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Vanessa Melgar
Tuesday, 3 September 2024, 16:09
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The hand of Saint Teresa of Jesus has now returned to Ronda to the convent of the Discalced Carmelites so that these nuns can continue to watch over it. It travelled last week to Alba de Tormes in Salamanca where the nun, who died in 1582, is buried.
The journey was made so the hand could be involved in a study on the state of conservation of all her remains. This was done following full Vatican approval of the study and the team of doctors and scientists led by Professor Luigi Capasso.
Therefore, on 29 August, the tomb was re-opened in the Basilica of the Annunciation of the Carmelite Mothers in Alba de Tormes after 110 years. It was in 1914 that the Postulator General of the Order of the Discalced Carmel, Clemente de los Santos, wanted to verify the remains of the founders of the Order - namely, of Saint John of the Cross in Segovia and of Saint Teresa in Alba.
"After the study of the relics of the heart and arm, which are venerated in Alba de Tormes, and the hand, kept in Ronda, it has been concluded that the state of conservation is exceptional," stated the Brotherhood of María Santísima en La Soledad, whose canonical seat is the Church of La Merced, next door to the convent (del Corazón Eucarístico de Jesús) of the Discalced Carmelites in Ronda. Visual surveys, photographs and state-of-the-art X-rays were carried out, among other actions.
On the hand's return to Ronda the Discalced Carmelites have been briefed on the discoveries made so far in this study and on the health problems suffered by Saint Teresa in the last years of her life. Broadly speaking, the aim is to shed light on the history of the nun who became a saint and to add to the documentation and conservation of her remains.
The transfer of the hand from Ronda to Salamanca received the approval of the Bishop of Malaga, Jesús Catalá, who asked that the hand be kept away from its 'home town' as shortly as possible due to the fact that the Discalced Carmelites are in the middle of a centenary celebration of the foundation of their convent (also approved by the Pope).
There are further steps in this study. The second phase of the study will be carried out in laboratories in Italy by the aforementioned team of experts, with an estimated duration of several months, according to the Diocese of Malaga. The results and conclusions will then be published.
For the third phase in Alba de Tormes, certain actions will be proposed for the continued conservation of the remains. The hand will once again travel from Ronda to this Salamanca town, but this time for good. The tomb and the reliquaries (hand, heart and arm) will then be sealed. Before the definitive closure takes place, "a suitable time for the veneration of the holy relics will be made known," the Diocese stated.
At present, the Ronda family of sisters is not at its best, due to the low number of nuns currently based at the convent. The wider congregation of devotees fears the closure of the convent and has asked for new vocations (a 'recruitment' call for more to follow this religious life). These nuns are very much loved in Ronda and the town plans to name them Hijas Adoptivas (adoptive daughters) in the near future, a request backed by more than 1,000 signatures from local residents that has been submitted to the town hall.
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