In my post yesterday I mentioned that St Thomas’s relics were transferred to the Dominican church in Toulouse in 1369. From 1789 until 1974 they reposed in the basilica of St Sernin in the city and were then returned to the Dominican church, Les Jacobins. Although it is no longer a functioning church and cared for as an historic monument the relics were enshrined beneath an altar, and the building is still the resort of pilgrims.
Today I came across a link to an article on the website of the Catholic News Agency about the new reliquary which was provided for the skull of the saint at the beginning of 2023 and the year of celebrations leading up to the anniversary of his death. It can be seen at Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas unveiled for 700th anniversary of his canonization (sic)
When I was posting yesterday and looking for images of St Thomas the fact that there is no single received image of what he looked like. Different artists have been largely free to depict him as they wished. The articles I saw that referred to his relics suggested that there has been confusion as to which indeed was his skull. Assuming that the one now with his other bones in Toulouse is his then it should be possible for one of the modern experts in these matters to reconstruct his appearance from the original or indeed even from photographs.
No comments:
Post a Comment