Have you heard of incorruptibles?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325813)
Rockingham, Australia
February 15, 2019 2:53am CST
Have you heard of 'incorruptibles'? I wrote about them on Bubblews and did an even longer post about them on Infobarrel. This discussion mostly comes from the Bubblews post.
Incorruptibles are people whose bodies don't decay when they die. Or, if they do, they take much longer to decay than the average body.
The individuals are mostly Catholics although there are some Eastern Orthodox and others. The Catholic Church believe that those who have led very saintly lives will remain lifelike after death. There is no scientific explanation. Many of the bodies have been examined once exhumed but the mystery remains.
Mummification produces stiff, rigid bodies which look more like skeletons. By contrast, incorruptible bodies are generally still soft and pliant. They appear to be simply asleep.
In May, my husband and I, together with six friends, are hiring a river-boat on the Loire Canal in France. One of the cities we go very close to is Nevers and judging by Google maps we’ll be able to take the boat to Nevers itself. We will be able to visit the Chapel of St Bernadette where the incorrupt body of St Bernadette Soubirous lies in state in a gold and crystal reliquary. St Bernadette was the seer of our Lady of Lourdes apparitions.
Vince is a lapsed Catholic and I am a kalathumpian (that is a slang word meaning I don’t practise a particular religion). However the other six are very devout Catholics and I am sure they will be very keen to visit the chapel.
The photo is a detail from Amiens cathedral.
29 people like this
26 responses
@LadyDuck (458212)
• Switzerland
15 Feb 19
I have read a lot about the so called "incorruptible corpses" finding out that even if not a total hoax, there is something that was done to the corpses to prevent corruption. Of course those who really believe would insist that it's a miracle.
6 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Feb 19
Have you heard of embalming ? Lenin also is looking alive.
I am a Catholic, I experienced my own miracle in Lourdes when I was a toddler, but I have doubts about incorruptibles like Saint Bernadette or the saint priest of Ars, because there are very good embalming techniques since the 1840's.
I read so many stories of battles around relics during the middle-age to bring pilgrims and money in churches or religious communities, that I am suspicious : if Bernadette was a saint, maybe all the nuns around her were not saints. A doctor who was there for the exhumation in 1925 noticed that she had been embalmed, and wrote it in an article in 1928. The city of Nevers estimates at 2.5 millions of Euros/year the money spent by pilgrims coming to see the body of Bernadette. We do not know what are earning the Sisters of Charity in Nevers with these pilgrims...
4 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Feb 19
@myklj999 For Saint Theresa of Avila, who was one of the first incorruptibles, even the Pope of the time, Benedictus XIV, had doubts, and ordered an investigation on the good faith of the promoter and to look if she could not have been embalmed. Like I said for Bernadette, if Theresa was a saint, all nuns around her were not saints, and having such a saint to show to pilgrims is a very important source of income for a religious community.
4 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Feb 19
@myklj999 Bernadette was not in perfect condition in 1925, and masks have been put on her face and hands to show her, because the skin tone was grey/black. There are scientific explanations to explain the conservation of bodies, for example if you are diabetic you have a good chance.
2 people like this
@allknowing (130064)
• India
15 Feb 19
We were hoodwinked about this when we were kids.
4 people like this
@LadyDuck (458212)
• Switzerland
15 Feb 19
There is a bit of "cheating" behind the "incorruptible Saints".
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3 people like this
@snowy22315 (169973)
• United States
15 Feb 19
That sounds like it will be an interesting tour indeed. I never heard of incorruptibles.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
15 Feb 19
A lot of their food involved preservatives, like jams and the embalming agents were more expensive than used by poor people
3 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (95194)
• Marion, Ohio
15 Feb 19
I had not heard about those. It sounds like an interesting thing to see.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325813)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Feb 19
A lot of tourists would go there i guess, to Nevers I mean. I'm sure our friends will be keen to go to the Chapel.
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
16 Feb 19
@JudyEv - Fascinating! There are still so many mysteries which cannot be explained by science!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
18 Feb 19
@JudyEv - Yes, some things are beyond explanation.
1 person likes this
@brokenbee (11090)
• Philippines
15 Feb 19
Yes, it was October last year that the incorrupt heart of St. Padre Pio was brought here in the Philippines.
And now, the heart of St. Camillus De Lellis is here.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325813)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Feb 19
@brokenbee Thanks for the link. That would have been a very special occasion for Philippino Catholics.
1 person likes this
@brokenbee (11090)
• Philippines
16 Feb 19
@JudyEv yes... Here is a news article about the visit.
Two years ago, Angela Cruz wanted to visit the St. Pio Chapel in Quezon City and the National Shrine of St. Pio in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. This month, her wish was granted, but in a farther, significant place.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325813)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Feb 19
There are some weird and wonderful things in the world isn't there?
@changjiangzhibin89 (16532)
• China
15 Feb 19
Over here ,there is a Body Hall on a famous mountain of Buddhism,where the bodies of Buddhists that people worship are the very ones you call the Incorruptibles.Buddhists regard those bodies that were applied gold over as Bodhisattvas.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16532)
• China
16 Feb 19
@JudyEv I don't think so.They kept the incorruptible bodies for long time before applying gold over them.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26202)
• Singapore
16 Feb 19
Interesting. People will have their views according to their beliefs.
You might have seen this video:
I know so many who believe in miracles.
As for me, life is the biggest of them all - siva
Before Watching This Video I Prefer You to Read Bible ( Acts 2 : 27 ) This is the brief and live footage of St. Bernadette's incorrupt body with a brief info...
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34369)
•
20 Feb 19
Very strange? When there is no scientific explanation it truly is a mystery! That should be a something unique to visit.
1 person likes this
