Incorruptible Corpses
Without life-sustaining processes like blood circulation and metabolism, the body begins to degrade. Skin falls away, eyeballs disintegrate, hair turns to dust, and eventually, so, too, will your bones. All of this is good news for the worms and bacteria that live in soil and feast on decaying material like your dead body. And it may be comforting to know that you’ll be recycled — or at least composted — after death.
But according to the tenets of the some faiths, there is a way to thwart the process of decomposition. For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church held that individuals of the purest faith remain in a lifelike state after death, their bodies resisting the decay of the grave.
There are a number of documented cases in which people have been exhumed years after their deaths and were found inexplicably preserved. Even more amazing, some of these people have remained preserved for centuries. The church viewed this as a measure of sanctity, and incorruptibles — people whose bodies mysteriously thwart decay — were canonized into the tenets of Catholic mysticism. Incorruptibility became a component of beatification — the process of becoming sainted. This process also included the prospective saint appearing in visions to people after death and performing miracles, either after or during life. [Source]
Mummification Versus Incorruptibility
There are a few techniques wherein human remains can become preserved. One, of course, is mummification. In this method, pioneered by the pharaonic Egyptians, internal organs are carefully removed and body cavities are filled with herbs and other natural materials that combat decay. The body is then bathed in oils and wrapped tightly in linen. The mummified remains of Egypt’s early dynastic rulers can be found intact and on display around the world today, thousands of years after their deaths.
This is not the case for some of the incorruptibles found around the world — their existence baffles scientists. While the preserved remains of mummies are generally found in states of rigor mortis-like petrifaction, incorruptible corpses are pretty pliable. Their skin is supple, even years after their deaths. They appear, for all intents and purposes, to be sleeping or only recently dead. What’s more, these corpses don’t show signs of having been embalmed. And the local conditions don’t appear to have had a preservative effect on them. While they remained in a perfect state of composition, other corpses interred nearby were degenerating like normal.
Scientific Theories
The argument for a physical cause includes a belief that the corpse has been subjected to environmental conditions such that decomposition is significantly slowed. There are a number of ways of retarding decomposition, but the mechanism commonly stated is that of saponification. Another environmental condition that can be the cause of retarding decomposition is a burial ground that is cool and dry. The retardation of decomposition also occurs if the ground is composed of soil that is high in certain compounds that bring the bodies’ moisture to the surface of the skin. It is also suggested that bodies with low amounts of muscle and body fat tend to resist decomposition better.
The Odor of Sanctity
The Odour of Sanctity or Odor of Sanctity, according to the Catholic Church, is commonly understood to mean a specific scent (often compared to flowers) that emanates from the bodies of saints, especially from the wounds of stigmata or the corpse of an incorruptible. Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint Maravillas of Jesus (a Spanish Discalced Carmelite) were reported to have emitted heavenly scents immediately after they had died. Reputedly, Teresa of Avila’s scent emanated throughout the whole monastery the moment she died. Saint Thérèse de Lisieux (known as “the Little Flower”) was said to have produced a strong scent of roses at her death, which was detectable for days afterward. Likewise, Padre Pio’s stigmata allegedly emanated the smell of roses.
Video Gallery
1. Exhumation of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina and discovery of his incorruptibility (died 1968)
2. Incorrupt body of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes (died 1879)
3. Incorrupt body of Saint Vincent de Paul (died 1660)
Image Gallery
1. St Pio of Pietrelcina (died 1968)
2. St John Vianney (died 1859)
3. St Bernadette of Lourdes (died 1879)
4. St Vincent de Paul (died 1660)
5. St Silvan (died 350 AD)
6. St Veronica Giuliani (died 1727)
7. St John Bosco (died 1888)
8. St Teresa Margaret (died 1770)
9. Blessed Imelda Lambertini (died 1333 – 12 years old)
10. St Catherine Laboure (died 1876)
11. St Clare of Assisi (died 1253; best friend of St Francis of Assisi)
12. St Agnes of Montepulciano (died 1317)
13. St Margarita María Alacoque (died 1690)
14. St Rita of Cascia (died 1457)
15. St Francis Xavier (died 1552)
16. St Maria Goretti (died 1902)
Filed under: Bizarre | 116 Comments
anyways, the upclose picture of St Bernadette of Lourdes, it’s too flawless to be real. i imagine her right face to be little saggy, since the gravity would pull her face downward. also, her mouth would a been tilted a little bit to the right/down. amazingly, she had no wrinkles or acne whatsoever. Not to be rude but i suspect some of these so called incorruptible corpses are artificially made, probably mannequins. i hope i don’t go to hell for being an unbeliever regarding on this topic
Much needs to be believe through faith. As for the body being replaces with Mannaquins, highly unlikely. Perhaps you are being challenge to see this for yourself.
God Bless
Perhaps you need an english lesson. And perhaps it is a lie, all of it. Good day.
Perhaps you do as well. When last I checked, you didn’t begin sentences with conjunctions. Thanks for your disbelieving comment though!
The reason St. Bernadette looks so flawless is because her face and hands were covered with a thin coating of wax to both further protect her from corruption (since she is no longer hidden from air and all the bad stuff it carries) and to brighten it from the grayish pall it had when it was discovered. In her case she may have escaped decomp but still looked dead. If you look her up on wikipedia you can find what I just shared.
Yup this is true… you can actually see it in her hands, which looks sort of like glued together due to the wax.
it’s called faith, my doubting Thomas.
I believe it. They are Saints. “Blessed are those who believe without seeing”
To hell with hell.
The ones that look so flawless like St Bernadette, actually have wax faces. Molds or impressions were made of the face and then a wax covering made. They did this for the hands too. Although extremely well preserved the skin would indeed sink and turn an unsightly color so they did this so people wouldn’t be put off from seeing them.
How unnerving! It would be incredible to actually see one of these in person…
It is amazing – I saw Pope Pius IX in the Vatican when I visited there a year or so ago.
Great article (oops, I almost typed “list”)! This subject matter has always piqued my interest. I wonder why only some saints have incorruptible corpses and others did not. I wonder, too, if there are known cases of incorruptible corpses of people who belonged to other faiths, i.e. not Catholic saints?
Slightly off topic, but for religion class (I used to go to a Catholic high school) I remember my teacher telling us about a saint who was exhumed and had his title of “saint” taken away because they found fingernail scratches on the inside of the coffin’s lid, meaning he was alive at the time of burial, and committed a sin of “despair” (by panicking or whatever) and died in a state of non-grace or something like that. I wasn’t really paying much attention to the story (kinda wish I did now), but that story came to mind while I was reading this. I wonder what happened to his body. hehe
milqytoast: the person in question (Thomas à Kempis) was never made a saint and there is doubt about the truth of whether he was buried alive. But regardless of that, a Bishop in his region started the process of canonization but he died before it was completed and no one has since taken it up. Thomas a Kempis is the author of the Imitation of Christ – the most popular work of Christian literature next to the Bible.
Oh – also, the sin of despair is the belief that God can’t forgive you (which is a mortal sin and is the sin committed by Judas after he betrayed Jesus) – not the feeling of horror when something bad happens
Wow I never knew that!
That’s pretty interesting
haha I really should have paid more attention in school =S Thanks for clearing all that up, it’s good to know… come to think of it, I do have a tendency to remember only bits and pieces of things and fill in the gaps with false memories. If only I could go back in time and tell my younger self to pay attention during theology and religion classes… and Latin, too. I only started to appreciate these things as I got older!
Upon further thought, I believe I remembered that story correctly as it was taught to us, and it was probably my idiot teacher who told it falsely. I should track this guy down and make him read this website on a daily basis. Also Listverse. He could learn a thing or two! haha
My father and I were discussing this just today. It is so human to have a hard time believing that you have been forgiven completely by Jesus. I believe though that as long as you acknowledge the fact that we are supposed to believe this and we ask for Gods help in doing so, we wont be doomed for this. God is a merciful God.
Jfrater, Thanks for the clarifications. I liked this article. I am enjoying this site more and more.
Thanks – I hope it will become as popular as listverse in time!
jfrater.Your articles are amazing.Can’t imagine the amount of time you must have spent in research of the articles.
Keep posting.Also can you let me know if there is a way to subscribe to your website.
Thanks
What’s up with St. Francis Xavier? He looks like he’s levitating.
I love this site but feel maybe a vital piece of information is missing from the article.
In the images displayed the corpses wear waxen death masks, with the clothing and waxen hands covering everything else so their true state of decomposition is undetermined.
Those are impressive waxen whiskers St Pio has there in the first shot. I also doubt ST. Silvan’s slit throat there is part of a mask. Where exactly did you get your information from Moo?
In fact, a thin layer of wax is laid over the skin to prevent damage from exposure to light. It is not a wax mask – it is a protective film of wax.
Being Catholic, I grew up listening to stories about saints and how they never decomposed. I never thought much about it – it was always just in my head that saints never decompose. It’s so interesting though because it defies all laws of science. Now that I’m a bit older, I question it a bit more.
My sister saw St. Bernadette when she went on a school trip to Lourdes – she said it was quite strange to see her.
Also is it just me or does St. Clare of Assissi look particularly ‘waxy’? I must agree with Behindthesun – St. Silvan’s slit throat raises some questions…
So many schools and streets in my area are named after these people. Also, i’m sure some of the pictured are wearing wax masks…
Have there ever been any cases of “regular” people being exhumed and found in the same flawless state, or is this a phenomenon only of the very pious?
There have been – but in those cases it is almost always due to something to do with the soil they are buried in.
Most people don’t decay that quickly, it takes a really long time. I find it slightly creepy that there are bodies in glass caskets for the world to worship…..idolarty much? I would say so. Oh yeah, and would you say that these people are happily dead if we are still staring at their waxy faces?
Remember guys – they are not wearing wax masks – they (some) have a very thin wax coating on the skin to protect them from light damage. It isn’t a conspiracy to fool people – if these were not incorrupt bodies they wouldn’t be on display
wow! these are real?! the bodies almost looked clay like and perfect. this is very fascinating
Wow. This was very interesting. Some of them looked so weird.
I think the photos here are misleading.. the photos on the wikipedia article show a much more realistic view of “incorruptibility”.. there is still some decomposition.
also, out of curiosity, why don’t you ever list your sources?
i’ve read some article in wiki that some of the bodies decomposed and the others are waxed,.
Here is a caution provided by citing wikipedia information.
A caution before citing Wikipedia
As with any source, especially one of unknown authorship, you should be wary and independently verify the accuracy of Wikipedia information if possible. For many purposes, but particularly in academia, Wikipedia may not be an acceptable source;[1] indeed, some professors and teachers may reject Wikipedia-sourced material completely. This is especially true when it is used without corroboration. However, much of the content on Wikipedia is itself referenced, so an alternative is to cite the reliable source rather than the article itself.
Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citing_Wikipedia
If Wikipedia is not good enough for Academia then there is good reason to corroborate any information on wikipedia with other sources.
amazing,.great.,i spent hours researching for their stories in Wikipedia,.
Yeah this is crap. I love your lists, great list but this is prob just another lie of the catholic church who is ALWAYS trying to convince you that they are the best or greatest or (pppft) only true religion.
So I guess all the innocent babies that died are preserved too. I mean, they had no sin whatsoever so they must be well preserved too.
It frustrates me when people twist theology to suit themselves. That is idolatry in its purest form because you have created G-d in your own image.
You are misunderstanding the issue – not all saints are incorrupt – it only happens to a few. Also, I am not sure how this is idolatry – that refers to worshipping something other than God – ie, presuming the object of worship has the power of God. No one does that to incorrupt corpses.
yeah. really interesting sites.. but its kinda weird not to note sources, especially when you copy paste.
is it just me or do the lists/articles become noticeably less objective when dealing with Christianity…
I disagree – in the article above there is a section on a possible scientific explanation.
While I’m inclined to agree that some of these have been given a good “miracle sheen” by the church; but I have seen exhumed bodies of normal, every day people that look absolutely pristine
what’s that on st. silvan’s neck? it looks like someone sliced it or something. :/
i think he was decapitated
Come on guys. The catholic church would not willingly tell lies for heavens sake!
The Pope is really gods son on earth and speaks with the authority of god. Why would god then tell us lies?
The truth is out there but we cant autopsy the bodies because that is a sin and anyone doing the autopsy will be condemned to satans fury for all eternity.
The church has supernatural power, just like st. bernadette said it does, and this means that ifyou tamper with the church you will release terrible demons into your life and be consumed by satans hate.
Just do what the Pope tells you in the knowledge that it is gods word and he will protect you.
Dont believe me? Give me any single example of something that the catholic church is involved in which is evil or mean spirited. go on . you cant because the church is perfect and staffed and run by gods messengers on earth.
Tuttut, dude…having sex with little boys is not evil and mean spirited? Yeah, okay. I’m not even going to go into the other things the Church has been known for. Lay off the peace pipe and open a science book, man.
cait i love your comment. thanks for helping to call out this ridiculous person.
hmmm let me think, what has the church done that is evil and mean spirited?
well what about castrating choir boys? what about burning people on a stake because they were thought to be witches? and not to mention the sexual abuse of many little boys (and girls)?
yeah, the church NEVER did anything evil. NEVER. pffft.
and i’m sure all of your actions are perfect.
Well, I can say this much, I don’t rape little children, and I certainly don’t have any witches burning in my backyard. The Catholic Church is full of ignorant hypocrites, I’ve been educated by them, I would know. This saint stuff is clearly an example of someone’s inability to read science books.
Not to mention that whole Crusades business…
Cait, Tuttut is a nutter but I don’t think the Church as a whole can be held responsible for the pervert priests. The mistake made by the very fallible bishops was moving the perverts from one parish or school to another and letting them carry on with their revolting hobby. I think a pedophile priest is worse than a standard pedophile because the priest KNOWS it is wrong. He has had a wonderful education and still does these horrible things. All pedophile priests should be chucked out of the priesthood, be excommunicated and spend the rest of their lives in a very harshly run prison à la The Ballad of Redding Gaol.
I can’t remember, is it just the Catholic Bible that says not to judge or is it all of them?
Tuttut – you’ve got to be kidding. Nobody within the church maintains that the Pope is “god’s son on earth”. And as for “releasing terrible demons” – that is really round the twist.
I presume (and hope) that you are having a laugh – but it’s not very funny. It would be scary if you were serious.
Go and pray for enlightenment and think a bit about the Inquisition.
i have been interested in the lives of saints, particularly about how their attributes came about. i was educated in catholic schools during my primary and secondary years, and we celebrated saints all through out the school years. i dont think that being flawless is the only way to say that a corpse is incorruptable. i think that the mere fact that the body did not decompose and did not go through all four phases of break down, ruling out all environmental factors, is something beyond normal. whether they are covered, lined, preserved after exhumation, they are still considered incorruptable, as their human remains had not been corrupted by earth. i think this is the whole sense of being an incorruptable.
now about that thing about the church, i think you should go back to history, where non-christians were killed by the papal knights because they wont give up their faith. you should also think about how the church condemned joan of arc of heresy, and how the pope sided with mary of scotts about elisabeth, and favored the idea of assassination of non-christians. this is a historical facts. there are still other issues behind the walls of every church. let’s just remember that it is not the building or the people in it whom we need to follow, but what is good. nothing is perfect, as long as it is run by mere mortals like us. you can only be the best you can be in the eyes of God, but you can never be perfect.
way more than just a thin layer of wax on these buddy. on most of them the entire head is wax. like the most famous st. bernadette. you can see that the head and hands are 100% wax. see the raised eyebrows with the brown paint? it’s actually not even that good of a depiction if you look through some of the photos of her. they could have at least used real hair, or not done up the face or hands so much for someone who would have never cared at all about personal appearance. it really is sad what people will believe.
Hi!
Can you verify if the body of St. John Bosco is real and not a replica?
Thanks,
Stephen
I can’t help noticing than many of these corpses appear to have died immediately after undergoing a quick facial. Praise be for seaweed scrubs!
Yes, many bodies do remain strikingly well-preserved for a long time after death. Research ‘adipocere’… it sometimes comes with pictures! Some of these guys you could probably polish the floor with.
But these people have most likely died, remained uncommonly-but-not-miraculously preserved and then been tarted and spruced up for that added front-page factor. Huh – some people aren’t allowed to let themselves go even after death.
The ‘…and now for the perfunctory science bit’ is somewhat lacking in this article. Its presence is a bit like the token ethnic minority in a university brochure. It’s there but it looks so damn tacked on. Boo!
Tuttut seems to be some sort of nutcase fanatic. Open your mind to science and be rid of this childish belief in fairies and twisted self-serving teachings. The catholic church is the biggest scam in the history of the world. Its function is to gain and hold power, money and a fresh supply of children for child sex crimes. It relies on gullible and insecure people to keep these three things in abundance. The fact is the catholic church is evil and a brainwashing, deceitful organisation.
A little harsh, surely?
It is a sad world we live in when there is so much hate and anger.
Whatever!
I just got confirmation that the one in the picture is just a wax likeness and not the body of Don Bosco from a Salesian priest. Although there are relics inside the urn.
I hope you will correct your entry there although I have no idea whether the remains of Don Bosco when exhumed was incorrupt.
I have read in a website that said that only the bones remained when they exhumed it although I can’t get confirmation on that.
Ahh, frickin awesome. I’m glad you did a post about this. It’s always scared me and intrigued me. I’m an atheist, and naturally I try to find a scientific explanation for everything first, I can honestly say that I just plain don’t know about this stuff. Maybe I haven’t researched it enough or dug deep enough, but wow…those pictures are so amazing. When I go to school for anthropology in a few years I’d like to study this kind of stuff some more.
Does anyone actually believe any of this stuff? Dude, stick to the science and all the other topics, your cred just went down a couple of notches with this post, and how you tried to defend it. Cmon, we all know that the church would stop at nothing just to get their hands on those tourist dollars.
And tuttut, get your head out of your ass for once and try to find out what your church has done through the centuries it has existed.
Madame Tussauds would be so proud!
These are not made of wax! Wax deteriorates with time and is prone to cracking and infestation by insects and fungi.
The beautiful faces of these Saints are preserved by Gods Holy Grace and will never corrupt. Even fires and floods have not marred the angelic bliss shown by these glorious Saints.
The negative and hateful comments on here are from devil worshippers who dont realise that Lucifer is controlling them. Evil atheists will join Communist Stalin, Lenin and Mao in Hell. Non Catholics have but 1 chance to repent their sins by joining the only church with a historical proof – the Roman Catholic Church.
Tomba, try to be a bit more ecumenical about things. Where did you get these crazy ideas? Obviously, your Catholic Church has nothing to do with the Catholic Church I vaguely know. I was taught a very different view, thank God.
And Tomba, look up ecumenical in a theological dictionary. You might learn something.
Everyone on this website is extremely atheist or super Christian. One or the other. I mean come on there is no way the catholic church is trafficking children….. and you can’t blame the actions of a few twisted priests on the entire church. That is like me saying that one atheist committed a sexual crime therefore all atheists are part of an evil conspiracy to corrupt the world. On the other hand most of these bodies have probably been altered in some way to make them appear incorruptible. I think it is an insult to the saints, and the church. Why should faith have to be boosted by fake signs? Some of them have to be real though. I mean lets face it there are some things that are unexplainable even by you live in the grey sit on the computer all day atheist types.
I think you make a good point. Most of the internet is polarized by arguments completely on one side or the other.
The problem here is that this article presents these as natural pictures. Then when wax was brought up the author argues against it and then admit there is a “thin layer” of wax. Then more and more people start looking into it, and we find that some of these people had their entire faces replaced by wax after vandals destroyed the original.
So yes, this little lies and untruths do bring out polarized view points as part of the population hates being duped, and another part of the population is religious – but they can’t disassociate their belief in a god from a belief in all this religious relic crap. There is this idea that if you believe in a god you have to believe in just about everything else that goes along with it, no matter how little you know about it – which leads to a lot of uninformed people making uninformed defenses of things they know nothing about simply because they feel like they have to.
see through your eyes not through your mouth.
o poor little heads of these doubtful people.
both science and FAITH works.
i am a true believer of God.take note that if you write God’s name you should write it on a first capital letter.
See it through your heart.
It is true that saintly people shall live through eternity. I hope that you will understand it through what in between the lines are saying. I came from a Roman Catholic society, here in the Philippines and here, it is much explained how to believe what we should believe and know what is really the right and proper to see and feel.
You really cannot tell if you really does not even know how to see Him because you are blinded by the idolatry of worldly things and confused due to the unstable foundations that were rooted onto your minds. Skepticism is one of the problems of our society…
Ah yes, instead society should just believe everything they are told.
Did you know that a Nigerian prince is trying to escape persecution, and if you help him by wiring him 5,000 dollars he will repay you with 3.5 million dollars? Really, its true! He has been emailing like evrybody about this. Why don’t you believe me? Don’t be skeptical now, open your mind….
fucking idiot.
Because people dont share your views, doesnt means they are idiots. So grow up and accept that the world is full of people with different opinions. To a certain extend your view is as valuable to anyone else’s.
There is a terrible dilemma here. The so-called (never proven) paedophile priests were merely tempted by satan (no capitals for this demon). The fact that they sinned and repented because of demonic influences doesnt invalidate their status as priests. ON the contrary it makes them even more saintly.
The priest who is tempted and succumbs to a demonic influence and still REMAINS in post despite the temptation is to be admired.
The fathers of the church who support such poor tormented men are to be given the highest praise because they are imitating Christ by forgiving weak men tempted into sin by demons.
The Catholic Church spends billions of dollars every year on treating aids, leprosy, diarrhea, and maleria. All that they want in return is for you to save the immortal soul presented to you by Gentle Jesus and His Father our God.
Unfortunately, the mockers and scoffers are in league with lucifer and his minions – and like those fallen scum angels will also revolve in eternity on skewers dipped in boiling acid. How would you like to be force fed hot excreta for all eternity?
That is what will happen to ANYONE who does not obey the Holy Catholic Church and our Father on Earth – the Pope.
billy tessier, what the hell?? i couldnt tell if u were actually seriuos about god and all that crap (not that i disrespect anyone because of theyr beliefs) or if u were being sarcastic about how the “church” acts towards people… anyway thats messed up..
Billy.. i just read ur reply again… and Seriously… Full GROWN MEN who abuse LITTLE CHILDREN are to be considered more saintly??? are u completly out of your mind???!!
How would u feel if a priest absed ur mother , sister, daughter, or even u?? would u just say… oh nevermind! bless him, lets just forget about it!! You are absolutly effing out of your bloody mind… poor tormented men???? what about the families of these children??
Very religious here and still confused by Billy’s comment. Someone who sins and repents is to be forgiven… if they repent sincerely, which would mean they came forward before being accused, made amends, and removed themselves from a position of trust. God, Jesus, disciples, I can’t think of a situation in the bible where we were told to put sinners in the position to sin again and trust them. Maybe we can forgive them, maybe we can forgive ourselves for not seeing their true behavior, but letting them stay in that position… Only God can see into men’s hearts and know if they have truly repented. We’re human and we can’t. God will understand if we still protect our children from such men, and if they are truly repentant, they will understand too.
what are you talking about??>..judgemental, narrow-minded, and definitely has the satanic view of the world..
people who has no head are just like an empty can that rolls over the streets and make noise unlike those filled cans who just stay at one side and be contented and fulfilled.
i’m a Catholic and i only worship the one True God. i dont beleive in all your guys’ crap. i beleive that those incorruptibles are really incorrupt! but i do know SOME of em do have wax on em.
You do realize that it is possible to believe in god without believing in every piece of crap religious shit that gets thrown your way, right?
Listen. Jesus forgave the Jews who murdered him, he forgave the Jews who betrayed him. He forgave the Jews in the Temple who were extorting money out of ordinary decent people.
Jesus disassociated himself from Jews and was forgiving, loving and gentle to everyone except Jews.
Jesus has forgiven the priests tempted by demons in childrens bodies. Priests who have sex commit grave sins but they are not Jews who betrayed him to Roman Atheists, they are fallible men tempted by demons.
Priests are wonderful men who serve without pay, with very poor clothes, and in second hand clothes in many cases.
Priests must not be ostracised by a society obsessed, like Sodom and Gomorrah, by filthy sex.
They deserve our love.
WTF are you on about. This is about dead waxy people, not sexy priests.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!! Atta boy !!!!!!!!!!
After seeing those horrid corpses, I can use a good laugh.
Actually, with St. Bernadette of Lourdes that is not her actual face. In fact it is a death mask. Unfortunately her face was terribly disfigured by vandals, everything else is just as is.
http://www.catholicpilgrims.com/lourdes/bb_bernadette_body.htm
Another site that notes that Bernadette’s face and hands appear the way they do thanks to wax masks. This was a tradition of the French churches and was performed habitually, not just on Bernadette. The statements taken from those present, including the doctor who performed the removal of the relics, acknowledge that the skin existed in a state that is not consistent with the current appearance of the body, further proving that the “visible” portions of the body that is currently on display are wax replicas, and that her “true” body lay beneath these replicas. I have no doubt that the reasons the wax replicas were produced were twofold: to present a more lifelike, pleasing figure for the public eye (as the site notes, “as it was feared that although the body was mummified, the blackish tinge to the face and the sunken eyes and nose would make an unpleasant impression on the public,” and secondly to ensure that no further damage from either light or general exposure became the body. I have no notations or proof of vandalism of the body, although if it was truly only exhumed those few times and by a specific group of people each time in a controlled environment, I would imagine no real, exclusive “vandalism” occurred.
i have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Bernadette’s body is not the only one that has had some preservation efforts performed, including but not limited to the usage and application of wax masks on various visible skin portions. I can only conclude that the bodies that are so amazingly well-preserved are either replicas, with the true originals left in storage to prevent further decay, or “made-up” bodies with wax moldings applied. The bodies that truly seem to be “mummified” – those that do show some sign of having existed in their current state longer than a few weeks; bodies that appear darkened and somewhat shriveled in a more natural state of “decomposition” if you will – may well be “incorruptible” bodies, mummified in better states of preservation by whatever.
I am curious as to where the original author has disappeared to, and why he is no longer defending his article. i will certainly agree that this is a very good compilation of what facts he was inclined to find, and that it is a good collection of various “incorruptible” bodies and the stories behind them, but I also agree that he, at best, glossed over potential natural/scientific explanations for the state of the bodies that look newly-dead or sleeping, and am curious as to why he (and others) seem so keen to imply that the doctors and priests sworn under oath to work on and describe the bodies of these saints were lying in their descriptions.
TL;DR version: Eye-witness reports confirm that Bernadette’s body did NOT look that perfect during either exhumation and acknowledge the placement of wax masks upon the face and hands. Surely she is not the only saint that has had this procedure performed.
He is too busy writing more of this crap. Don’t get me wrong, JFrater has written some intelligent articles/lists, but he commonly sensationalizes things.
Full-tilt load. There is no religious sect that has managed to transcend biology. While some of those corpses may have been preserved under optimal circumstances, left on a street corner (provided they haven’t been filled with embalming fluids) they would be consumed by maggots within a week.
JFrater – If you hope for this site to become popular then you really need to not sensationalize topics just to draw traffic. You have absurdly defended this article by repeatedly claiming that they are only very thin wax masks, where in some cases these peoples entire heads have been destroyed, and so the face in your picture is entirely made of wax.
You would do well to present both sides of a topic rather then get carried away with the mystique of something.
http://www.skepdic.com/incorrupt.html
That is a link to the skeptics dictionary. They are biased in that they do not accept anything for face value and always demand proof. They are also biased in that they set out to prove things wrong. As opposed to the church which is biased in that it always defends itself and can take centuries to admit wrong doing.
The Skeptics Dictionary however does source all of their research and is very upfront about their findings and who was involved in them. The same can not be said for this website which does not source anything and tends to take a light hearted approach to these topics, only to turn around and defend them with more vigor in the comments than any attempt that was made in the actual article.
the body after death naturally expels a wax from within, you can see this on a cold piece of chicken breast in the refridgerator. Anyway bacteria eminates from within, this is part of decomposition process regardless, witnes a dead mouse in a garden the cat has had, after a few hours you can see a remarkable difference. These incorrutibles are as they appear, uncollapsed, fresh, unafected by time, i wish you could get a meat pie to stay this fresh after a week or two for all its preservatives, you all sound so confussed with it all,
Any intelligent people out there?
BODIES decay. this is not about bodies but about the physical representation of Holiness. God will, upon occasion, to prove His might make some intrusions into our corporeal world. One of these intrusions is the incorruptability of saintly bodies.
To put it bluntly, God shows His power for us to marvel in awe and realise we are destined for eternal agony unless we submit to His will.
The Muslims know this. The word Islam literally means surrender.
Christians are given signs time after time and ignore them. Our Gracious Lord is trying to hint to us that the evils of war, drugs and an obsession with animal sex is turning us into the Devils children.
We need another religious revolution; Muslim, Christian, Jew and Hindu must unite to eradicate Atheists. It is YOUR right not to believe in God but it is my DUTY to eradicate you.
The worm will turn. Jesus will rule once more.
Maddy Darling, have you ever read a bible? I mean its my least favorite book and I still know it says something about loving your neighbor and how killing is a sin. I’m pretty sure every atheist on the planet will get into heaven before hateful religious ass holes like you. Sorry, but Hitler already tried eradicating people, and he is considered to be one of the most evil men in history, you sound a lot like him right now.
Feel that Christian love!
Maddy, your Jesus sound a lot like Allah…
Go lapidate a woman, as your kind love to do to “sinners”, mahomet-baphomet!
Chronic arsenic poisoning leaves victims with waxy smooth skin, abdomens distended from a swollen liver and their hair falls out. That or some other toxin could be one explanation.
So priests rape boys?
saints are made of wax?
God doesnt exist?
Just wait until st Peter grills you on judgement day – you are going to scream in agony for all eternity. Gentle Jesus will roast your eyes for all eternity for not submitting to His merciful love.
of course priests rape little boys you idiot, don’t you watch the news?
uhhmmm… and since when did Peter start grilling people during judgement day? has he been promoted to be the supreme heaven justice to give a sentence?
O sancta simplicitas.
There is no element of unthinking dogma in my comment – the realities of Hell are clearly described by all Christian scholars. Mock as you will. Only the chosen ones will be with the Holy Angels.
The rest will vomit in terror for all eternity.
Just stop and think…Why would you even doubt in the first place? You think the Catholic church is going to waste its time by trying to fool people? No! What is the gain? This is my response for all those people who are doubting, especially you Aceman. Believe without seeing especially because you are not in control of your life and if you try to use science (gravity and all that carp you talk about) to explain the works of God then you are up to something else! Because science did not breath that breath of life into you, and science cannot prevent it from ceasing when it is going to cease. God made us all and we should strive to be like these saints and even better.
Really? You don’t think the Catholic Church has anything to gain by lying? The Church exists to sell itself. If it can lie or bend the truth here and there, it could entice a large number of people, thus sustaining itself. Surely that makes sense to you?
reading this string of comments just ruined my day…
Anyway, this was a nice article, albeit the negative comments and the scandals and…wait, I’m getting off topic. I love and respect God and all his works, growing up in a Catholic family (not extreme, mind you) and I did a school project on how these bodies don’t decompose. Either some higher power did not allow for the body to decompose, or (very) special circumstances in burial/exhumation. The wax on the skin could be created from saponification, but most likely it was put on.
To all atheists – it doesn’t matter whether or not you believe in God, if you are doing good to others and not sinning (very broad term) like killing, rape, etc., you are doing His will, no matter what you say. “Actions speak louder than words” my friends.
Thank you whyme? finally a sensible comment.
I have no doubt that many of these reports of saints bodies being incorruptible are true. Without embalming a dead body will last a very short time in the grave. Even when embalmed, decompisition takes place quickly. A corpse buired in a watertight casket and vaullt will decompose anyway. Considering these facts, the incoruptible bodies of saints should be considered a sign and a wonder, as spoken of in the scriptures.
Im noting a very of these “fanatical” comments are pretty obviously sarcasm. Anyone else catching that? Show of hands? So let’s calm down and realize that instead of assuming they are all serious because it is your the replier that comes off sounding like that naive one.
Really I say, it’s aliens who were in contact with these “Saints” and helped them perform their “miracles” and now they get to stay pretty pretty dead people. Then bigfoots came down and made a few crop circles to guide us to the WIzard of Oz.
On another serious note, remember how well perserved the body of Medgar Evers was when it was exhumed. I think it can happen to anyone (not that Mr.Evers was just anyone) but even if we don’t know the explanation doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Interesting article and feedback – just ask yourself this how is it that they remain incorruptible – if it is “bullshit”" then where are the scientists to prove it wrong
Кстати подобное придумали где-то лет 10 назад , а то и больше.:
I am an atheist and I absolutely cannot fathom how it is possible for someone to believe in something as utterly ridiculous as an all seeing, all knowing, invisible man in the sky. What are you people smoking?
The church doesn’t lie? Hello, the church is a lie. And the threat of hell to keep you on the straight and narrow is no different than telling a child if they are bad, Santa won’t bring them anything.
But you know, I am not allowed to question this. Religion is the only thing in the world that people are not allowed to question. It is badbadbad to question religion. And why is that? Because the number one argument to prove the existence of a higher power is faith. Faith isn’t proof. Faith is weakness. Faith is needing to believe if you are a good person, no matter how crappy your life is, some magical being will some day rescue you and take you to live on the fluffy clouds and eat philly cream cheese with attractive angels….. or some such drivel.
Let me tell you, when you finally tear off the god glasses, and yes, I spelled it with a lowercase letter because I know no lightning bolts are gonna hit me unless I go golfing on a mountain in the rain, you can appreciate things around you for what they are, not how they fit into the invisible man’s invisible plan.
Live your life people. All you have for sure is the moment you are living in right now. Make the most of it and stop fantasizing about things that you definitely aren’t going to get when you’re dead. Because you will be dead, whether you are rotten, or dried out and covered in wax on display in a house of lies, the game will be over.
AMEN AMEN !!!!!!!!!!!! A sane voice !!!!!!!!!
As for me, I’d like to recline on fluffy clouds with Philly Cream Cheese and attractive BAGELS, rather than attractive angels.
It’s a longstanding misconception that St Clare’s body is incorrupt.
Her skeletal remains had first been placed inside of a wax effigy which gave rise to this misunderstanding. Later in the new display case, they were placed in the supporting stand beneath the new wax effigy. The nuns of the monastery are able to view the skeletal relics from behind the stand, as it has a glass backing to it.
I have seen it.
But that’s just an aside.
Whatever the explanation for those bodies which truly are incorrupt, the holiness of the saint does not depend on it. It is their lives that inspire us, right?
Ok first these are presented to people as completely without any human intervention to preserve, then you say they’ve been waxed, which would be similar at least to the preservation efforts taken with mummies.HMMMM I’m just saying.
Second, where is your properly executed scientific proof? Why there is no such. No one is digging up other bodies buried in the same areas at the same times and displaying them or pictures of them. No one is presenting evidence regarding the depth of burial, content of the soil, temperature of the region during their period of burial, temperature during those first, critical months,
There is much scientific evidence things like these might affect the preservation of bodies. Secondarily, no one is running around digging up a random selection of bodies just to see how often this might happen otherwise. hmmm. I’m just saying.
Now I’m going to sit back and wait for everyone to attack me as a doubting Thomas, seeing as this is oh so much easier than to actually address my questions. Something Jesus had no trouble doing for Thomas. hmm I’m just saying.
I am not against accepting some things on faith, nor are most of us. I mean how may of us understand the exact way electric current and wiring works to cause a light to turn on when we flip a switch, and yet we expect the light to come on when we do it. Don’t believe me, take someone to a dim or dark room with a fake switch by the door and see how long it takes them to hunt it out and flip it…and flip it several times to be sure. For those who complain this has nothing to do with Saints, think again. Does not electricity light our homes via the harnessing of natural processes?
Being a recovering catholic for many years, I recall that one of the mainstay rules was that as a catholic, you are expected to take everything as fact without wanting to or actually exploring the truth of the matter. UGH!!!!! And so it’s no surprise that no one questions, as you have, the fact of incorruptibility. To me, the sight of these old corpses is the stuff of nightmares.
If anyone reads the Bible here, please note that the “saints” were people who accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Although they were still imperfect people, Paul writes to the them as saints at Ephesus, Rome, Collasae, etc, etc. and these were living people in his time who would read or be read to. In the same way saints today are people who accept the work of Jesus Christ dying on the cross on their behalf to be called saved and as the way to be forgiven and cleansed of sin and therefore obtianing access to communication with the true God and Father of Jesus Christ. these are saints. I actually don’t see much credit given to Jesus Christ when a “saint” is beatified. His/Her sainthood seems to be based on the good works they have done, and very little is said about their gloryfying the Lord that died for them. In other words, too much attention is given to a person to distract from the truth of the gospel. We are to look to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith and to give him glory, not ourselves.
The link: http://www.catholicpilgrims.com/lourdes/bb_bernadette_body.htm
gives an overview of the scientific examination. The source should have been listed. It describes the organs as also being incorrupt & soft. These saints are on display to show them to people. Thats it. I seriously doubt worshipping them is required or asked for. I also seriously doubt a majority of them are just bones covered w/wax bodies. That would be a waste of time. Incorrupt means body, bones, flesh & organs did not decay. There are a few w/wax masks and some w/wax coatings. It would be helpful if each photo had more information on which ones have what.
Here is a link with sources, microscopic slides & photos:
http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/lanciano.html
Scientists are sceptics also. They do not profess anything but the findings. We are not required to believe them. For those posting that you have seen incorrupt saits, please, post photos for everyone. Especially the person who claimed to see bones behind the glass.
I have no doubt that these are very real. The catholic Church has far too much to lose should they be fakes. Besides, what do they gain from them, other than curious spectators. I have yet to run into anyone who said “ya know, after I saw those cool lookin dead saints, I decided to become catholic”
For those with faith no evidence is necessary, for those who are unwilling to believe, no evidence will ever be enough!