Canonization is the act by which the Catholic church declares a deceased person to be a Saint. A saint is described as a person who lived and died in an exemplary holy way – a person who devoted his or her life to God and to his/her fellowmen.
Once a person is declared a Saint, their bodies and other belongings are considered "holy" and are called relics. The church takes every step to preserve them. However, since the person has been dead and buried for sometime before the declaration is made, not all bodies are preserved in a way that they can be exhibited.
Miracle of St. Pio of Pietrelcina
Padre Pio, as he is more commonly known, was born on the 25th of May 1887 in the town of Pietrelcina in Italy. From his early years he wanted to dedicate his life to God and took his final vows as a Capuchin Priest in 1907.
After living a life of poverty, chastity and obedience he died in September 1968. Having been declared a Saint in 2002. According to Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, his body was exhumed in 2008 and is on display in a glass coffin at his friary at San Giovanni Rotondo, in Puglia, southern Italy.
Miracle of St. John Vianney
Born Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney on 8th May 1786 took the name of John Vianney and was a parish priest in Ars-sur-Formans in France from 1818 to his death in 1859. On 4 August 1859, Vianney died at age 73. Before he was buried Vianney was fitted with a wax mask. Biographers recorded miracles performed throughout his life, obtaining money for his charities and food for his orphans; he allegedly also had supernatural knowledge of the past and future, and could heal the sick, especially children.
He was canonized in 1925, sixty-six years after this death. According to Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, the body of Saint John Vianney, was found to be incorrupt by the Catholic Church and is entombed above the main altar in the Basilica at Ars-sue-Formans, France.
Miracle of St. Bernadette of Lourdes
Saint Bernadette born Marie-Bernarde Soubirous on 7th January 1844, was a miller's daughter from the town of Lourdes in southern France.
At the age of 14, Bernadette was out gathering firewood with her sister and a friend at the grotto of Massabielle outside Lourdes, when she had an experience that completely changed her life and the town of Lourdes where she lived. It is believed that Bernadette had visions of the Virgin Mary seventeen times. To this day millions of people visit Lourdes where water from a spring that the Virgin Mary revealed to Bernadette is said to work miracle cures.
Bernadette died on 16th April 1879 at the tender age of 35.
According to Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, the Church exhumed the body of Bernadette Soubirous on 22 September 1909. They claimed that although the crucifix in her hand and the rosary had both oxidized, her body appeared "incorrupt" – preserved from decomposition. This was cited as one of the miracles to support her canonization. They washed and re-clothed her body before burial in a new double casket.
The Church exhumed the corpse a second time on 3 April 1919. A doctor who examined the body noted, "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."
In 1925, the church exhumed the body for a third time. The remains were placed in a gold and crystal reliquary in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the mother house in Nevers. The site is visited by many pilgrims and the body of Saint Bernadette is still shown despite being nearly 130 years old.
There are more instances of bodies of Saints being miraculously preserved and are exhibited in various religious venues around the world.
Sources:
Wikipedia, The Free Encylopedia Biography of Padre Pio
Wikipedia, The Free Encylopedia Biography of St. John Vianney
Wikipedia, The Free Encylopedia Biography of Bernadette Subirous
Pauline Mascarenhas - Born in Sri Lanka, moved to the UK and now lives in Western Australia. Mortgages and Finance are her area of expertise but loves travel, ...
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