This is the 'Face' of Jesus as a Boy (Photos)

This is the "angelic" face of a 12-year-old Jesus  – according to Italian police.

Detectives used computer forensic techniques that have helped to catch mafia bosses to generate the image.

First, they created a photo-fit picture from the facial image in the Turin Shroud, which many believe to be that of Jesus. They then used a computer program to reverse the ageing process by reducing the jaw size, slimming the face and softening the eyes to arrive at the younger Christ.

Italian police use the same digital techniques, but in reverse, to create updated photo-fit images of
fugitive mafia bosses whose faces have not been seen for years.

The image of the young Jesus was created to coincide with the latest exhibition of the Turin Shroud at Turin Cathedral which is expected to attract millions of visitors, including Pope Francis. Pope Francis decreed the latest exhibition to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of St John Bosco, a 19th century monk who devoted his life to the education of poor children in newly-industrialised Turin.

Debate rages over the authenticity of the Shroud, which is imprinted with the image of a man who appears to have been crucified.

When the shroud was last presented to the public, in 2010, more than two million people filed past it.