Reply #37: On rare holy people, the Catholic Church will try NOT to embalm a body... [View All]

[NYC2099]

This is so that if the this person is on the path to sainthood the body may be looked at in its 'natural' (not embalmed) state - the body is ALWAYS examined no matter if its been 50 years or 1000 years for saints. And on occasion, the body was found to be the same as the day they passed and even possesing a pleasant odor. This is NOT something that occurs to all or, even most saints. It is a rare gift that God gives for whatever reason. If an individual is found to be incorrupt, it is just an indication that they led an extrordinare life and was given that gift to the individual by the almighty.

If a person is embalmed, the body will not decompose naturally or take a much longer time. They church is hoping that JPII body will not decompose. Of course this does not always work out too good. Pope Pius XII (I think) was not embalmed and in 2 days the body was seriously decaying in Rome. Some bodies even explode due to gases in the body.