Our Discalced Carmelite nuns in Puzol (Valencia), Spain have provided a summary of the initial conclusions of medical researchers during their on-site examination of Saint Teresa’s incorrupt remains. We present our translation and a link to the original article on their blog, “Teresa, de la rueca a la pluma.”
On August 30th, the first phase of the study of the remains of St. Teresa of Avila was completed in Alba de Tormes, which has already provided initial evidence about the saint’s health in the last years of her life.
“The medical team has concluded, after this initial on-site analysis, that Teresa had a very fragile physical constitution. For at least the last few years, her posture was severely affected by kyphosis, causing her to walk with a pronounced stoop,” reported Fr. Marco Chiesa, OCD, Postulator General of the Discalced Carmelite Order.
Fr. Marco pointed out that kyphosis resulted in an exaggerated forward curvature of St. Teresa’s upper back. Kyphosis is usually due to the weakness of the bones of the spine, which causes them to fracture and compress, although the medical team has indicated that St. Teresa did not suffer from osteoporosis.
“The deformation of the vertebrae of the spine forced Teresa to breathe with difficulty, at least in the last years of her life,” concluded Father Marco Chiesa. From a medical point of view, in this initial analysis, it was found that the Saint suffered from rheumatism and osteoarthritis in the left knee.
Similarly, the Discalced Carmelite Postulator General explained that Teresa of Avila suffered from plantar fasciitis in the last years of her life. “The doctors indicate that this injury must have caused her a lot of pain when walking,” said Father Chiesa.
For his part, Father Miguel Ángel González, OCD, the prior of Alba de Tormes, said that according to this initial examination, she used both her right and left hands with equal precision, which raises the possibility that she could have been ambidextrous. Until now, it was known (St. Teresa wrote about it) that on December 24, 1577, she broke her left arm in Saint Joseph’s monastery in Avila and that in May 1578, a healer from Medina del Campo reset it.
Father Miguel Ángel explained:
“This preliminary analysis indicates that there was no fracture in the left arm. There was a dislocation, especially in the wrist. When the healer from Medina del Campo was able to help her after several months, she and an assistant pulled the arm and dislocated the shoulder. In other words, the cure was worse than the disease. That arm remained quite useless for the last five years of her life.”
This issue of the arm is very well documented in the writings of St. Teresa herself and in the testimonies for her beatification.
“God was pleased that it wasn’t my right arm that suffered the damage, and so I can write this” (Letter 235, March 1578). She also wrote to Father Gracián about her visit to the healer in Medina del Campo: “I had lost the use of my wrist, for it has been a long time since I fell. So the pain and toil were terrible […]. I can move the hand well and lift the arm as far as my head” (Letter 244, 7 May 1578).
The medical team working in Alba de Tormes indicates that before the accident in 1577, the Saint used her left hand a lot and without difficulty. The reports presented by the doctors will help to clarify if she was ambidextrous.
Closure of the Sepulcher
After the conclusion of this first phase, the silver casket was closed with its four corresponding keys. Following the closure, the casket with the body of the saint was transferred to the upper chapel of the basilica from the cloister where it had remained for two days. The same people participated in the transfer two days ago.
“The silver casket with the saint’s body has been placed inside, and the marble slab has been put in place, closing it with its three corresponding keys. The grille was then locked with its three keys,” Father Miguel Ángel González, Prior of Alba de Tormes, said.
The arm, the heart, and the hand have been placed in their corresponding reliquaries, which have undergone a cleaning process. The heart and the arm have been put back in the chapel, where they remain as usual.
With the information collected, the second stage of this process will begin in Italian laboratories and research centers. The researchers announced that there is much work to be done and they will present their conclusions about the saintly remains at the appropriate time.
Father Marco Chiesa restated the previous information:
“The first stage of this on-site process in Alba de Tormes has concluded, and the second stage will now begin in Italian research laboratories. It will last several months. During 2025, the researchers will reach their conclusions, and the third stage will take place in Alba de Tormes.”
http://delaruecaalapluma.com/2024/08/30/fragilidades-fisicas-de-teresa-a-la-luz-de-la-investigacion-de-sus-restos/
Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Featured image: The Discalced Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Alba de Tormes, Spain, gathered with the Discalced Carmelite friars from the Iberian Province as they returned the silver casket of St. Teresa of Avila to its resting place in the marble sepulcher of the monastery. Father Miguel Ángel González, OCD, prior of the Discalced Carmelite friars in Alba de Tormes (fourth from the right, next to the sepulcher), and Discalced Carmelite Postulator General Father Marco Chiesa, OCD (fifth from the right), presided over the solemn rite. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites / delaruecaalapluma.com
https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/31/stj-closecasket/
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