal and its use with vanguard technologies and an advisor of the Chinese Government. Among his many publications, his book on Bentonite (2003) stands out. For twenty years he had been honorary Consul of Finland in Livorno. He had also devoted himself to religious and social topics at an international level and had been President of the Serra Club. He wrote documented and punctual books and articles on the Shroud. In his numerous conferences held in several parts of the world he has always defended the authenticity of the Shroud with incontrovertible scientific arguments. His death leaves a gap that cannot be filled.

Another loss in the world of the Sindonology: on  July 7, 2007 Daniel Raffard de Brienne passed away. He has been president of several associations: Renaissance Catholique, Ecole Notre-Dame de Fatima à La Chapelle d'Armentières, Association of the Catholic writers in French language, CIELT (Centre International d'Etudes sur the Linceul de Turin). Apologist of great talent, he wrote many books of documentation, above all historical, on the precious Relic kept in Turin. The Shroud has lost an active and effective defender of its authenticity.

Another friend left us: on Friday, May 11, 2007, at the age of 60, the Vatican correspondent of Il Messaggero and Shroud expert Orazio Petrosillo died.

Another sad news for the sindonologists: on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at the age of 87, the famous Shroud scholar don Luigi Fossati, SDB died.