Lisa A. Flowers

Most of us can agree that the concept of eternal life/dwelling forever in some species of paradise sounds appealing. However, not many people think of the physical body, itself, as everlasting – which is why the image of the “incorruptible” saint is so enduringly fascinating. For centuries, the Catholic church (and some Buddhist temples, as well) have housed the remains of icons who are supposedly immune to decomposition and decay as we know it. The preservation and display of these bodies represent a holy tradition, even though incorruptibility is no longer considered a miracle by the Vatican.

“Incorruptibility,” itself, is an increasingly fluid term that can encapsulate any number of definitions. A corpse that’s initially uncannily preserved can start to decay with time, as bodies are wont to; or only certain parts of the mortal remains (like a heart or an isolated hand or limb, for example) may be left intact. In any and all cases, a saint, once canonized, is always a saint, whether their mummified remains are reposing amid splendid settings or they’re little more than a bejeweled skeleton. Read on to find out more.

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• Dashi Dorzho Itigilov

Video: YouTube

Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov takes center stage as perhaps the most grotesque and interesting saint on this list. An esteemed Russian Buddhist monk, he’s said to have passed mid-chant in 1927. He requested to be buried in whatever pose he was in when he moved on, so he was interred sitting upright, in the lotus position.

In 1955, and again in 1973, Itigilov was exhumed and found to be uncorrupt. He was unearthed a third (and, it’s said, final time) in 2002, and his body was “in the condition of someone who had [passed] 36 hours ago.” The appearance of the monk’s remains don’t exactly jive with this assessment, but there is no doubt that he looks mighty good (if “good” is the way you want to put it) for someone who shuffled off this mortal coil 90 years ago.

Itigilov’s remains reside in Ivolginsky Datsan, a Buddhist temple in Russia. They are said to sit outdoors, under a tree, and one can easily envision observers, taking a casual stroll along an idyllic garden path, doing a startled double-take as they come upon him. However, there is some intrigue surrounding the location of his remains and reports that the monk’s body may have been taken.

• Rosalia Lombardo

Photo: Unknown / via Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Rosalia Lombardo, one of the world’s most enchanting (and poignant) corpses, is not officially recognized as a saint by the Church, but many devout believers consider her to be one. Even almost 100 years after her passing, her impeccably preserved mortal form evokes pathos, sympathy, and a sense of awe at her beauty.

Born in Palermo, Italy, in 1918, Rosalia passed of pneumonia at age 2, and her devastated father, unable to accept her demise, commissioned “master” embalmer and taxidermist Alfredo Salafia to preserve her. According to reports, a combination of “formalin, alcohol, salicylic acid, and glycerin” has kept her basically intact. With her wavy hair, perfect features, and porcelain skin, she still appears (more or less) as she did in life. (There’s also reports that her eyes have occasionally opened, though that proposition seems dubious.)

MRI scans of Rosalia’s form eerily resemble footage of alien autopsies, but, astonishingly, most of her organs are still intact. She rests in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo in Sicily, and her beauty and peaceful expression have led to her being popularly dubbed “Sleeping Beauty.”

• St. Victoria of Rome

Photo: BBC screen capture / via Morbid Anatomy / Fair Use

St. Victoria of Rome is one of the church’s most unnerving and sinister relics. In life, she was persecuted for her Catholic faith – a tragedy that’s reflected by the red slash in her throat. Her uncorrupted body was installed in the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.

However, Victoria’s golden curls, alabaster brow, and perfect features aren’t what they seem to be. The BBC TV series Rome – A History of the Eternal City discussed Victoria in the “Divine Gamble” episode: “When first you look at this, you think it must be a waxwork. But when you look a little closer, into the slightly open mouth you see, through the open lips of a skeleton.”

On the surface, she appears to be preserved in wax. Victoria is an initially radiant figure who gradually deepens into a decaying ghoul, the longer you look at her.

• St. Bernadette of Lourdes

Photo: Catholic Online / via YouTube / Fair Use

St Bernadette of Lourdes, France, passed in 1879, after supposedly witnessing 18 manifestations of the Virgin Mary. However, her path to sainthood was a long one: she wasn’t canonized until 1933, and said process apparently required multiple episodes of disinternment. Her body was exhumed on three occasions: in 1909, in 1919, and finally in 1925. The church declared her as officially “incorrupt.”

The doctor present at the 1910 exhumation phrased it thus:

The body is practically mummified, covered with patches of mildew and quite a notable layer of salts, which appear to be calcium salts. […] the skin has disappeared in some places, but it is still present on most parts of the body. Some of the veins are still visible.

Ultimately, several of Bernadette’s ribs were removed and shipped off to Rome as relics. The rest of her now reposes in the Chapel of Saint Gidard at the Sisters of Charity in Nevers, France.

However, officials still feared that the “blackish color” of the saint’s face might alarm audiences, so a “light wax mask” was installed; its porcelain composure now hides the patchy mildew beneath.

• St. Inocencia

Photo: L Star / via YouTube / Fair Use

St. Inocencia’s particularly dramatic and compelling story is akin to a Greek tragedy. According to legend, she was once a pious young girl who longed to convert to Christianity and experience her first Communion; when her non-believing father caught wind of it, he became enraged and beat her. Inocencia nonetheless continued her religious studies in secret. When she confessed to her father that she’d chosen to continue with her mission despite his disapproval, he exploded into a full-on Shakespearean-bloodbath-level psychosis and stabbed her.

Inocencia’s earthly remains rest in the Cathedral of Guadalajara in Mexico. Her “uncorrupt” corpse, preserved in wax, appears to be flaking off bit by bit, but she’s still known to wink at the occasional dumbfounded onlooker.

• St. Luigi Orione

Photo: Unknown / via Papal Artifacts / Fair Use

Luigi Orione, one of the world’s more contemporary saints (he passed in 1940), is also one of its most grotesquely preserved ones. Widely beloved throughout his lifetime, he was a genuinely devoted humanitarian who worked tirelessly to help the poor. In 1965, Orione was first exhumed and found to be intact. His remains have been on display since 1980, and he was officially canonized in 2004.

A close inspection of the above photo, however, reveals a figure that’s considerably less than impeccably preserved: the greyed jaws appear to be rotting, and the hands look a bit dark around the gills, as well.

• St. Anna Maria Taigi

Photo: Unknown / via Mystics of the Church / Fair Use

Anna Maria Taigi, born in Italy in 1769, is the saint of housewives, mothers, and victims of spousal abuse – the last because she essentially martyred herself to her aggressive husband, whom The Catholic Exchange rather puzzlingly describes as “a pious man, but with a rough temper.”

Anna Maria passed on June 9, 1837, after a brief illness and a series of ecstatic visions. In 1868, 31 years later, her uncorrupted body was exhumed, though when she was unearthed again in 1920, her remains had decayed considerably.

Pope Benedict XV beatified her on May 30th of that year. She now lies in San Crisogono, Rome, under a mask of wax that’s been set over her bones to help maintain the preservation of her body.

• Padre Pio

Photo: The Reaper Files / via YouTube / Fair Use

Padre Pio, who passed in 1968, is also a relatively contemporary saint. Born in 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, he’s said to have dedicated his life to God at the age of 5. Though he was plagued by ill health for many years, he led an active life, and even served briefly as a medic during World War I.

Some years later, Padre Pio was apparently hearing confessions when, according to Catholic Online, “he noticed the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, appearing on his hands and feet. […] The wounds smelled of roses, and although they continued to weep, they never became infected.”

Padre Pio was exhumed in 2008 and was found to be basically intact. According to the archbishop present at the exhumation, “the top part of the skull is partly skeletal, but the chin is perfect, and the rest of the body is well preserved.” (He also observed that the saint’s hands looked as if “they had just undergone a manicure”). However, the majority of Padre Pio’s face had decayed, so it was partially covered with a silicone mask designed to resemble his features in life – which explains why he looks like he’s peacefully sleeping, rather than deceased.

Pope John Paul II canonized Pio in 2002, and his remains lie in Our Lady of Grace Chapel in southern Italy.

• St. Veronica Guiliani

Photo: Unknown / via Roman Catholic Saints / Fair Use

Saint Veronica Guiliani is notable for having spent almost her entire life in the service of the Church. She became a nun at age 17 and received the holy stigmata at age 37, but the incident was not without controversy. The church had to investigate the veracity of the manifestation, and while they did, Veronica was removed from her position as novice mistress and, according to the site Roman Catholic Saints, was “imprisoned in a remote cell.” Her fellow nuns were forbidden to speak with her, and she was basically treated as fraudulent until proven innocent.

Eventually, she was cleared and found to be authentic, and she lived harmoniously until she passed at age 66.

Legend has it that Veronica’s body remained intact for a number of years until it was destroyed – or washed clean of flesh, one might say – in a flood. Her bones are now kept in a “composite figure,” while her actual skull is covered with wax designed to mimic her IRL flesh. Her heart, which apparently survived the deluge, is said to be uncorrupted and is stored as a separate relic.

• St. Imelda Lambertini

Photo: Divinity Motion / via YouTube / Fair Use

At over 700 years old, Imelda Lambertini is one of the oldest saints on this list but was one of the youngest at the time of her passing. Born in 1322 in Bologna, she supposedly witnessed the Light of the Host manifesting above her as she prayed; not long afterward, her sister found her deceased – her face transfigured into an expression of rapture. She was 11 years old. Her remains are widely believed to be uncorrupt, but after seven centuries, that seems unlikely, and in fact it’s now only her skeleton that’s housed in a wax effigy of her mortal likeness.

As a strictly “bones-only” relic (sans vestiges of mummified flesh), Imelda is one of the most technically corruptible saints in the church, but the image of her as a rosily beauteous Snow White endures.

• St. Catherine Labouré

Photo: André Leroux / via Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Born on May 2, 1806 – at Fain-lès-Moutiers in Burgundy, France – Saint Catherine Labouré is known as the patroness of seniors for the many years she spent taking care of the elderly in Paris.

After losing her mother as a child, St. Catherine entered the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris, where she began having visions of the Virgin Mary.

November 27, 1830, Mary manifested an image of the Miraculous Medal to Catherine, who passed the revelation on to her confessor. She then worked with goldsmith Adrien Vachette to design the medal as per her vision; he pressed the first one in 1832. By 1836, he had sold 2 million Miraculous Medals. The design was approved by the Holy See as an official sacramental in 1895.

St. Catherine passed on December 31, 1876, and was canonized on July 27, 1947, by Pope Pius XII, after her body was discovered incorrupt. She is on display at Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on Rue du Bac in Paris.

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