Incorruptibility
Incorruptibility is a Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural intervention allows some human bodies to not undergo the normal process of decomposition after death. Bodies that reportedly undergo little or no decomposition are sometimes referred to as incorrupt or incorruptible (adjective) or as an incorruptible (noun). Although it is recognised as supernatural in Catholicism, it is no longer counted as a miracle in the recognition of a saint.
Incorruptibility is seen as distinct from the good preservation of a body, or mummification. Incorruptible bodies are often said to have the Odour of Sanctity, exuding a sweet and pleasant aroma. As of yet, none of these cases have been verified scientifically.
Incorruptibility in Christianity
In Catholic and Orthodox church, if a body remains incorruptible after death, this is generally seen by Catholic and Orthodox Christian cultures to be a sign that the individual is a saint, although not every saint is expected to have an incorruptible corpse.
When the Catholic Church recognized incorruptibles, a body was not deemed incorruptible if it had undergone an embalming process or other means of preserving the dead, or if it has become stiff, as do all normal corpses, even when the best preservation techniques are used. Incorruptible saints are to remain completely flexible, as if they were only sleeping. (See the book, The Incorruptibles, referenced below.) As such, although the body of Pope John XXIII remains in a remarkably intact state, after its exhumation, Church officials quickly pointed out that the pope's body had been embalmed and that there was a lack of oxygen in his sealed triple coffin.
In the Orthodox Church, incorruptibility continues to be an important element in the process of canonization (q.v.). An important distinction is made between natural mummification and supernatural incorruptibility. In The Brothers Karamazov, the 1880 novel by Dostoyevsky, the body of the newly-deceased Starets (monastic elder) Zossima began to decay noticeably even during his funeral wake, which caused a great scandal in his monastery and among the townsfolk, who fully expected that he would be incorrupt.
Causes
The two main positions on incorruptibility can be summarized as an argument for a spiritual cause, or an argument for a physical or environmental cause.
The argument for a spiritual cause may include a belief that the pious nature of the individual in some way permeated the flesh (a metaphysical cause having a physical effect), or a belief that decomposition was prevented by the intervention of God as the body will be resurrected later.
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.
Instances of claimed incorruptibility
Among the saints and holy men and women whose bodies are said to be or have been incorrupt are (also see list in The Incorruptibles):
Priests, monastics and laypersons
St. Adrian of Ondrusov — Russian Orthodox monk and martyr
St. Adrian of Poshekhon — Russian Orthodox monk and martyr
St. Agnes of Montepulciano — Roman Catholic nun
St. Alexander of Svir — Russian Orthodox monk
St. Alphege — Roman Catholic
St. Amphilochius of Pochayiv — Orthodox monk from western Ukraine, lived in Soviet times
Blessed André Bessette — Roman Catholic Holy Cross Brother
St. Andrew Bobola - Roman Catholic Jesuit priest
St. Angela Merici — Roman Catholic nun
St. Angela of the Cross — Roman Catholic nun
Blessed Angelina of Spoleto — Roman Catholic nun
Blessed Anna Marie Taigi — Roman Catholic
Sts. Anthony, John, and Eustathios — Russian Orthodox martyrs of Vilnius
St. Benedict the Black — Roman Catholic monk
St. Bernadette Soubirous — visionary of Lourdes, Roman Catholic nun
Blessed Betrando de Genies — Roman Catholic
Blessed Broken Alberto Incogneus - Discordian
St. Catherine of Bologna — Roman Catholic
St. Catherine Labouré — Roman Catholic nun
St. Catherine of Siena-Roman Catholic nun and mystic
St. Catherine Tomás - Roman Catholic nun
St. Cecilia — Roman Catholic martyr
St. Charbel Maklouf — Maronite (Eastern Catholic) monk
St. Charles Seeze — Roman Catholic monk, mystic and stigmatist
St. Clare of Assisi — Roman Catholic nun
St. Clare of Montefalco — Roman Catholic nun
Blessed Dominic Barberi - Roman Catholic missionary to England
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini — Roman Catholic nun
St. Francis of Paola — Roman Catholic friar
St. Francis Xavier — Apostle of the Far East — Roman Catholic missionary
St. Gaspar Louis Bertoni — Roman Catholic priest
Hallvard Vebjørnsson of Norway — Roman Catholic martyr from Lier, patron of Oslo
Blessed Imelda — Roman Catholic Dominican nun
St. Isidore the Laborer
Blessed Jacinta Marto, visionary at Fátima — Roman Catholic
St. Jane Frances de Chantal — Roman Catholic nun
St. Job of Pochayiv-Orthodox monk from western Ukraine
St. John Bosco — Roman Catholic
St. Philoteia of Argeș - Eastern Orthodox child Martyr
St. Paraskevi of Iași - Eastern Orthodox nun, relics kept in the cathedral of Iași
St. John Jacob of Hozevit - Romanian Orthodox monk
Father Ilie Lăcătușu - Romanian Orthodox priest, Anti-Communist Martyr
St. John Vianney — Roman Catholic, Curé (parish priest) of Ars
Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska — Greek-Catholic nun from western Ukraine
St. Joseph of Cupertino — Roman Catholic monk
Juliana Falconieri — Roman Catholic nun
St. Louis Orione — Roman Catholic
Blessed Margaret of Castello — Roman Catholic
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque — Roman Catholic nun
Blessed Maria Angela of Astorch — Roman Catholic nun
St. Maria Crucificada — Roman Catholic nun
Venerable Maria de Jesus de Ágreda — Roman Catholic nun
Blessed Maria de Jesus Torres — Roman Catholic nun
Blesed Maria de San Jose — Roman Catholic nun
St. Maria Francisca Illagas — Roman Catholic nun
Venerable Maria Jesus Delgado — Roman Catholic nun
Blessed Maria Margaret Caiani — Roman Catholic nun
St. Maria Mazarello — Roman Catholic nun
Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart — Roman Catholic nun
St. Matrona of Chios — Orthodox
St. Miguel Febres Cordero — Roman Catholic
Blessed Narcisia de Jesus — Roman Catholic
St. Nicholas of Tolentino — Roman Catholic
St. Peter Julian Eymard — Roman Catholic priest
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati — Third Order of St. Dominic
St. Pio of Pietrelcina — Roman Catholic priest
St. Rita of Cascia — Roman Catholic nun
St. Sabbas the Sanctified — monk venerated in Catholicism and Orthodoxy
St. Salvator of Horta — Roman Catholic
Blessed Sebastian de Apparisio — Roman Catholic
St. Sergius of Radonezh — Orthodox monk
St. Silvan -- Roman Catholic Martyr
Venerable Solanus Cassey — Roman Catholic
St. Stanislaus Kostka — Roman Catholic
Blessed Stephen Bellesini — Roman Catholic priest
St. Sunniva of Norway — Roman Catholic martyr, from Selja island
St. Thorlac of Iceland — Roman Catholic bishop of Skalholt
St. Ursula Ledóchowska — Roman Catholic nun
St. Vasyl Velychkovsky — Ukrainian Greek-Catholic priest, died in Winnipeg, body found incorrupt 30 years later
St. Veronica Giulianni — Roman Catholic nun
St. Vincent de Paul — Roman Catholic priest
St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli — Roman Catholic
Vissarion Korkoliacos — Greek Orthodox monk
St. Zita — Roman Catholic
Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz — German Knight
St. Pishoy — Coptic Orthodox monk
Popes, Bishops and Patriarchs
Pope Blessed Innocent XI - Roman Catholic Pope. Innocent XI died in 1689 and when exhumed from his tomb for beatification, reportedly well preserved. Today his body lies with the body of Pope St Pius X at the Vatican. The face and hands are lined with a silver coating.
Pope Saint Pius V — Roman Catholic Pope
Pope Blessed Pius IX — Roman Catholic Pope
Pope Saint Pius X — Roman Catholic Pope
Pope Blessed John XXIII — Roman Catholic Pope
St. Tikhon — Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow
Claudius of Besançon — French bishop and abbot
St. Cuthbert — Anglo-Saxon, venerated by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Anglicans
Mgr. Gabriel Manek SVD — Roman Catholic Archibishop of Flores, Indonesia (1918–89)
St. Innocent — Orthodox bishop of Irkutsk
St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco — Orthodox archbishop
St. Josaphat Kuntsevych — Greek-Catholic metropolitan from Ukraine, martyr, murdered in Polotsk, relics enshrined in Rome
St. Raphael (Hawaweeny) of Brooklyn — Orthodox bishop
St. Ubaldo Gubbio — Roman Catholic bishop
Christian kings and queens
St. Olga, grand duchess of Kyivan Rus' (Ukraine), Orthodox saint, died in 969. During the rule of St Volodymyr it was reportedly discovered that her body had not undergone corruption.
St. Volodymyr, grand duke of Kyivan Rus' (Ukraine), Orthodox saint, died July 15, 1015, body found incorrupt in 1635.
St. Olav, king of Norway, Roman Catholic saint. In 1075, his incorrupt body was enshrined in what became Nidaros Cathedral.
St. Edmund I of England, king of East Anglia. In c. 915 his body was found to be incorrupt and was transferred to nearby Bedricsworth, later called Bury St. Edmunds (venerated by Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans).
St. Edward the Confessor, king of England (venerated by Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans)
St. Ferdinand III, Roman Catholic king of Leon and Castile (Spain). His body is claimed to still be incorrupt. Many miracles were reported at his tomb, and Clement X canonized him in 1671.
St. Casimir, Patron Saint of Poland and Lithuania — Roman Catholic
Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, queen consort of Portugal — Roman Catholic
Blessed Mafalda of Portugal, queen consort of Castile — Roman Catholic
Translation of "Incorruptibility"
Spanish: Incorruptibilidad cadavérica, Portuguese: Corpo incorrupto, Ukrainian: Нетлінні мощі.
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