2 relics of St. Thomas Becket discovered in Italian church

December 28, 2017

Residents of a small Italian city rejoiced in the unexpected discovery of two relics of St. Thomas Becket.

The English martyr is the patron saint of Mottola, a town of 15,000 in southeastern Italy.

For a year, Father Sario Chiarelli, parish priest of Santa Maria Assunta, sought relics of the saint at shrines throughout Italy. To his surprise, two relics, including a bone fragment in an altar stone, were discovered in his own parish during a renovation.

“We were searching for what we already had,” he said.

On December 29—the saint’s feast day—Bishop Claudio Maniago of Castellaneta will dedicate a new altar in which the saint’s relics have been placed. A procession will precede the solemn Mass; a multimedia drama will follow.

 

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Further information:

• Mottola, due reliquie di san Tommaso Becket scoperte durante il restauro di una chiesa (La Repubblica)
• Tommaso Becket e la sua città (Medioevo Weblog)