Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas coming to Baltimore for veneration

The skull that believers say once held one of the greatest minds in the history of the Catholic Church is coming to Baltimore.

The relic of St. Thomas Aquinas, a 13th-century Italian Dominican priest known for his systematic theological writings, will be available for public veneration at Ss. Philip and James in Homewood Dec. 17-18. The visit to Baltimore will be the final stop on a tour sponsored by the Dominican Province of St. Joseph that will include visits to 11 sites in seven states and the District of Columbia.

During the Baltimore visit, Dominican Father Nicanor Austriaco, professor of biological sciences and professor of sacred theology at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, will present a 7 p.m. lecture Dec. 17 titled “St. Thomas Aquinas: Student, Professor, Friend of God.” Dominican Father Patrick Briscoe, editor of Our Sunday Visitor, will celebrate a 7:10 p.m. Mass Dec. 18.

“It’s our hope that by bringing St. Thomas’ relics to Baltimore, we’ll be able to bless not only Ss. Philip and James, but our entire city and archdiocese by his intercession and the grace that the Lord wishes to bring through him,” said Dominican Father Michael Weibley, pastor of Ss. Philip and James.

The saint’s skull, entrusted to the Dominicans in Toulouse, France, is kept in a special glass reliquary.

Another skull that some purport to be that of St. Thomas Aquinas is held in Piverno, Italy, but Father Weibley believes the one coming to Baltimore holds the true claim.

“As far as I know, these relics are the real ones,” he said. “That’s the common thought of the church.”

Relics show the reality of the incarnation, Father Weibley said.

“When we venerate the relics of our saints, it’s a sign of the deepness of the incarnation,” he said. “It’s also a call to the fullness of the resurrection because one day, at the Second Coming, when our Lord comes back, what will happen is that we will receive again the fullness of our bodies. And so this skull that held the great and glorious brain of St. Thomas will one day be back united with his soul and the glory of the resurrection.”

Dominican Father Ambrose Little, assistant director of the Thomistic Institute, said in an interview with Catholic Review Radio that there are psychological, personal and theological reasons to venerate saints’ relics.

“When you’re standing before the relics of an individual saint, you realize St. Thomas was not just some mythical historical figure in the past,” he said. “These are his bones, these were part of him. This held his brain and just recognizing that can bring the past into the present psychologically for us.”

The skull will be displayed first at St. Dominic in Washington, D.C. Nov. 29, beginning at 12:10 p.m. with Mass celebrated by Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington. Veneration continues until 7 p.m., with vespers at 5:30 p.m. and night prayer at 6:45 p.m., concluding with a Marian procession.

On Nov. 30, the relic will be received at the Dominican House of Studies beginning with lauds and a votive Mass of St. Thomas Aquinas at 7:30 a.m. Veneration will continue until 5 p.m. with Dominican Father Gregory Pine preaching at 3 p.m.

The 750th anniversary of the saint’s death is being commemorated this year.

Baltimore Schedule

All events at Ss. Philip and James, Homewood

Dec. 17

7 p.m. – Lecture by Dominican Father Nicanor Austriaco on “St. Thomas Aquinas: Student, Professor, Friend of God.”
7-9 p.m. – Veneration of relics

Dec. 18 

Noon-9 p.m. – Veneration of relics
Noon – Mass
6 p.m. – Holy Hour
7:10 p.m. – Mass, celebrated by Dominican Father Patrick Briscoe
8-9 p.m. – Veneration of relics
8 p.m. – Party in the church hall

Editor’s note: This story was updated at noon on Dec. 18 to clarify information about the reliquary.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

Also read: Radio Interview: St. Thomas Aquinas and the search for truth

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