The corpse of Saint Teresa of Jesus, who died nearly 500 years ago, has been displayed to the public for the first time since 1914.
Saint Teresa, also known as Saint Teresa of Avila, died 440 years ago in 1582 and was exhumed from a church in Spain in August, leaving experts stunned at how well preserved her body was.
Images show St Teresa’s remains laying in a silver coffin encased in marble, her face still ‘clearly visible’ and her limbs ‘incorrupt’.
Crowds of faithful gathered to view the body of the holy woman at the Basilica of the Annunciation of Oura0àa Lady of Mount Carmel in Alba de Tormes, Salamanca, Spain.
The saint is hailed as one of ‘God’s miracles’ due to her near perfect preservation, and when her coffin was opened last year, experts were able to understand the health conditions that plagued her during life.
St Teresa’s body was exhumed by Marco Chiesa, the General Postulator of the Order, at the Diocese of Avila in Spain on August 28.
Church officials shared the news on social media at the time, where Catholics said: ‘Her body is still incorrupt. Look for God’s miracles.’
Upon opening the tomb, a team of doctors compared photos taken of St Teresa’s face and foot in 1914, and the postulator said it was ‘difficult to make a comparison’ because the images were in black and white.
They did not release images of the saint from 1914, but said they plan to eventually share them.
Father Marco Chiesa explained that ‘there is no color, there is no skin color, because the skin is mummified, but it can be seen, especially in the middle of the face. It can be seen well. The expert doctors can see Teresa’s face almost clearly.’
St Teresa is the patron saint of chess players, lace makers, loss of parents, people in need of grace, people in religious orders, people ridiculed for their piety, and those who are sick.
She was a Spanish nun and became the first woman to be elevated to doctor of the church in 1970, an honor given to deceased saints for their significant contribution to the church’s doctrine.
St Teresa was canonised – meaning she was declared a saint – in March 1622.
Since her body was last exhumed, it has been described as ‘incorrupt,’ meaning it hasn’t undergone the normal process of decomposing after death.
Researchers want to uncover how St Teresa’s body has still not deteriorated and hope that it can provide information about how to preserve relics in the future.
Chiesa confirmed they’re still in the early stages of analyzing St Teresa’s body, adding that it is too early to release the details about their additional examinations.
The Diocese has taken stringent measures to protect the saint’s remains, including requiring a total of 10 keys to access her coffin.
Three of the keys are held by the Duke of Alba, another three are possessed by the city of Alba de Tormes and the Discalced Carmelite Father General in Rome has an additional three.
The 10th key – known as the King’s key – is also needed to access St Teresa’s remains, with three needed to open the outer gate, three to open the tomb and four to open the coffin.
Her remains were relocated to a locked room where a team of doctors and scientists will conduct visual examinations and take photographs and X-rays of the remains.
The samples were sent to a lab in Italy and is expected to take several months before the data can be gathered and released to the public.
‘The Order sees fit to do this work and it will be the specialists who, after their exhaustive work, will give us conclusions,’ Chiesa stated.
‘We know, from similar studies, that we will be able to learn data of great interest about Teresa and also recommendations for the conservation of the relics, but that will be at another stage.’
While studying her body, experts have also observed a health condition called calcareous spines on her feet, which they said were indicative of her religious commitment.
Calcareous spines are sharp bones recognizant of endoskeletons found on starfish and sea urchins.
St Teresa also suffered from convulsions, stomach problems, dizziness and loss of consciousness.
She defended her mystical experiences in her memoirs where she related her symptoms to having a connection to God.
‘We know that the last years were difficult for her to walk, in the pains that she herself describes,’ Chiesa explained, adding: ‘Sometimes, looking at a body, one discovers more than the person had.
‘Analysing the foot in Rome, we saw the presence of calcareous thorns that make it almost impossible to walk. But she walked [to] Alba de Tormes and, then died.’
In 1582, when St Teresa was about 67 years old and sick, she set out for Alba de Tormes to visit an old friend alongside Anne-of-St Bartholomew.
Chiesa said that despite her affliction, St Teresa’s ‘desire was to continue and move forward, despite the physical defects.’
While on the road, she grew exhausted and gravely ill and three days after St Teresa and her companion arrived at the local convent, she said to Anne: ‘At last, my daughter, I have reached the house of death.’
St Teresa’s coffin was last opened in 1914 after Father Clemente de los Santos, the superior general of the Discalced Carmelites at the time, said he wanted to see the bodies of the founding saints during his visit to Spain.
At the time, the Diocese of Ávila stated the body was still ‘completely incorrupt,’ just as it was when it was first opened in 1750.
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