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Date Published: 15/05/2025

Spanish St Teresa of Ávila's body displayed for first public veneration in over a century

Pilgrims flock to Alba de Tormes for rare opportunity to venerate Spain’s revered mystic and reformer

For the first time in 111 years, the tomb of Saint Teresa of Ávila, also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus, has been opened to the public for veneration in the Spanish town of Alba de Tormes, Salamanca. The rare event, which began on Sunday May 11, allows pilgrims to view the 16th-century saint’s body in the Basilica of the Annunciation until May 25.

Although the tomb has been opened on previous occasions, including for scientific study as recently as August last year, it is unprecedented in modern times for the remains to be exhibited for such an extended period and to such a wide public audience. The last time this occurred was in 1914, and before that, in 1760 and shortly after her death in 1582.

The body, which lies in a glass-fronted reliquary in the convent church, has sparked both profound emotion and some controversy. While many visitors were visibly moved, some seen praying or overcome with tears, the display also drew scepticism and debate online, with critics questioning the appropriateness of exhibiting what is described as a sacred but visibly skeletal corpse.

Saint Teresa, born in 1515 in the town of Gotarrendura in Spain’s Ávila, was a Carmelite nun, mystic, reformer and a towering figure in Spanish religious history. She founded the Discalced Carmelites, a reformed branch of the Carmelite order that emphasised austerity and contemplative prayer.

Canonised in 1622 and declared the first female Doctor of the Church in 1970, her legacy includes major spiritual works such as ‘The Book of Life’ and ‘The Interior Castle’ (‘Las Moradas’), which remain foundational texts of Christian mysticism.

Throughout her life and after her death, Teresa’s body has been a subject of fascination and reverence. She was buried three times, and her remains were partly dismembered to produce relics including her heart, arm and hand – the latter at one point held by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

According to Discalced Carmelite authorities and researchers, the parts of the body visible in the current display, particularly the face and foot, remain in the same state as when they were last publicly seen in 1914.

A recent scientific report led by Italian anthropologist Professor Luigi Capasso described the preservation as “a truly unique natural phenomenon,” noting that the saint’s right foot, left hand, heart and left arm were “perfectly preserved” with no signs of decomposition, despite the absence of embalming.

Saint Teresa died on October 15, 1582 at the age of 67. According to Catholic tradition, her body was found intact when exhumed nine months later, allegedly giving off a pleasant scent, a phenomenon that was interpreted by contemporaries as a sign of sanctity.

Whether her body’s current condition qualifies as “incorrupt” has become a matter of debate, not least on social media, where both memes and criticisms have proliferated in response to the exhibition.

One person said on Bluesky: “What need is there to publicly expose a corpse, even if it is Saint Teresa, and pretend that contrary to evidence it is ‘uncorrupted’? It seems to me to be a real desecration.”

Another wrote on X: “If this is the UNCORRUPT body of St. Teresa, the woman was a mess before she died.”

Pregunta seria de lunes ¿Qué necesidad hay de exponer públicamente un cadáver, por muy de santa Teresa que sea, y pretender que a pesar de la evidencia está "incorrupto"? Me parece una auténtica profanación.

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— Agustin-Martinez (@agustin-martinez.bsky.social) May 12, 2025 at 10:26 AM

Si este es el cuerpo INCORRUPTO de Santa Teresa, la mujer estaba hecha misto antes de palmar. pic.twitter.com/inhCwwUmOR
— skakeo fanzine (@skakeofanzine) May 12, 2025

Images: Diputación de Salamanca

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