London, Dec 30 (IANS) The Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, has strongly endorsed research that suggests the Turin Shroud could be the actual burial cloth of Christ.

Experts from the National Agency for New Technologies and Energy in Italy, who conducted five years of advanced laser experiments, concluded that the imprint of a bearded man’s face on the 14 foot by 3.5 foot shroud could not be reproduced by the latest scientific techniques.

They concluded that the iconic image was created by some form of electromagnetic energy (such as a flash of light at short wavelength), the Telegraph reported.

Giuseppe Ghiberti, the president of the Turin Commission (responsible for the relic), told L’Osservatore Romano: “Revelations about the shroud easily assume a sensational tone, but in this case the measured way the scientists speak of their research is to be appreciated. It’s a rare thing that gives the news added seriousness.”

The researchers presented their results with extreme caution and had stopped short of putting forward theories that strayed from science, the Vatican daily said.

But the implication of their work was that the enigmatic marks on the cloth were created at the moment of Christ’s resurrection by some sort of miracle.

The Catholic Church would welcome more tests being conducted on the holy relic, Ghiberti said.