ALBA DE TORMES, Spain (LifeSiteNews) — The more than 400-year-old body of St. Teresa of Avila has been discovered to still be incorrupt after being exhumed for the first time since 1914.
On August 28, researchers opened St. Teresa of Avila’s coffin for the first time in 110 years, to find that her body remains incorrupt, according to Marco Chiesa, the general postulator of the Order of Discalced Carmelites.
“Today the tomb of Saint Teresa was opened, and we have verified that it is in the same condition as when it was last opened in 1914,” Chiesa stated.
“The uncovered parts, which are the face and foot, are the same as they were in 1914,” he continued. “There is no color, no skin color, because the skin is mummified, but you can see it, especially in the middle of the face. It looks good. The medical experts, they can almost see Teresa’s face clearly.”
The purpose of exhuming her body was to confirm that it had remained incorrupt since 1914, when her tomb was last opened. The Carmelite nun and Doctor of the Church was first discovered to be incorrupt in 1585, after her death in 1582.
Since then, her body has remained at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Alba de Tormes in northwestern Spain, except for certain relics that have been sent to other churches for veneration.
Opening St. Teresa’s coffin is a complicated process, involving 10 keys. Three of the keys are kept in Alba de Tormes, three on loan from the Duke of Alba, and three kept in Rome by the Discalced Carmelite Father General, along with the king’s key.
The first three keys are used to open the exterior grille, the second three to open the marble sepulcher, and the other four are used to open the silver casket.
Chiesa explained that the research aims to “check aspects of the saint’s life such as her illnesses and problems, as well as the state of preservation of the body to see how it can be intervened to preserve it for centuries.”
The process began in August 2022 by the prior of Alba de Tormes and was given approval by the Vatican and Pope Francis.
He expressed hope to “get to know the saint better, her offering, her last years of life defined by pain.”
“It has already been detected that she suffered from calcareous spine in her foot which made it impossible for her to walk, but she walked and arrived at Alba de Tormes and her desire was to continue but it was physically difficult,” he revealed.
The research is expected to take some time and will involve three stages. The first will be to use visual recognition, photographs, and x-rays, then the findings will be examined by Italian laboratories by the team of participating doctors and scientists.
Finally, the team will likely suggest methods for better preserving the body, before the tomb and will be closed and sealed.