Why, Why, Why?

[Snacks]

Why would the catholic church exume a body of a dead priest/monk now saint fix him up and put him on display?

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/24/news/Italy-Monk-Revered.php

[Recyclerz]

Why would the catholic church exume a body of a dead priest/monk now saint fix him up and put him on display?

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/24/news/Italy-Monk-Revered.php

...Those tourists are money...

[Thebazile78]

Why would the catholic church exume a body of a dead priest/monk now saint fix him up and put him on display?

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/24/news/Italy-Monk-Revered.php

You've obviously never heard of first-degree relics or the Incorruptibles. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incorruptibles)

In Siena's cathedral, they have the head of St. Catherine (of Siena) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine_of_Siena) on display. (Trutfully, it's more mummified than incorrupt, but who am I to quibble?)

My home parish is named for St. Catherine of Bologna (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine_of_Bologna). Her body has been on display in Bologna for centuries...in fact her skin is stained dark from the ages of candle soot from votive candles lit around her!

It's actually related to customs of wakes and mementi mori ... a reminder that we all must die.

According to the biography of Padre Pio I read years ago, his remains didn't smell like decomp, but rather of roses. Truthfully, he lived a long and decent life, leaving many admirers and skeptics behind ... I don't see the problem. (And have a fascination with relics. Just go to the Met and the Cloisters ... they have oodles of reliquaries, which have to be THE coolest objets d'arte EVER created.)

[Snacks]

You've obviously never heard of first-degree relics or the Incorruptibles. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incorruptibles)

In Siena's cathedral, they have the head of St. Catherine (of Siena) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine_of_Siena) on display. (Trutfully, it's more mummified than incorrupt, but who am I to quibble?)

My home parish is named for St. Catherine of Bologna (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine_of_Bologna). Her body has been on display in Bologna for centuries...in fact her skin is stained dark from the ages of candle soot from votive candles lit around her!

It's actually related to customs of wakes and mementi mori ... a reminder that we all must die.

According to the biography of Padre Pio I read years ago, his remains didn't smell like decomp, but rather of roses. Truthfully, he lived a long and decent life, leaving many admirers and skeptics behind ... I don't see the problem. (And have a fascination with relics. Just go to the Met and the Cloisters ... they have oodles of reliquaries, which have to be THE coolest objets d'arte EVER created.)

I know nothing nor remember anything about relics. Im trying to forget everything I was forced to learn about the catholic religion. But the corpse is just a corpse. his soul is now in heaven so does it really matter for anyone to see a dead body in a glass case? if they were going to put his body on display that should have done so 40 years ago when he died. they exumed his body last month after 40 years of becoming fertilizer. half of his head is wax so its only half him.

[A.J.]

Were I a religious person here's where I would agree with the Protestants and the Muslims about "idolatry". The Bible says you are supposed to worship and/or pray to God and God alone: not statues, not human remains, and not Saints.

[Furtherman]

Why, Why, Why?

Money, Money, Money.

[Thebazile78]

I know nothing nor remember anything about relics. Im trying to forget everything I was forced to learned about the catholic religion. But the corpse is just a corpse. his soul is now in heaven so does it really matter for anyone to see a dead body in a glass case? if they were going to put his body on display that should have done so 40 years ago when he died. they exumed his body last month after 40 years of becoming fertilizer. half of his head is wax so its only half him.

Yes.
The body itself is a first-degree relic.

This is important to a lot of older Catholics who still buy into the pre-Vatican II mumbo-jumbo with its Pantheon of Saints, etc. According to the mumbo-jumbo, a relic has somewhat "magical" properties and several types are associated with miracle cures and so forth. (I personally think it's quaint. Which is why reliquaries are among my favorite things to see at museums that have collections of them.)

As to why they wouldn't have just exhumed the body, well the reasons are multiple:

(1) in order to prove his sanctity, they could dig him up periodically and see how far he'd decomposed - incorruptibility is said to be a mark of sainthood;
(2) Pio wasn't an only child; he had several brothers & sisters, whose families probably had ... issues ... with exhuming a dead relation, no matter how holy or venerated;
(3) Pio was a member of a religious community; they would have a strong say in how his remains were treated;
(4) Padre Pio wasn't sainted until 2002, so there probably was very little interest in his relics for 40 years.

For reference:
Degrees of Relics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relic#Roman_Catholic_classification_and_prohibitio ns)

[Knowledged_one]

Has anyone here ever heard of the Narco-saint?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jes%C3%BAs_Malverde

[Recyclerz]

I say we do the same thing for St. Mikeyboy of the Internet.


http://www.ronfez.net/gallery//showphoto.php/photo/2034

[keithy_19]

I say we do the same thing for St. Mikeyboy of the Internet.


http://www.ronfez.net/gallery//showphoto.php/photo/2034

He's home alone, so we could probably get to him...

[CofyCrakCocaine]

It's not as wacky as having Lenin sitting there in Red Square

[Kevin]

Why, Why, Why?

Money, Money, Money.

http://www.clubwwi.com/images/1ted.gif

[Death Metal Moe]

I remember I went to some huge Catholic church while on a vacation in Italy. While there I was fortunate enough to look upon the jaw bone and tongue of some fucking dead dude. Seems his speech or some shit was holy. Maybe he spoke in tongues a lot, I don't konw. But yea, someone thought it would be awesomely kewl to rip his face apart and put parts of his body under glass surrounded by enough gold to feed one of the countries churches say they care about and want to raise money for.

Yea, that's normal.

[Thebazile78]

It's not as wacky as having Lenin sitting there in Red Square

Lenin was a masterwork of embalming and brought modern mortuary science leaps and bounds forward.

This type of thing fascinates me to no end.

























(Needless to say, it also disturbs most of my family.)

[Mike Teacher]

Has anyone here ever heard of the Narco-saint?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jes%C3%BAs_Malverde

I didnt know until recently that besides Pope's, there are...

AntiPopes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipope)

I wonder what happens if a Pope and an AntiPope shake hands

[Furtherman]

I wonder what happens if a Pope and an AntiPope shake hands

The funny hat dimension collapses?

[Thebazile78]

I remember I went to some huge Catholic church while on a vacation in Italy. While there I was fortunate enough to look upon the jaw bone and tongue of some fucking dead dude. Seems his speech or some shit was holy. Maybe he spoke in tongues a lot, I don't konw. But yea, someone thought it would be awesomely kewl to rip his face apart and put parts of his body under glass surrounded by enough gold to feed one of the countries churches say they care about and want to raise money for.

Yea, that's normal.

Nobody ever said it was normal. A lot of reliquaries were "sponsored" by wealthy people, like books were before Gutenberg invented the printing press, and so they were these grand works of art, rather than simple objects of devotion. (Kind of like the difference among all the potential Grail cups in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ... the plainest cup was the True Grail, while the fancy ones were just illusions and, ultimately, poison.)

Which is why reliquaries are so fascinating.

I mean, in NYC alone there's one at the Met and it's a cast-gold arm as long as a real arm; in St. Pat's there's one with a crystal vial containing what is alleged to be the Virgin Mary's breastmilk (I am NOT making this up! I saw it when I was 16.) and it's surrounded with a ton of gold and jewels ... the Cloisters has a great collection in their lowest level ...

Can you see why I love them so much? It's the incongruity between what they're holding (bones of a saint) and what they are (rich people's "fuck you" display objects passing for piety.)

[Knowledged_one]

I didnt know until recently that besides Pope's, there are...

AntiPopes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipope)

I wonder what happens if a Pope and an AntiPope shake hands

My brother whos married to a mexican chick told me about this.

Apparently some drug runner was getting ready to make a big drug run and he prayed to this saint that if he succeeded then he would leave a large donation. The guy was succesful and donated like 10,000 dollars. Word got around and thats why he is the narco saint. My brother said teh shrine is creepy and its not uncommon to find drug runners and leaders there praying for success

[A.J.]

My brother whos married to a mexican chick told me about this.

Apparently some drug runner was getting ready to make a big drug run and he prayed to this saint that if he succeeded then he would leave a large donation. The guy was succesful and donated like 10,000 dollars. Word got around and thats why he is the narco saint. My brother said teh shrine is creepy and its not uncommon to find drug runners and leaders there praying for success

St. Anthony of Montana?

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2006/11/scarface_million.jpg

[Snacks]

the church is outraged at a former Mayor!

This is kind of funny. Why did Guilliani and the cardinal have an agreement in the first place? Im sure there are many people who support abortion or who are pro chice that recieve that little waffer of dryness.

my mother who went to catholic school her whole life and is very religius believes in pro choice. god never mentioned abortion.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7601981&ch=4226716&src=news

[Knowledged_one]

St. Anthony of Montana?

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2006/11/scarface_million.jpg

Nah check the link in my first post but it is an absolutely true story and rather bizzare

[TheMojoPin]

Who's up for the 6 most awful popes? (http://www.somethingawful.com/d/most-awful/popes-cadaver-synod.php)

[Chigworthy]

I'd like to see some incorruptibles sent to the sky hanging from helium balloons.

[Thomas Merton]

The bazile78, thanks for the knowledge!

I'm Catholic and thought all that stuff and been drilled into my head

[Thebazile78]

The bazile78, thanks for the knowledge!

I'm Catholic and thought all that stuff and been drilled into my head

I'm a wealth of knowledge about a handful of subjects.

Reliquaries are my specialty. I love looking at them and rarely visit the Met without checking out their collection in the Medieval section. LOVE the Cloisters and St. Pat's is great ... although, I was wrong before. I got that "Virgin Mary's breastmilk" from a novel I read, but St. Pat's has Mary Magdalene's tooth in the reliquary I described. (Relics are really interesting. (http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/Hoaxipedia/Medieval_Relic_Trade/) My father thinks I am morbid with my fascination.)

So are ancient Egyptian canopic jars. (Very similar to me as far as the related superstition; different part of the world. No difference to me.)

I've also been fascinated by Padre Pio since I was about 13. And, since the patron saint of my home parish was an Incorruptible, and my father had the book The Incorruptibles on his bookshelf for as long as we had bookshelves, I learned about the Incorruptibles, too. (I think they're hilariously creepy and want to go see St. Catherine of Bologna myself one of these days. The fact that Padre Pio is now under glass makes Italy that much more appealing to me.)

[A.J.]

my mother who went to catholic school her whole life and is very religius believes in pro choice. god never mentioned abortion.

No, God waited until after the kids were born to ask them to be killed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_Isaac)

[A.J.]

Who's up for the 6 most awful popes? (http://www.somethingawful.com/d/most-awful/popes-cadaver-synod.php)

Man, that takes me back to my European History class in high school. My teacher used to love telling those stories.

[Thebazile78]

the church is outraged at a former Mayor!

This is kind of funny. Why did Guilliani and the cardinal have an agreement in the first place? Im sure there are many people who support abortion or who are pro chice that recieve that little waffer of dryness.

my mother who went to catholic school her whole life and is very religius believes in pro choice. god never mentioned abortion.

So what? He believes in abortion rights AND he supports the war.

At least he's consistent.

[Knowledged_one]

[QUOTE=Thebazile78;1708133]I'm a wealth of knowledge about a handful of subjects.
QUOTE]

Hoo Hoo the Bazile is stealing my bit Hoo Hoo