SCIENCE REVEALS THE TRUE FACE OF SAINT TERESA OF AVILA

Ávila, May 20, 2025. An international team of experts has reconstructed the face of Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) using cutting-edge digital technologies and historical data. This initiative, presented on March 28, 2025, the 510th anniversary of her birth, accurately recreated the original face of Saint Teresa of Avila when she was around fifty years old, according to the Spanish website Religión Digital.

The team, led by Italian anthropologist Luigi Capasso of the Gabriele d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, worked with Professor Jennifer Mann of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine at Monash University in Australia.

The Italian professor was in charge of the exhumation and study of the relics of Saint Teresa of Ávila, preserved in the Monastery of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Alba de Tormes, Spain.

The facial reconstruction process was based on an exhaustive study of the saint's remains, preserved in various locations: her body, left arm, and heart in Alba de Tormes (Salamanca); her left hand in Ronda (Málaga); and her right foot in Rome.

Professor Jennifer Mann modeled "the most accurate representation" of Saint Teresa's appearance, based on data obtained in Alba de Tormes during the opening of the tomb. Researchers used advanced forensic techniques, such as X-rays, anthropomorphic measurements, and 3D facial reconstruction software.

They also drew on historical sources from the portrait painted by Friar Juan de la Miseria (1526-1616) and detailed descriptions from contemporaries, including Mother María de San José: "In her youth, she was reputed to be very beautiful, and until her later years, she remained so; her face was by no means ordinary, but extraordinary, and of a type that cannot be called round or aquiline, with equal thirds, a broad and even forehead, and very beautiful."

The resulting image shows Saint Teresa of Jesus at the age of 50, at the beginning of her reform of Carmel. Her features reveal a woman of short stature but great strength. The three moles that adorned her face have been faithfully incorporated into the reconstruction.

The study not only revealed Saint Teresa's appearance but also revealed her health and physical condition. The analyses indicate that the saint suffered from various conditions, including osteoporosis, a spinal deformity, osteoarthritis in both knees, and inflammation of the arch of the foot.  These conditions would explain her stooped posture and the mobility difficulties she suffered in the last years of her life, as reported by herself and her contemporaries. Despite these physical difficulties, Saint Teresa demonstrated an unwavering strength that allowed her to carry out her reforming work.

Sources: cath.ch/religion digital/DICI n°455 – Fsspx.Actualités. Image: DR y OM