The incorruptibles are the handful of catholic saints who died
throughout the years, yet their bodies, or parts of their dead bodies,
will not decay or surrender to decomposition as a normal body would. One
human relic even dates back to the year 1381, the head of Saint
Catherine of Siena. These bodies had not gone through any embalming or
mummification methods to prevent them from decomposition, yet their
bodies, or some parts of their bodies, remain intact.
It is said
that many of the incorruptibles bodies died from violent matters or
harsh diseases. A lot of the bodies had been buried regularly within
damp conditions, to be exhumed on a far later date. When these bodies
were finally exhumed, a lot of them had their clothes disintegrated from
bad burial conditions, yet their bodies remained the same, and
sometimes looked as if they were still alive, or had just passed on.
There
are other phenomenons that are associated with the corruptibles as
well. These amazing feats include lack of rigor mortis, an sweet
fragrant smell coming from the incoruptibles bodies (St. Sperandia, St.
Rita of Cascia, etc...), scenes of bleeding far after passing ( St.
Francis Xavier, etc...), some bodies have become warm long after death,
and highly rare movement of limbs long after death as well, which also
have been heavily associated with blessings ( St. Rita of Cascia). Some
even say there have been extremely rare cases of talking as well.
( St. Esmeralda Eustachio Callafato)
A
lot of these saints or blessed people had harsh lives as well. For
example, the "Blessed Margaret of Castello" was born a blind, crippled
dwarf. After being born she was disowned by her parents who happened to
be the Lords in a small village in Italy. Due to her limbs not being the
same length, she developed a limp, which later advanced her into a
hunchback. Margaret was allowed to roam the castle where her parents
lived under the care of the servants, but she could not make contact
with her parents. Later in life she was thrown in a custom made cell by
her parents for years.
Another example is Saint Bernadette, who
was born into a poor family in 1844. She suffered greatly from
sicknesses and diseases throughout her life.Doctor were at hand during
this exumations as well. In the excumatin of Bernadette the doctor,
Doctor Jourdan, a surgeon, wrote this about the exhumation experience:
"The
coffin was opened in the presence of the Bishop of Nevers, the mayors
of the town several canons and ourselves. We noticed no smell. The body
was clothed in the habit of Bernadette's order. The habit was damp. Only
the face, hands and forearms were uncovered. The head was tilted to the
left. The face was dull white. The mouth was open slightly and it could
be seen that the teeth were still in place. The hands, which were
crossed upon the breast, were perfectly preserved, as were the nails.
The hands still held a rusting Rosary. The veins on the forearms stood
out." (Doctor Jourdan, 1909).
Why are these bodies not decaying?
Is it truly a miracle? These are questions everyone seeks when it comes
to the incorruptibles. Maybe with more time, we will learn how and why
these bodies are different from normal ones, explaining this phenomenon.
No comments:
Post a Comment