Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 20:17 | Updated 20:29h.
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An unusual and historic event. The body of Saint Teresa of Jesus located in Alba de Tormes has seen the light 110 years later. It was in 1914, when the general of the order, Clemente de los Santos, wanted to take advantage of his visit to Spain to see the body of the founders: San Juan de la Cruz, in Segovia, and of Saint Teresa, in Alba de Tormes. Today, August 28, the process has been repeated, but with the approval of the Pope of Rome and the firm conviction that the body, heart and arm of the Saint be canonized.
To do this, a total of 10 keys had to be collected, a protection system created in the 17th century, by which the keys to the tomb were distributed among people or entities, civil and religious, that represented the interested parties in some way. Specifically, there are ten keys to the tomb: three are held by the community, three by the Duke of Alba, and the same number by the Father General in Rome, and one to the inner silver chest by the King.
At 8:00 a.m. the marble slab was removed from the tomb to recover the silver urn containing the body of Saint Teresa of Jesus, a vessel that caught the attention of the team of Italian doctors and scientists, headed by the prestigious professor, Luigi Capasso. “It had excellent ornamentation, with a magnificent state of conservation,” said the Prior of Alba de Tormes, Fr. Miguel Ángel González.
Thus, with a little Spanish and a pinch of Italian, Saint Teresa has been exalted. A procession, a common prayer and another in silence. Respect and admiration, as well as “emotion”, according to the General Postulator of the Discalced Carmelite Order, Fr. Marco Chiesa, have been present at all times. Even the nuns of the Discalced Carmelites have participated in the solemn act, carrying the silver urn through the passages of the cloistered monastery, to the room prepared for the work to be carried out.
Once in the room, the casket was opened. One of the most eagerly awaited moments, when it was observed that the body is in the same condition as in 1914, according to the photographs provided at the time and what was seen externally in the few hours of analysis. It is in the second phase held in Rome that further considerations can be made and ways of improving conservation in the coming years.
The first considerations: the foot problem that prevented him from walking
Aside from the historical and spiritual significance of this moment, Luigi Capasso believes that thanks to this scientific method we will be able to know even more about the figure of Saint Teresa of Jesus. “What she was like. We knew that her last years of life were difficult, in terms of walking, the pain… which she even describes. Analysing her feet in Rome, we saw the presence of wounds that would have made it almost impossible for her to walk, but she did it, to get to Alba de Tormes, where she finally died, although her intention was to continue,” he acknowledges.
«Analyzing her feet in Rome, we saw the presence of wounds that would have made it almost impossible for her to walk, but she did it, to get to Alba de Tormes»
Next phases to be executed
On August 28, a visual analysis and canonical recognition of Saint Teresa of Jesus will be carried out. Tomorrow, Thursday, August 29, the work will focus on the heart, the arm and the hand that are in Rome. Likewise, the goldsmiths, all of them from Salamanca, will open the reliquaries of the major relics to proceed with the study of the canonical recognition of the three. The maximum time will be one year.
The procedure for considering relics as canonical requires the approval of the Holy See of Rome, as well as a resolution by the Diocese of Salamanca. Everything must be demonstrated with evidence and documents and for this reason a Court, a notary, as well as the medical and scientific team and the documentation found are needed.
Can this study change history? “You can’t change it, but you can expand it, help to get to know the person better and learn more about him or her.”
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