The Major Relics of St. Thomas Aquinas Visit Washington, DC
Celebrate the legacy of St. Thomas Aquinas at St. Dominic’s Church and the Dominican House of Studies.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC, November 19, 2024 – St. Dominic’s Church, the Dominican House of Studies, and the Thomistic Institute are honored to announce the visit of the major relics of St. Thomas Aquinas to Washington, DC, from November 29 to November 30, 2024. This extraordinary occasion invites the faithful to venerate one of the Church’s greatest saints and theologians, with public liturgies and opportunities for veneration.
"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,” said Fr. Gregory Pine, OP, an Assistant Director at the Thomistic Institute.
The relics will be displayed first at St. Dominic’s Church, located at 630 E St SW, Washington, DC, on Friday, November 29, 2024, beginning at 12:10 pm with a solemn Mass celebrated by Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington. Following the Mass, the faithful are invited to venerate the relics from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm, with Solemn Vespers at 5:30 pm and Night Prayer at 6:45 pm, which will conclude with a Marian procession.
On Saturday, November 30, 2024, the relics will be received at the Dominican House of Studies, beginning with Solemn Lauds and a Votive Mass of St. Thomas Aquinas at 7:30 am. Veneration will continue from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, with Fr. Gregory Pine, OP, preaching at 3:00 pm.
“'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,” said Fr. James Brent, O.P., an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Dominican House of Studies.
St. Thomas Aquinas died on March 7, 1274, and was canonized on July 18, 1323. He was made a Doctor of the Church in 1567. His skull was placed in a new reliquary at the Dominican Convent of Toulouse in 2023, as the Dominican Order celebrated the 700th anniversary of the saint’s canonization in the Catholic Church.
For more information on the Thomistic Institute and future events, visit www.thomisticinstitute.org.
Media Contact: Alain Latour
Thomistic Institute
alatour@dhs.edu
(202) 495-3871
About the Thomistic Institute: The Thomistic Institute is dedicated to promoting Catholic truth in the contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the workplace, and in the Church. Through conferences, lectures, and online resources, the Institute seeks to advance a deeper understanding of the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and its relevance to modern life.
About the Dominican House of Studies: The Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., is a studium, or seminary, of the Order of Preachers serving the Province of St. Joseph. Consisting of both the Priory of the Immaculate Conception and a Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, its mission is to form Dominican friars in the Order's evangelical traditions of prayer, preaching, and the arduous study of sacred truth.
About St. Dominic’s Church: St. Dominic Church is a Christ-centered, Roman Catholic, and Dominican parish for the people of Southwest, DC and beyond. Our mission is to preach the Gospel and make disciples, glorify God through the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, build up the communion of the Church, and serve others through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.