Italy's 'incorruptible' preserved saints remain displayed in churches to be honored

Several incorruptible bodies of saints remain to displayed to be honored around several churches in Italy. These haunting images bring a different kind of eerie to the tourist and locals who are visiting these churches. Some of these saints are in a fragmented state, while some remain remarkably well-preserved... despite dying several centuries ago.

These preserved saints are thought to belong to the world of the incorrupt. Many Catholics believe these saints continue to look as they did during the time of their death because of Divine Intervention.

The holiness of these saints is often considered the reason why their human form remains in a lifelike state. Divine Intervention causes these saints to retain the "haunting" states, adding to the mystery life has to offer.

Unfortunately, some of these saints have begun to deteriorate to skeletons over the years. It was initially believed that incorruptibility was permanent, however, through time questions about such phenomena are beginning to arise.

Several incorruptibles include the wax effigy of St. Carlo de Sezze, the forearm of St. Francis Xavier displayed in the Church of the Gesu in Rome. St. Paula Frassinetti is displayed in a glass coffin at the Convent of St. Dorotea in Rome. St. Paula Frassinetti was born in 1809 in Genoa Italy and helped establish the order of the Sisters of Saint Dorothy. She died in 1882 and her body remained incorruptible till the 1906. He face remains unusually intact  with the help of carbolic acid.

According to the Daily Mail, incorruptibility can affect one specific body part, in this case, the preserved arm of St Francis Xavier, which is currently available for viewing at the Church of the Gesu in Rome. St Pope Pius V also belongs to the group of the incorrupt, but has been encased in silver since his death in 1572.

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