St. Thomas Aquinas' skull is coming to the US!
Basically the Dominicans are sending this relic around to all the other Dominicans, and the US is going to get its turn.
This is a pretty exciting opportunity for folks who like St. Thomas Aquinas.
Sadly, he died of a head injury. So this is an important relic both for his work and for his death.
The story: Dominicans never rode horses or donkeys, as part of their rule as friars. But St. Thomas was ordered to do so, because he was sick, and in order to get him to Rome on time for an important meeting. The Dominican kid who was leading the horse was a little careless about low tree branches over the road, and St. Thomas was lost in thought. This was not a great combination, and St. Thomas cracked his head open and fell off the horse.
The young friar hurried ahead to the nearest source of help, which was the Benedictine abbey of Fossanova. They came and got St. Thomas, but no medical help was able to save him. He died there.
At which point, the Benedictines glommed onto the tomb of a famous teacher and probable saint, and refused to give the body back to the Dominicans for the next century.
Eventually the body was given back, and was then taken to Toulouse, the homeplace of the Dominicans.
Posted Nov 27, 2024, 2:34 AM UTC