There is a phenomenon in the Catholic Church, that of
incorrupt bodies of certain saints. Of these, it is estimated that
less than one percent are due to extensive embalming. The church
classifies these as relics of the saints. They are unique because
they defy the laws of nature. Some bodies are still completely
incorrupt, some have begun the normal process of a deceased body
while others were incorrupt for years but due to the normal
processes (God permitting) they are now buried.
One might consider the incorrupt body of a saint as a
SIGN OF HOLINESS. In fact, many miracles have occurred through the
veneration of these relics.
One might also view this phenomenon as a CALL TO
HOLINESS. Certainly their existence should move one to further
reading and contemplation. Various arguments will be presented by
some in an attempt to explain these preservations...all of them.
Quite simply, anything is possible with God!
ST. BERNADETTE, 1844-1879
Bernadette was born in Lourdes, France. Her parents
were very poor and she herself was in poor health. On February 11,
1858, when she was sent with her younger sister and a friend to
gather firewood, a very beautiful Lady appeared to her above a rose
bush in a grotto called Massabielle. The lovely Lady was dressed in
blue and white. She smiled at Bernadette and then made the sign of
the cross with a rosary of ivory and gold. Bernadette fell on her
knees, took out her own rosary and began to pray the rosary. The
beautiful Lady was God's Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. She
appeared to Bernadette seventeen other times and spoke with her.
At an early age she became a Sister of Charity of
Nevers, and was besieged by many faithful and religious. She sought
God in the silence of the cloister, serving Him in humility and
under the vows of her profession as a Sister of Charity of Nevers.
She lived in the convent for thirteen years, spending a large
portion of this time ill in the infirmary - when a fellow sister
accused her of being a 'lazybones', she said that her 'job' was "to
be ill". Bernadette died on 16th April 1879. The Blessed Mother had
kept the promise she made to Bernadette in 1858 -"I do not promise
to bring you happiness in this world, but in the next". Bernadette
became a saint, not because she was a religious but because she was
a very holy person. Her body today, 1997, has never corrupted. She
lies in St. Gildard Convent in Nevers, France.
St. Bernadette's body was exhumed three times. In 1925
it was discovered that her skin was found to have discolored
slightly in places. Because of this a light wax covering was made
for the face and hands.
St. John Vianney is universally known
as the "Cure of Ars, St. John Mary Vianney was ordained a priest in
1815. Three years later he was made parish priest of Ars, a remote
French hamlet, where his reputation as a confessor and director of
souls made him known throughout the Christian world. His life was
one of extreme mortification.
He was accustomed to the most severe austerities, even
besieged by the devil but this great mystic always acted with great
patience. He was a wonderworker loved by the crowds, and he remains
to this day the living image of the priest after the heart of
Christ.
He heard confessions of people from all over the world
for the sixteen hours each day. It is estimated that he heard 20,000
confessions yearly. His life was filled with works of charity and
love. It is recorded that even the staunchest of sinners were
converted at his mere word. He died August 4, 1859, and was
canonized May 31, 1925. To this day his incorrupt body can be seen
encased in glass on a marble Altar in Ars. Pope Pius XI in 1929
declared him Patron of all Diocesan
Priests.
MORE INCORRUPT
BODIES
Larger size graphics on last page of site...Art
Gallery
![[image]](incorruptani2.gif)
![[IMAGE]](berne3.jpg)
![[IMAGE]](curiears.gif)
