The Incorruptibles

No Embalming Decades to Centuries of Preservation

What Is Incorruptibility?

Incorruptibility — in Catholic tradition — refers to the anomalous preservation of a saint’s body after death, lasting far beyond what would normally be expected given the circumstances of burial, climate, and time elapsed.

It is not the same as:

• Mummification — a natural process requiring specific dry, arid conditions
• Embalming — which the Church has historically prohibited or discouraged for sainthood candidates, precisely to prevent artificial preservation from confusing the issue
• Petrification or fossilization — geological processes that alter tissue into mineral form

True incorruptibility, as the Church understands it, is anomalous soft tissue preservation — skin, sometimes organs, sometimes even facial features — in bodies that should have fully decomposed, buried in conditions that do not favor natural preservation.

The Church does not declare incorruptibility a miracle automatically

The Church investigates claims carefully. Bodies exhumed and found in an unusual state of preservation are examined forensically to rule out natural explanations (sealed coffin creating anaerobic conditions, alkaline soil, cold and dry environment). Only when natural explanation is excluded does the Church consider the case for incorruptibility.

Not all incorrupt saints are officially declared as such. And not all incorruptibility is treated as miraculous — the Church is careful to distinguish between unusual natural preservation and genuine anomaly.

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Notable Cases

St. Bernadette Soubirous

Died: April 16, 1879 (age 35) — Nevers, France

Exhumations:

• First exhumation: 1909 (30 years after death) — body found intact; slight color changes to skin and some joints, but soft tissue and facial features preserved; slight smell of fresh earth
• Second exhumation: 1919 (40 years after death) — body still intact; relics taken
• Third exhumation: 1925 (46 years after death) — body still intact; face appeared discolored from previous washing, so a wax mask was made over the face; body enshrined

Current state: The body of St. Bernadette is enshrined at the Chapel of Saint Gildard, Nevers. The wax face and hands are a covering — the underlying body remains preserved beneath, as documented in the canonical investigation records.

Forensic notes: Dr. David Larson and Dr. Comte, who examined the body at the second exhumation, noted that the preservation was not consistent with the damp burial conditions in the convent crypt. The body had been buried in a damp wooden coffin in a limestone crypt — conditions that should have accelerated, not retarded, decomposition.

St. Catherine of Bologna

Died: March 9, 1463 (age 49) — Bologna, Italy

Initial burial: Interred without a coffin, in the ground, in a common grave. After 18 days, other sisters reported a sweet scent emanating from the burial site, and her body was exhumed.

Finding: The body was found perfectly preserved and emitting a sweet fragrance.

Current state: St. Catherine has been seated in a gilded chair in the Chapel of the Poor Clares in Bologna since the 15th century — over 560 years. She is one of the oldest known incorrupt bodies in the Catholic tradition.

Note: The initial burial without a coffin, in common ground, makes any natural preservation explanation particularly difficult. The 18-day timeline — before a coffin could create anaerobic conditions — is especially significant.

St. John Vianney

Died: August 4, 1859 (age 73) — Ars, France

St. John Vianney was the parish priest of the small village of Ars, known for spending up to 18 hours per day in the confessional and for reportedly possessing the gifts of reading souls and prophecy. Tens of thousands traveled to Ars annually during his lifetime to make their confession.

Exhumation: 1904 (45 years after death) — body found perfectly intact, with soft tissue, skin, and facial features preserved. The body was described by the examining commission as looking as if it had been preserved by art, though no embalming had been performed.

Current state: The body of St. John Vianney is enshrined at the Basilica of Ars, France. The face and hands visible in the shrine are wax overlays; the preserved body is beneath.

St. Vincent de Paul

Died: September 27, 1660 (age 79) — Paris, France

St. Vincent de Paul founded the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) and the Daughters of Charity, and is considered one of the great saints of the 17th century.

Exhumation and preservation: His body was exhumed and found intact. The skeleton and some tissue have been preserved; the face visible in his shrine at the Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity in Paris is a silver reliquary mask.

Note: The remains of St. Vincent survived the French Revolution — a period of intense anti-Catholic violence and destruction — and the relics were hidden and then restored.

St. Padre Pio

Died: September 23, 1968 (age 81) — San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy

Padre Pio (Francesco Forgione) bore the stigmata — wounds corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Christ — for 50 years, from 1918 until his death. The wounds were medically examined multiple times and found to defy normal healing patterns.

Exhumation: 2008 (40 years after death) — the body was found largely intact, with skin and facial features preserved. It is currently enshrined at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni Rotondo.

Note: Padre Pio’s case is among the more recent and therefore among the more thoroughly documented, both in terms of the stigmata during his life and the preservation after his death.

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The Forensic Questions

Natural preservation is always the first hypothesis

Forensic pathologists and scientists examining incorrupt bodies always begin by asking whether natural conditions could explain the preservation. The relevant natural factors include:

• Anaerobic burial (sealed coffin, airless environment) — prevents bacterial decomposition
• Dry climate — accelerates natural mummification
• Cold temperature — slows microbial activity
• Alkaline soil — can inhibit bacterial growth
• Embalming — artificial preservation

The cases recognized by the Church as incorrupt have, in the relevant documented examples, been examined in light of these factors and found to be anomalous after such examination.

The cases that most resist natural explanation share common features:

Feature	Why it matters
Damp burial conditions	Should accelerate decomposition
No coffin or simple wooden coffin	No anaerobic protection
Warm climate	Should accelerate microbial activity
Long time elapsed (decades to centuries)	Extended exposure to all decay factors
Soft tissue intact (not just bone)	Soft tissue normally decomposes first
Sweet fragrance reported	Not a feature of natural preservation
No embalming documented	Eliminates artificial preservation

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Joan Carroll Cruz: The Definitive Survey

The most comprehensive survey of incorruptible saints in English remains The Incorruptibles by Joan Carroll Cruz (TAN Books, 1977). Cruz documents over 100 cases with references to canonical investigation records, exhumation documentation, and medical testimony.

Cruz was a laywoman and researcher, not a theologian. Her approach was documentary rather than devotional. The cases she surveyed ranged from the 3rd century to the 20th, across dozens of countries and climates — making the phenomenon difficult to attribute to a specific cultural or geographic factor.

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Theological Context

The incorruption of saints’ bodies is not, in Catholic theology, treated as a proof of anything in isolation. Rather, it is understood as a sign — consistent with the Catholic understanding of the resurrection of the body (which holds that the human body, not just the soul, is destined for eternal life).

The Church does not claim to explain the mechanism of incorruptibility. It notes the anomaly, documents it, and places it within a larger pattern of evidence for the reality of the supernatural.

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Sources & Further Reading

• Cruz, J. C. (1977). The Incorruptibles: A Study of the Incorruption of the Bodies of Various Catholic Saints and Beati. TAN Books.
• Nickell, J. (1998). Looking for a Miracle. Prometheus Books. (Skeptical perspective — worth reading)
• Larson, D. (1925). Medical report on the exhumation of Bernadette Soubirous. Canonical inquiry documentation, Diocese of Nevers.
• Congregation for the Causes of Saints — Official exhumation and examination reports