Religious beliefs are outside the scope of science, and so they're outside the scope of

skeptoid. People of all beliefs are welcome here, but that separation does not extend to

factual claims made by religious groups. One of these are the Catholic incorruptibles,

saints whose bodies are claimed by the church to be immune from decomposition.

Does this factual claim stand up to the scrutiny of skeptical inquiry?

We're going to find out right now on Skeptoid.

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The incorruptibles. Lightning flashes as we scrape the final shovelfuls of dirt

away from the top of the coffin, pry open the lid, and in the lantern light we see a perfectly

preserved human body. It's as if she died only a few hours ago, but this body we're

exhuming is centuries old. How can this be? How can this body have proven incorruptible

by decay and the ravages of time? According to the Catholic faith, such incorruptibility

is a miracle. A person who dies and proves incorruptible can thus qualify as a saint.

There are quite a few alleged examples of this, and we'll take a look at some of the best known.

But first, let's examine exactly what the church's criteria are for incorruptibility.

In essence, it means that the body does not decompose after death in a miraculous manner

...