40 years after his death, Padre Pio looks like this.
-
About Padre Pio
Padre Pio, a humble Capuchin priest from San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy , was blessed by God in many wonderful and mysterious ways. The most dramatic was the stigmata. Padre Pio bore the wounds of Christ for fifty years! Among his other gifts were perfume, bilocation, prophecy, conversion, reading of souls, and miraculous cures. People are still being cured through his intercession in ways that cannot be explained by medicine or science. More important, if less spectacular, are the spiritual healings that take place in all parts of the world! Padre Pio is a powerful intercessor!!
Padre Pio's incorrupt body!
To see him resting so peacefully it's hard to believe that he died 40 years ago!
-
-
-
That's a powerful testament even when he's dead(well at least his body is).
Thank you for sharing the pictures Honeybunz.
The man who prevail against sin and evil.........something that we hopelessly can't do.
So in the catholic church as far as I know there are three saints whose body doesn't decay after they are dead. Perhaps there are actually more?
-
I was wrong. There are more than 3 saints whose body doesn't become corrupt.
http://www.catholicapologetics.info/library/gallery/incorrupt.htm
-
On March 3, 2008 the body of Saint Pio was exhumed from his crypt, 40 years after his death, so that his remains could be prepared for display. A church statement described the body as being in "fair condition". Archbishop Domenico D'Ambrosio, papal legate to the shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo, stated "the top part of the skull is partly skeletal but the chin is perfect and the rest of the body is well preserved".[33] Archbishop D’Ambrosio also confirmed in a communiqué that “the stigmata are not visible.”[34] He further confirmed that formalin was injected into Padre Pio's body prior to burial to preserve it. He went on to say that St. Pio's hands "looked like they had just undergone a manicure". It was hoped that morticians would be able to restore the face so that it will be recognizable. However, due to its deterioration, his face was covered with a life-like silicone mask.[35]
-
The body of St. Bernadette She died of her long-term illness at the age of 35 on April 16, 1879,
Bishop Gauthey of Nevers and the church exhumed the body of Bernadette Soubirous on September 2, 1909, in the presence of representatives appointed by the postulators of the cause, two doctors, and a sister of the community. They found 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 reclothed her body before burial in a new double casket.
The Church exhumed the corpse a second time on April 3, 1919. The body still appeared preserved, however, her face was slightly discolored possibly due to the washing process of the first exhumation.
In 1925, the church exhumed the body for a third time. They took relics, which were sent to Rome. A precise imprint of the face was molded so that the firm of Pierre Imans in Paris could make a light wax mask based on the imprints and on some genuine photos. This was common practice for relics in France, as it was feared that although the body was uncorrupted, the blackish tinge to the face and the sunken eyes and nose would make an unpleasant impression on the public. Imprints of the hands were also taken for the presentation of the body. The remains were then placed in a gold and glass 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 to this day remains intact despite being nearly one hundred and thirty years old.[citation needed]
-
As a Wikipedia editor, I would like to highlight that the sentence that states that Archbishop D’Ambrosio further confirmed the body was injected with formalin does not have a source, and it is possible that it is false. We will have to look for other proof for that.