The curious case of Thomas Aquinas’ 2 skulls

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You never know what you’re going to see on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. Last week, I kept stumbling on pictures of a skull, which appeared to be part of a special worship service.

Through further research, I learned that the skull was indeed part of a special worship service and that it’s considered quite special itself.

The skull is thought to belong to Saint Thomas Aquinas, who is one of the most influential theologians in the history of the Catholic Church. It made the rounds on social media last week because Catholics in Priverno, Italy, where the skull is kept, held a procession in honor of the 750th anniversary of Aquinas’ death.

But that’s not all I learned.

Thanks to my friend Daniel Silliman, news editor for Christianity Today, I discovered that the skull I was seeing is actually one of two skulls associated with Aquinas. The other is in Toulouse, France, and is just as special to Catholics there as the Priverno one is to Italian Catholics.

Toulouse is the site of Aquinas’ tomb, as well as the home of several other Aquinas-related relics, according to Catholic News Agency.

As you might have guessed, Aquinas did not have two heads. But the Catholic Church still allows two different skull relics to be honored, at least until DNA analysis is done.

“A team of medical students and a neurosurgeon traveled to Priverno in 2023 to examine Italy’s putative relic of Aquinas’ skull for evidence as to whether he might have died from a traumatic brain injury. ... The researchers are investigating the possibility of conducting a more in-depth forensic analysis of both skulls in Italy and France with permission of the local authorities to authenticate the relic,” Catholic News Agency reported.

Father Alessandro Trani, who works in Priverno, spoke to Catholic News Agency about the unique situation, emphasizing that what matters to him is not the potential controversy but that the relics draw people closer to God.

“What fascinates me about Thomas is how he leads us into the depths of the mystery of God with the simplicity of a child who always knows how to wonder,” he said.

Last week’s Mass in Priverno offered in honor of Aquinas was “standing room only,” according to Catholic News Agency.

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Term of the week: Foundation to Combat Antisemitism

The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism works to end antisemitism by deepening people’s understanding of why it’s a problem.

High-profile ad campaigns are a key part of this educational work. The foundation aired a commercial during the Super Bowl, as well as during this weekend’s Oscars ceremony.

Here’s the ad from this weekend:

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is the founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.

What I’m reading ...

Ramadan began last night, which means some Muslim NCAA basketball players will be fasting during daylight hours throughout March Madness. One such player is BYU’s Aly Khalifa, who recently spoke with my colleague Jay Drew about balancing religious practices with basketball. “So if the tournament games are in the middle of the day, that is going to be pretty tough,” he said. “But I want to do it. ... I feel like I have the power in me to play games while fasting.”

To appeal to potential new members, Vine Church in Dunn Loring, Virginia, hosts an event called “improv church” once per month. It features comedians creating improv performances based on a brief sermon. “Members are more likely to invite their nonmember neighbors to the comedy event than to Sunday services,” The Washington Post reported.

Odds and ends

I spent much of last week thinking about Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce and crying in sports. Jason announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday, March 4, with a beautiful, emotional speech, and Travis sat crying in the audience while the speech was delivered. The New York Times summed it all up with a headline that feels exactly right: There was always crying in sports. The Kelces made it cool.

If you haven’t yet watched Ryan Gosling perform “I’m Just Ken” at the Oscars, do yourself a favor and check out the footage.