Incorruptibility is a Catholic and Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness.
Incorruptibility is thought to occur even in the presence of factors which normally hasten decomposition, as in the cases of saints Catherine of Genoa, Julie Billiart and Francis Xavier. [1]
In Catholicism, if a body is judged as incorruptible after death, this is most often seen as a sign that the individual is a saint. Canon law allows inspection of the body so that relics can be taken and sent to Rome. The relics must be sealed with wax and the body must be replaced after inspection. These ritual inspections are performed very rarely and can only be performed by a bishop according to the requirements of canon law. A pontifical commission can authorize inspection of the relics and demand a written report. [2] After solemn inspection of the relics, it can be decided that the body is presented in an open reliquary and displayed for veneration. Catholic law allows saints to be buried under the altar, so Mass can be celebrated above the remains.
The remains of Bernadette Soubirous were inspected multiple times, and reports by the church tribunal confirmed that the body was preserved. The opening of the coffin was attended by multiple canons, the mayor and the bishop in 1919, and repeated in 1925. [3] However, the face and hands were covered with a wax mask. [4]
Not every saint, however, is expected to have an incorruptible corpse. Although believers see incorruptibility as supernatural, it is no longer counted as a miracle in the recognition of a saint. [5]
Embalmed bodies were not recognized as incorruptibles. For example, although the body of Pope John XXIII remained in a remarkably intact state after its exhumation, Church officials remarked that the body had been embalmed [6] and additionally there was a lack of oxygen in his sealed triple coffin. [7]
Incorruptibility is seen as distinct from the good preservation of a body, or from mummification. Incorruptible bodies are often said to have the odour of sanctity, exuding a sweet or floral, pleasant aroma.[ citation needed ]
To the Eastern Orthodox, a distinction is made between natural mummification and what is believed to be supernatural incorruptibility. While incorruptibility is not generally deemed to be a prerequisite for sainthood, there are reportedly many Eastern Orthodox saints whose bodies have been found to be incorrupt and are in much veneration.[ citation needed ] These include:
Rabbi Louis Ginzberg in his monumental "Legends of the Jews" (Vol. 4, Chapter 10) based on the Jewish Apocrypha and Aggadah mentions an alleged case of bodily incorruptibility of the Biblical Baruch, scribe of Jeremiah (whose tomb is found in Iraq). [11] Similar stories are told of later Hasidic saints, such as Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk and others.
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, shamanism, and many other religions. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to "leave behind, or abandon". A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.
Bernadette Soubirous, also known as Bernadette of Lourdes, was the firstborn daughter of a miller from Lourdes, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in France, and is best known for experiencing apparitions of a "young lady" who asked for a chapel to be built at the nearby cave-grotto. These apparitions occurred between 11 February and 16 July 1858, and the woman who appeared to her identified herself as the "Immaculate Conception".
Sergius of Radonezh was a spiritual leader and monastic reformer of medieval Russia. Together with Seraphim of Sarov, he is one of Eastern Orthodoxy's most highly venerated saints in Russia.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a Catholic Marian shrine and pilgrimage site dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. The sanctuary includes several religious buildings and monuments around the grotto of Massabielle, the place where the events of the Lourdes apparitions occurred in 1858, among them are three basilicas, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Rosary Basilica and the Basilica of St. Pius X, respectively known as the upper, lower and underground basilica.
May 22 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - May 24
Seraphim of Sarov, born Prókhor Isídorovich Moshnín (Mashnín) [Про́хор Иси́дорович Мошни́н (Машни́н)], is one of the most renowned Russian saints and is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. He is generally considered the greatest of the 18th-century startsy (elders). Seraphim extended the monastic teachings of contemplation, theoria and self-denial to the layperson. He taught that the purpose of the Christian life was to receive the Holy Spirit. Perhaps his most popular quotation amongst his devotees is "acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will be saved."
Spyridon is a saint honoured in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions.
John of Shanghai and San Francisco was a prominent Eastern Orthodox ascetic and hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) who was active in the mid-20th century. He was a pastor and spiritual father of high reputation and a reputed wonderworker to whom were attributed powers of prophecy, clairvoyance and healing. He is often referred to as "St. John the Wonderworker".
Saint Philip II of Moscow was the Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus' from 1566 to 1568. He was the thirteenth Metropolitan of Moscow to be appointed without the approval of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople as had been the norm.
Alexander Svirsky or Alexander of Svir (1448–1533) was an Eastern Orthodox saint, monk, and hegumen of the Russian Orthodox Church.
January 1 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - January 3
Our Lady of Lourdes is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic Church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, of which Bernadette Soubirous told her mother that a "Lady" spoke to her in the cave of Massabielle while she was gathering firewood with her sister and a friend. Similar apparitions of the "Lady" were reported on 18 occasions that year, until the climax revelation in which she introduced herself as: "the Immaculate Conception". On 18 January 1862, the local Bishop of Tarbes Bertrand-Sévère Laurence endorsed the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes.
Job of Pochayev, to the world Ivan Zalizo, in Great Schema John was an Eastern Orthodox monk and saint.
Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos was a 16th-century Orthodox Christian Archbishop of Aegina. He was born on the Greek island of Zakynthos in 1547. He is the patron saint of Zakynthos and is celebrated on August 24 and December 17.
August 23 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - August 25
August 29 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - August 31
Joasaph of Belgorod was an 18th-century Russian Orthodox hierarch, bishop of Belgorod from 1748 until his death.
Juliana Olshanskaya was a member of the Olshanski noble family who became a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Dying a virgin around 16 years of age, she was buried in the monastery of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Decades later, her body was uncovered during the digging of a new grave. It is claimed that her remains were in a state of incorruptibility; relics were taken and she was venerated as a saint. The early 17th-century Archimandrite Peter Mogila claimed to have had a vision of Saint Juliana in which she reproached him for a lack of respect given to her relics. He arranged for nuns to create a new reliquary. The relics survived a fire in 1718 and are now in the church of the Near Caves. Her feast day is 28 September.
St. Ioasaph Orthodox Church, also known as St. Ioasaph's, was a historic Russian Orthodox church in Muddy, Illinois. It was founded in 1911 and completed in 1913.