his body was found intact
The opening of the tomb of the famous Spanish mystic for scientific and historical study has revealed that her body remains unaffected by putrefaction, as in two previous exhumations. The Church has long seen such phenomena as a sign of holiness.
Four centuries after the death of Teresa of Jesus, reformer of Carmel, her tomb was reopened on August 28 and the body of the saint appeared free of putrefaction.Today the tomb of Saint Therese was opened and we found that it is in the same condition as when it was last opened in 1914.” announced the general postulator of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (1), Father Marco Chiesa.
Studies to best preserve the body
Located in the Church of the Annunciation in Alba de Tormes, near Salamanca, Spain, the coffin of the Carmelite formator, who died in 1582, was exhumed on August 28, for the third time. Two exhumations had already taken place in 1750 and 1914.
This event, made possible thanks to the approval of the Vatican, was intended to “to verify aspects of the saint’s life» such as «his illnesses and his problems“, as well as “the state of preservation of the body, in order to see how to preserve it over the centuries“, explained Father Marco Chiesa to the Spanish press. The examination showed in particular that Teresa of Avila was suffering “of a limestone thorn that prevented her from walking, but she reached Alba de Tormes and her wish was to continue“.
The body of the first woman to be proclaimed a Doctor of the Church (in 1970, along with Saint Catherine of Siena) is not, however, intact. Her remains were dismembered to distribute relics throughout Europe: a foot is in Rome, a hand in Ronda (Spain), a finger in the Church of Our Lady of Loreto in Paris, etc.
Today, the bodies of 102 saints free from corruption have been recorded. Among them, Saint Bernadette Soubirous, Padre Pio, Saint Catherine Labouré, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Bakhita, Saint Philip Neri, Saint Germaine Cousin… Christian piety has long valued such phenomena, evocative of the resurrection of the flesh confessed in the Creed.
Beyond the intact bodies, some saints or blessed people give off, upon their death, a scent of flowers. And some relics secrete perfumes such as myrrh. They are then called “myroblites” and it is from them that we get the expression “to be in the odor of sanctity”. Enough to get into the scent!
(1) The postulator is responsible for presenting the cause for beatification or canonization of members of the Order of Discalced Carmelites.
