Where is St. Thomas Aquinas buried?

By Andrew McGilly, Founder of Bold Pilgrim · Updated 2026-10-08

The relics of St. Thomas Aquinas are in Toulouse, France, where his tomb is venerated in the Church of the Jacobins, the medieval church of the Dominican friars in the city where their Order began. He died on 7 March 1274 at the Cistercian abbey of Fossanova, south of Rome, while travelling to the Council of Lyon. His body remained at Fossanova until 1369, when his relics were transferred to Toulouse.

During the French Revolution the relics were moved to the Basilica of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, and they were returned to the Jacobins in 1974 after its restoration. The Jacobins is no longer a parish church; it is a restored monument open to visitors, so check its current arrangements before you go.

Two skulls are venerated as his, and the claim is disputed. One is kept by the Dominican friars of Toulouse, who had a new reliquary made for it and sent it on an international tour for the anniversaries of 2023 to 2025. The other has been kept at the cathedral of Priverno, near Fossanova, since it was found in the abbey's altar in 1585 and identified by notarized documents. Researchers have proposed a forensic study of both, which would need the permission of the local authorities; the matter is not settled, and neither claim is a point of faith.

Pilgrims near Rome can visit Fossanova, where he died. His feast is 28 January. Leo XIII named him patron of universities, academies, lyceums and Catholic schools in 1880.

Where is St. Thomas Aquinas buried?

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