SubscribeIn at least two instances, the body of a saint remained relatively incorrupt (eventually seeming to mummify), even though means had been taken to hasten the decomposition. The first was that of St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) and was done so that the saint's bones might more easily be sent home from an island in the Far East. Nevertheless, after ten weeks "the coffin was raised and the body found to be perfectly preserved under the lime." Eventually it became "dry and shrunken in size" and the interior had to be braced with wires, although the mystery of its original resistance to the "destructive agent" of the lime is still cited. In reality there is no mystery: Contrary to popular belief, the chemical does not hasten the destruction but actually has a preservative effect on a corpse! "The lime combines with body fat to produce a hard soap that resists invasion by insects and bacteria, and retards putrefaction."
. . .
To summarize this litany of examples, it should be clear that while there are indeed some notable instances of preservation of saint's corpses, there are also many accompanying reasons to account for them: embalming (sometimes unknown to the viewer or deliberately concealed), natural mummification (fostered by a tomb or catacomb --rather than earthen -- burial), periodic examination and conservation of the relics, and so on. But as we have also seen, many of the instances of alleged incorruptibility cannot be verified or -- more importantly -- are clearly disproved by the facts: numerous instances in which the bodies were eventually reduced to bones or have had to be subjected to extensive restoration in order to be placed on view.
Such facts can serve an an antidote to exaggerated claims for incorruption -- claims like those captioning the cover photo of a credulous book, The Incorruptibles. The caption reads: "The incorrupt body of Satin Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, France (1844-1879), preserved intact for 100 years without embalming or other artificial means." Now it would take an autopsy by independent authorities to determine whether (like the corpse of St. Catherine Laboure) St. Bernadette had been gvien injections of embalming fluid. But in any event, the book does note that when the body was first exhumed, thirty years after St. Bernadette's death, it was found "emaciated" and ten years later the face had to be covered with a wax mask.
Also a lot of saints are in Europe/Italy in small villages that probably don't have access to wikipediaI don't see how this is relevant to whether or not the supposed incorruptibles actually exist. If anything, its evidence against the incorruptibles: The uneducated are more easily deceived than those with better access to information.
Reminds me of Jeremy Bentham.Reminds me of my earlier comment.
In 1805 the coffin was opened to see if the head had been buried with the embalmed body, and the Earl was lying, still young, with his severed head and its light brown hair still perfect. Unfortunately, the vault was not closed properly, and people in the neighbourhood visiting it, a blacksmith actually pulled out several teeth and sold them.From this article on the wonderfully romantic Earls of Dilston. They removed his heart and buried it in his wife's family vault. (Hmmm, subject for a new FPP....watch this space)
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posted by Faint of Butt at 4:38 AM on May 30, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]