Health experts are stunned by the discovery of the exhumed body of Saint Teresa of Avila, who died 442 years ago. Incredibly, scientists found that the body has not yet decayed.
A team of experts compared Saint Teresa’s exhumed body with photos of her remains taken in 1914 and found that her face is still “clearly visible” and her body well-preserved.
She was exhumed from a church in Spain, with Church officials calling it a miracle of God.
The General Postulator of the Order, Marco Chiesa, exhumed the body and, after examining it with a team of doctors, said that comparing the physical condition of the body with images taken in 1914 is difficult since those photos are in black and white.
Chiesa noted that Teresa’s skin had been “mummified” and had lost its color, adding that her face was still clearly visible to doctors.
Researchers now view her body as a potential case study to help them learn how to preserve bodies for hundreds of years. Chiesa confirmed that they are analyzing the body, but it is still too early to release any research details publicly.
Meanwhile, Teresa’s remains are kept under strict security, with ten keys needed to reach her. The Duke of Alba, the administration of Alba de Tormes, and the Father General of the Discalced Carmelites in Rome each carry three keys, while the whereabouts of the final key, known as the King’s Key, are kept hidden.
Doctors and researchers will now visually examine her body in the locked room, take photographs, and perform X-rays if needed. Chiesa stated that a team of specialist doctors will conduct these examinations to uncover the secrets that have preserved the body for almost 450 years.
St. Teresa was a Spanish mystic and one of the most influential figures in the Catholic Church. She is celebrated for her reform of the Carmelite Order and for her deep spiritual writings on prayer and mysticism.
She entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation in Ávila at the age of 20. After many years of personal struggle, she experienced profound spiritual revelations, which led her to focus on reform within her religious community.
Teresa, alongside Saint John of the Cross, played an important role in establishing the Discalced Carmelites, a branch of the Carmelite Order that emphasized poverty, simplicity, and devotion to contemplative prayer. Her work reforming the convents earned her the title “Doctor of the Church” in 1970.
Her most famous writings, including The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection, are considered masterpieces of spiritual literature.
She was canonized in 1622, and her feast day is celebrated on October 15. It can take several months before any study of her exhumed body is published for the public.
