St Teresa of Avila, Virgin, was one of the first two women to be honoured with the title "Doctor of the Church" in 1970 (the other was St Catherine of Siena, Feast Day, 30 April).
From Aleteia
By Kathleen N. Hattrup
The full-color image of the Doctor of the Church was created by a sculptor who is an expert in forensics, giving us a new insight into the great saint.As Aleteia has been reporting since last year, teams of researchers in Alba de Tormes, the small Spanish town where Teresa of Avila died, have been studying her remains.
The coffin was opened on August 28, 2024, and the researchers determined that the saint's remains are still as they were the last time the tomb was opened, in 1914.
On March 28, 2025, the 510th anniversary of the birth of the saint in 1515, the team revealed a reconstruction of the saint's face.
The project of reconstructing the face was entrusted to an Australian professor: Jennifer Mann, from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine at Monash University.
In this article, she explained how she brought about the reproduction, which showed St. Teresa at age 50.
Now Mann has developed a bust in full color, which she admitted was a challenge as an artist, but opened her mind to the possibilities of her work.
"I used traditional Spanish polychrome techniques and it's amazing what a difference colour makes," she said on Instagram.
Her work was "as accurate as possible in accordance with the scientific basis" of the study.
In particular the eyes are notable. Mann uses this technology for her forensic work and it involves the digital reproduction of a real iris, which enhances the lifelike quality of the gaze.
In the Basilica of the Church of the Annunciation, the polychrome resin bust of Saint Teresa of Jesus is now on display.
Pilgrims can also buy a reproduction, available in various sizes, each numbered and accompanied by its own certificate of authenticity.
Mann has expressed her satisfaction with the result and the reception of the work.
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