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List of Catholic Saints and Blessed with Incorrupt Bodies

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The phenomenon of incorruptibility in the Catholic Church refers to the bodies of certain saints that, through divine intervention, do not undergo the normal process of decomposition after death, often seen as a sign of holiness. While over 100 cases have been documented, not all are fully incorrupt, and some have only specific parts (like the heart or tongue) preserved. Below is a comprehensive list of Catholic saints and blesseds known for their incorrupt bodies, based on historical records and Church documentation, organized chronologically from the 1st century onwards. Note that some bodies may have partially decomposed over time, been affected by environmental factors, or received minimal preservation (e.g., wax masks), but they are still classified as incorrupt due to their remarkable preservation compared to natural decay. I’ve included key details where available, such as the year of death and location of the remains, drawing from reliable sources.

1st–5th Centuries

  1. St. Cecilia (d. ~177 AD)
    • Details: Virgin and martyr, patroness of church music. Exhumed in 1599, her body was found intact, in the same position as at martyrdom, with a sweet odor.
    • Location: Church of St. Cecilia, Rome, Italy.
  2. St. Silvan, Martyr (d. ~350 AD)
    • Details: Martyred in the 4th century, with a visible neck wound. Body remains preserved.
    • Location: Church of St. Blaise, Dubrovnik, Croatia.
      • Details: Queen and Abbess of Ely. Exhumed 17 years after death, her body was incorrupt, and her hand remains preserved.
      • Location: Ely Cathedral (hand in a Catholic church in Ely), England.St. Etheldreda (Audrey) (d. 679 AD)

7th–10th Centuries

4. St. Cuthbert (d. 687 AD)

  • Details: Bishop of Lindisfarne. Exhumed years after death, his body was found flexible and intact.
  • Location: Durham Cathedral, England (partially preserved relics).
  1. St. Withburga (d. ~743 AD)
    • Details: Virgin and abbess. Found incorrupt upon exhumation.
    • Location: Dereham, Norfolk, England (relics dispersed during Reformation).
  2. St. Wunibald (d. 761 AD)
    • Details: Missionary and abbot. Body reported incorrupt upon exhumation.
    • Location: Heidenheim, Germany (relics partially preserved).
  3. St. Waltheof (d. 1159 AD)
    • Details: Abbot and martyr. Found incorrupt after death.
    • Location: Melrose Abbey, Scotland (relics partially preserved).

11th–13th Centuries

  1. St. Agatha (d. ~251 AD, discovered 11th century)
    • Details: Martyr, patroness of breast cancer patients. Parts of her body found incorrupt in the 11th century.
    • Location: Catania, Italy (relics preserved).
  2. St. Alphege of Canterbury (d. 1012 AD)
    • Details: Archbishop and martyr. Found incorrupt upon exhumation.
    • Location: Canterbury, England (relics partially preserved).
  3. St. Zita of Lucca (d. 1272 AD)
    • Details: Patron saint of maids. Exhumed in 1580, her body was found whole, with face and hands visible through crystal glass. A star reportedly appeared at her death.
    • Location: Basilica di San Frediano, Lucca, Italy.
  4. St. Agnes of Montepulciano (d. 1317 AD)
    • Details: Dominican nun. Incorrupt for nearly 300 years, with perfumed liquid from her hands and feet. Hands and feet remain visible.
    • Location: Church of St. Agnes, Montepulciano, Italy.
  5. Blessed Margaret of Castello (d. 1320 AD)
    • Details: Lay Dominican, born with disabilities. Found incorrupt in 1558 despite a rotten coffin. Over 200 miracles attributed to her.
    • Location: Church of St. Domenico, Citta-di-Castello, Italy.
  6. St. Clare of Montefalco (d. 1308 AD)
    • Details: Augustinian nun. Her body was found incorrupt, and her heart contained symbols of the Passion (cross, scourge, etc.), considered miraculous. Exhumed in 1618, body remained intact.
    • Location: Basilica of St. Clare, Montefalco, Italy.
  7. St. Clare of Assisi (d. 1253 AD)
    • Details: Cofoundress of the Poor Clares. Exhumed in 1850, her skeleton was perfectly preserved, though flesh and clothing had turned to dust.
    • Location: Crypt at Santa Chiara, Assisi, Italy.
  8. St. Anthony of Padua (d. 1231, tongue only)
    • Details: Franciscan preacher. Tongue remains incorrupt, discovered during exhumation.
    • Location: Basilica of St. Anthony, Padua, Italy.
  9. St. Albert the Great (d. 1280)
    • Details: Dominican scholar. Exhumed two centuries after death, body emitted a heavenly fragrance.
    • Location: St. Andrew’s Church, Cologne, Germany (relics in sarcophagus).
  10. St. Nicholas of Tolentino (d. 1305)
    • Details: Augustinian monk. Arms bled for centuries after posthumous removal, a miracle recognized by Pope Benedict XIV.
    • Location: Basilica of San Nicola, Tolentino, Italy.
  11. St. Sperandia (d. ~1276 AD)
    • Details: Benedictine abbess. Exhumed multiple times, her body was found incorrupt, with a sweet fragrance noted. Her body remains venerated.
    • Location: Monastery of St. Sperandia, Cingoli, Italy.

14th–15th Centuries

  1. St. Catherine of Siena (d. 1380, head only)
    • Details: Dominican mystic and Doctor of the Church. Head found incorrupt ~50 years after death.
    • Location: Basilica of San Domenico, Siena, Italy.
  2. St. Rita of Cascia (d. 1457)
    • Details: Patron saint of hopeless causes. Body reportedly changed positions and opened/closed eyes. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Basilica of St. Rita, Cascia, Italy.
  3. St. Catherine of Bologna (d. 1463)
    • Details: Poor Clare nun. Exhumed 18 days after death due to miracles and sweet scent, body flexible and uncorrupted. Displayed seated.
    • Location: Chapel of the Poor Clares, Bologna, Italy.
  4. St. Bernardino of Siena (d. 1444)
    • Details: Franciscan preacher. Found incorrupt upon exhumation.
    • Location: Basilica of San Bernardino, L’Aquila, Italy.
  5. Blessed Angela of Foligno (d. 1309)
    • Details: Franciscan tertiary and mystic. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Foligno, Italy (relics preserved).
  6. Blessed Antonia of Florence (d. 1472)
    • Details: Poor Clare abbess. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Florence, Italy (relics preserved).
  7. St. Didacus of Alcala (d. 1463)
    • Details: Franciscan lay brother. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Alcalá de Henares, Spain (relics preserved).
  8. St. Eustochium (d. 1469)
    • Details: Benedictine nun. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Padua, Italy (relics preserved).
  9. St. Fernando III (d. 1252)
    • Details: King of Castile and Leon. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Seville Cathedral, Spain (relics preserved).

16th Century

  1. St. Francis Xavier (d. 1552)
    • Details: Jesuit missionary. Exhumed in 1553 after burial with quicklime, body intact with sweet fragrance. Blood flowed from a wound later.
    • Location: Basilica of Bom Jesus, Goa, India.
  2. St. Teresa of Avila (d. 1582)
    • Details: Carmelite reformer and Doctor of the Church. Exhumed multiple times, body sweet-smelling and firm. Heart and hands displayed separately.
    • Location: Alba de Tormes, Spain (main body); relics elsewhere.
  3. St. John of the Cross (d. 1591)
    • Details: Carmelite mystic. Body fragrant and flexible; blood flowed from a severed finger months after death.
    • Location: Úbeda, Spain (reliquary).
  4. St. Charles Borromeo (d. 1584)
    • Details: Archbishop of Milan. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Milan Cathedral, Italy.
  5. St. Catherine of Genoa (d. 1510)
    • Details: Mystic and author. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Genoa, Italy (relics preserved).
  6. St. Benedict the Moor (d. 1589)
    • Details: Franciscan lay brother. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Palermo, Italy (relics preserved).

17th Century

  1. St. Vincent de Paul (d. 1660)
    • Details: Founder of the Vincentians. Found fully incorrupt in 1712, but decomposed later due to flooding; heart and bones remain.
    • Location: St. Vincent de Paul Chapel, Paris, France (heart); relics elsewhere.
  2. St. Veronica Giuliani (d. 1727)
    • Details: Capuchin Poor Clare. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Citta di Castello, Italy.
  3. St. Louise de Marillac (d. 1660)
    • Details: Co-founder of the Daughters of Charity. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Paris, France (relics preserved).
  4. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (d. 1690)
    • Details: Promoter of the Sacred Heart devotion. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Paray-le-Monial, France (relics preserved).
  5. St. Francis de Sales (d. 1622)
    • Details: Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Annecy, France (relics preserved).

18th Century

  1. St. Alphonsus Liguori (d. 1787)
    • Details: Founder of the Redemptorists and Doctor of the Church. Exhumed in 1842, his body was found incorrupt, though later covered with a wax effigy for display.
    • Location: Basilica of St. Alphonsus, Pagani, Italy.
  2. St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart (d. 1770)
    • Details: Carmelite nun. Died at 22, her body was found incorrupt, flexible, and with a sweet fragrance.
    • Location: Monastery of St. Teresa, Florence, Italy.
  3. St. Ignatius of Laconi (d. 1781)
    • Details: Capuchin friar. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Cagliari, Italy (relics preserved).
  4. Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (d. 1837)
    • Details: Trinitarian tertiary. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Rome, Italy (relics preserved).

19th Century

  1. St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney (Curé of Ars) (d. 1859)
    • Details: Patron of parish priests. Exhumed in 1904, his body was found incorrupt; his heart is particularly venerated.
    • Location: Basilica of Ars, France.
  2. St. Bernadette Soubirous (d. 1879)
    • Details: Visionary of Lourdes. Exhumed multiple times (1909, 1919, 1925), body showed no decay, with natural skin tone and intact liver. Light wax mask applied.
    • Location: Chapel of St. Bernadette, Nevers, France.
  3. St. John Bosco (d. 1888)
    • Details: Founder of the Salesians. Exhumed in 1934, found incorrupt.
    • Location: Basilica of Mary Our Help, Turin, Italy.
  4. Blessed Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
    • Details: Pope who defined the Immaculate Conception. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.
  5. St. Maria Goretti (d. 1912)
    • Details: Martyr of purity. Found incorrupt, displayed in the U.S. in 2015.
    • Location: Nettuno, Italy.
  6. St. Charbel Makhlouf (d. 1898)
    • Details: Maronite monk. Body exuded blood and perspiration, remaining incorrupt despite a flooded grave. Liquid seeped from his tomb for years.
    • Location: Monastery of St. Maron, Annaya, Lebanon.
  7. Venerable Mary of Agreda (d. 1665)
    • Details: Franciscan abbess and mystic. Exhumed in 1909 and 1989, body remained incorrupt.
    • Location: Agreda, Spain.
  8. St. Maria Mazzarello (d. 1881)
    • Details: Co-founder of the Salesian Sisters. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Turin, Italy (relics preserved).
  9. St. Germaine Cousin (d. 1601)
    • Details: Shepherdess and mystic. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Pibrac, France (relics preserved).
  10. St. Catherine Labouré (d. 1876)
    • Details: Marian visionary (Miraculous Medal). Exhumed in 1933, body unblemished with blue eyes intact. Joints supple.
    • Location: Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Paris, France.

20th Century

  1. St. Faustina Kowalska (d. 1938)
    • Details: Apostle of Divine Mercy. Exhumed in 1968, her body was found partially incorrupt, with some parts remarkably preserved despite burial conditions.
    • Location: Shrine of Divine Mercy, Krakow, Poland (relics preserved).
  2. St. Francis Xavier Cabrini (d. 1917)
    • Details: Founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Found incorrupt.
    • Location: Manhattan, New York, USA.
  3. St. Pope John XXIII (d. 1963)
    • Details: Pope who convened Vatican II. Body found intact, but embalmed, so incorruptibility is debated.
    • Location: St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.
  4. St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (d. 1968)
    • Details: Capuchin friar and stigmatist. Body partially incorrupt.
    • Location: San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
  5. Blessed Karl of Austria (d. 1922)
    • Details: Last Emperor of Austria. Found incorrupt in 1972.
    • Location: Madeira, Portugal (relics preserved).
  6. Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster (d. 2019)
    • Details: Foundress of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. Found incorrupt in 2023, four years after burial without embalming.
    • Location: Gower, Missouri, USA.
Incorruptibility Criteria: Incorrupt bodies are flexible, lifelike, and lack deliberate preservation. Some emit sweet odors or oils, defying decay in adverse conditions.
Limitations: Some bodies (e.g., John XXIII) were embalmed, raising debate about supernatural incorruptibility. Others, like Clare of Assisi, are now skeletal but were incorrupt for centuries. Environmental factors may affect preservation over time.

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