View fullsize

The skull of St. Thomas Aquinas will be available for veneration in Washington, D.C. on Friday, November 29, and Saturday, November 30. Read the press release.

Schedule

Friday, November 29, 2024

St. Dominic’s Church | 6th & E Street SW, Washington, D.C.

Schedule of Events:

12:10 PM - Solemn Mass (celebrated by Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington)

1:00 PM - 7:00 PM - Veneration of Skull and Relics

5:30 PM - Solemn Vespers

6:45 PM - Night Prayer with Marian Procession

Saturday, November 30, 2024

Dominican House of Studies | 487 Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, D.C.

Schedule of Events:

7:30 AM - Reception of the Relics, Solemn Lauds, Votive Mass of St. Thomas Aquinas

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM - Veneration of Skull and Relics

3:00 PM - Preaching (Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.)

“‘Get wisdom, get understanding’ (Proverbs 4:5). One way is to study, another way is to pray for it, but an exceptional way is to pray for it in the presence of the skull of St. Thomas Aquinas.”

— Father James Brent, O.P.

“In a time of renewed interest in the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas, the jubilees of his canonization (700 years in 2023), death (750 years in 2024), and birth (800 years in 2025) draw our attention to the masterwork of wisdom and sanctity which God wrought in him. The opportunity that we have to receive and venerate his relics makes this grace all the more proximate and precious to us.”

— Father Gregory Pine, O.P.

FAQs

• What is the best means of transportation?

  Both locations are within easy walking distance of DC metro stops:

  • St. Dominic’s Church is located at the L’Enfant Plaza metro stop.

  • The Dominican House of Studies is located two blocks away from the Brookland-CUA metro stop.

• Will there be parking available?

  St. Dominic’s Church: Yes, there is limited street parking.

  Dominican House of Studies: We recommend parking in the visitor parking lot at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (3837 Harewood Rd NE, Washington, D.C.)

• How do I make a donation?

  If you wish to donate in connection with the visit of the relics, this will help to offset the costs of the event and will support the Dominican Province of Toulouse, the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, the Dominican House of Studies, and the Thomistic Institute. Go here to make a donation.

• Will any of the programming be live-streamed?

  We plan to live-stream Fr. Gregory Pine’s preaching at 3:00 PM on Saturday, November 30. Subscribe to the Thomistic Institute YouTube channel to watch the live-stream.

• Will the relics be available for veneration in other cities?

  Yes, the relics will be visiting a variety of Dominican parishes and priories throughout the Province of St. Joseph.

• Where are the relics coming from?

  These relics are ordinarily kept beneath the altar at the Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse, France.

• What did St. Thomas say about relics?

  In the Tertia Pars of the Summa Theologiae (Question 25, article 6), Aquinas wrote:
  
  “Wherefore in memory of [the saints] we ought to honor any relics of theirs in a fitting manner: principally their bodies, which were temples, and organs of the Holy Ghost dwelling and operating in them, and are destined to be likened to the body of Christ by the glory of the Resurrection. Hence God Himself fittingly honors such relics by working miracles at their presence.”