Daniella Spadini pressed a lay Dominican formation book to a box holding a relic of St. Thomas Aquinas on Dec. 10 at St. Louis Bertrand Church. Spadini, who drove from Nashville to venerate the skull of Aquinas, is a candidate for the Dominican third-order. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
A young woman pressed a book, part of St. Thomas Aquinas’ “Summa Theologiae” to a reliquary containing the skull of Aquinas on Dec. 10. St. Thomas Aquinas is well-known for his compendium of Catholic theological tradition. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen)
More than 2,000 Catholics passed through St. Louis Bertrand Church, 1104 S. Sixth Street, to see a nearly 800-year-old relic on Dec. 10.
The relic is the skull of St. Thomas Aquinas, a prominent doctor of the church, Dominican priest, and author of the “Summa Theologiae” — a compendium of Catholic theological tradition.
Veneration of the major relic, held throughout the day, paused for a midday votive Mass of St. Thomas Aquinas. Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre — who celebrated the Mass with six other priests — reminded the standing-room-only congregation about the difference between veneration and worship.
“Our focus is on God, and God alone — the God whom Thomas Aquinas adored and served,” he said. The faithful revere relics, but do not worship them, he told the crowd.
“Our presence here before this relic is to honor and revere St. Thomas Aquinas for his great faith in Jesus Christ,” he said.
As Catholics waited in line for more than an hour for a glimpse of the skull, encased in a gold-colored reliquary, students from Immaculata Classical Academy sang hymns — including several written by the saint. Dozens of individuals stood in a lengthy confession line.
Among those in line to see the relic were seminarians, religious sisters, priests, families and schoolchildren from Holy Angels Academy, Corpus Christi Classical Academy and Immaculata Classical Academy.
Catholics traveled from across the archdiocese to attend — and some drove from other dioceses, such as the Diocese of Covington, the Diocese of Owensboro and the Diocese of Nashville.
Daniella Spadini, a teacher, made the misty morning drive from Nashville with a friend. She is in the candidacy process to become a third-order Dominican, she said during an interview. She wanted to ask the saint for his intercession as she continues her formation, she explained.
Spadini said she admires St. Thomas Aquinas because of his “passion for the truth” and humility in pursuing it. As a songwriter, she feels a connection to him — who wrote hymns and poetry “highlighting the beauty of the faith,” she said.
After welling up with tears as she venerated the relic, Spadini said she didn’t expect to get emotional.
“It’s really humbling to be face-to-face with one of the greatest minds in Catholic history. It’s really a call higher to be more bold and active in that pursuit of truth,” she said.
The major relic is traveling to various cities amid several jubilees — 2023 marked the 700th anniversary of his canonization, 2024 marked the 750th anniversary of his death and 2025 will mark the 800th year since his birth.
‘Even after their death, there is the tradition that God keeps working through the body, the humanity, of these saints. Even though the saints have departed from this world, they are still alive with God and active through their charity. They are still working their graces through their bodies.’
— Dominican Father Bernard Timothy
The relic, usually kept in the Dominican Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse, France — where the Dominicans were founded — has been on a U.S. tour since its first stop in Washington D.C. on Nov. 29. The relic then stopped in Virginia, Rhode Island and Ohio before its stop in Louisville. The relic also made a stop at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Ky., on Dec. 11 and 12. The relic will then continue its U.S. tour, making visits in New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore.
Relics impart graces that are noted in Scripture and in the testimony of the early church, said Dominican Father Bernard Timothy, pastor of St. Louis Bertrand Church, in an interview the morning of Dec. 10.
In the Old Testament, he noted, the bones of Elisha brought a man back to life (2 Kings 13:21). And in the New Testament, in Acts 19:11-12, people touched cloth that touched the skin of St. Paul; they were healed of sicknesses and evil spirits departed, he said.
“God gives the graces through these saints,” he explained. “Even after their death, there is the tradition that God keeps working through the body, the humanity, of these saints.
“Even though the saints have departed from this world, they are still alive with God and active through their charity. They are still working their graces through their bodies,” he said.
For the eight Dominican friars that reside at St. Louis Bertrand, the visit was a “great blessing,” said Father Timothy.
“He is one of our brothers, of course. We study a lot of St. Thomas Aquinas. How we approach things is very much influenced by St. Thomas Aquinas,” he said. Seeing the skull “makes it very real. It makes it very human, as well.”
To learn more about St. Thomas Aquinas, Father Timothy suggested people look into the “Thomistic Institute,” a ministry of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph — to which the friars serving St. Louis Bertrand belong. The ministry promotes the intellectual tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas, he said.
For beginners to theology, a good place to start is with the institute’s free series “Aquinas 101,” which offers short videos, he suggested.
“Or, talk to any Dominican,” he added. “We always love to talk about St. Thomas Aquinas.”
The celebration concluded with solemn vespers with the Dominican Friars, a procession of the relic and a reception.
