Padre

According to the Roman Catholic tradition, the corpses of certain venerable people never decompose or decay. They are “incorruptible”. It is believed that certain individuals and objects can escape the ravages of time because of their inherent holiness or because they are under the protection of a divine power. (A similar tradition exists in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, a good example of which can be seen in Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.) Incorruptibility is an important attribute of saintliness and only counts if it occurs naturally – in other words, mummification or embalming does not qualify. Moreover, incorruptible corpses do not reek of death but instead are said to produce a pleasant, floral scent. One of the few American examples of an