Answer: In December 1532, the Shroud was kept in a silver reliquary in the chapel of the Savoy court when a fire broke out. The intense heat melted the silver, and molten metal dripped onto the folded linen, burning through several layers of the cloth. The Poor Clare nuns later repaired the damage with triangular patches, which remain visible today. This near‑disaster became one of the most dramatic episodes in the Shroud’s history, shaping both its physical appearance and the reverence with which it has been preserved ever since.