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Case 001 · Incorruption · Nevers, France · 1909 to 1925

The body of St. Bernadette

St. Bernadette's body lies in a glass reliquary in the chapel of the former Saint-Gildard convent at Nevers, where she died in 1879. Physicians reported it intact at its first exhumation in 1909, and since 1925 her face and hands have been covered with thin wax coverings made by the Pierre Imans firm in Paris.

ChurchNot treated as a miracleBEvidence grade
Whole bodyMechanism not determinedWax face and hands, 1925

Church status: Not treated as a miracle

The Church does not count incorruption among the miracles examined for beatification or canonization, and does not treat it as proof of holiness. Is incorruptibility a miracle?

Evidence grade B

Three canonical recognitions were attended by named physicians, whose findings are quoted in published accounts. No peer-reviewed examination of the body has been published. How we grade

Reviewed September 21, 2026. Photographs are added as custodians give permission.

The reliquary of St. Bernadette, chapel of Espace Bernadette, NeversCredit printed here once the licensed photograph is added

The life

Marie-Bernarde Soubirous was born in Lourdes on January 7, 1844, the eldest child of a struggling miller. In 1858, at fourteen, she reported eighteen apparitions of the Virgin Mary at the grotto of Massabielle.

In 1866 she joined the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. She died at the Saint-Gildard convent on April 16, 1879, aged 35, and was buried in the convent chapel of St. Joseph. She was beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1933.

The claim

It is claimed that St. Bernadette's body has not decayed since her death, and devotional sources often describe it as incorrupt. The claim rests on three canonical recognitions of the remains, in 1909, 1919, and 1925, each in the presence of physicians.

The body today

Condition
Whole body, as recorded at the 1925 recognition
Mechanism
Not determined. The 1919 report describes the body as practically mummified.
On view
In a glass reliquary in the chapel of Espace Bernadette, Nevers
Face and hands
Covered with thin wax coverings since 1925

What was done to the body

  1. 1909Washed by the sisters after the first recognition[1]
  2. 1925Relics taken, including ribs, kneecaps, liver tissue, and muscle[1]
  3. 1925Thin wax coverings for the face and hands, modelled from imprints and photographs by the Pierre Imans firm, Paris[1]
  4. 1925Placed in the present glass reliquary (sources give July 18 or August 3)[1]

Evidence ledger

01

Canonical recognition · September 22, 1909

First exhumation [1]

Examiner
Dr. David and Dr. Jourdan, with Church officials
Method
Opening of the coffin and external examination
Result
The body was reported intact. The sisters washed it before it was reburied.
Status
Church commissioned

No image made during this recognition is shown. Such images need the written permission of the bishop and the heir.

02

Canonical recognition · April 3, 1919

Second exhumation [1]

Examiner
Dr. Talon and Dr. Comte
Method
External examination
Result
The body was described as practically mummified, with patches of mildew and a layer of salts on the skin.
Status
Church commissioned

No image made during this recognition is shown. Such images need the written permission of the bishop and the heir.

03

Canonical recognition · April 18, 1925

Third exhumation and relics [1]

Examiner
Dr. Comte
Method
Examination and removal of relics
Result
Relics were taken. The face had darkened and the eyes and nose were sunken, which led to the wax coverings.
Status
Church commissioned

No image made during this recognition is shown. Such images need the written permission of the bishop and the heir.

04

Treatment · 1925

Wax coverings for the face and hands [1]

Examiner
The Pierre Imans firm, Paris
Method
Thin wax coverings modelled from imprints and photographs
Result
The face and hands seen today are these coverings, over the saint's own face and hands.
Status
Published account
05

Statement · Current website

The sanctuary's description [2]

Examiner
Sanctuaire Sainte Bernadette, Nevers
Method
Public statement
Result
The sanctuary describes the body as intact and does not mention the wax coverings.
Status
Published

Status key: Church commissioned means an examination the Church ordered, reported in its documents. Published account means a report that appears in print or online but was not peer reviewed. Published means a public statement by the body's custodian.

Natural explanations considered

Bodies kept in dry, cool, sealed conditions can dry out and hold their shape (natural mummification). In damp, airless graves, body fat can turn into a waxy substance that keeps a body's form (saponification). The 1919 physicians described a body that was practically mummified, but no study has determined which process, if any, was at work, or how the 1909 washing and the 1925 relic extraction affected the body.

What remains open

  • Why the face darkened between 1909 and 1925.
  • What the physicians' full reports say. They are quoted, but not published in full online.
  • Whether the Sisters of Charity of Nevers would allow a modern, non-invasive examination.

Sources

  1. EWTN, Body of St. Bernadette of Lourdes
  2. Sanctuaire Sainte Bernadette, Nevers: Son corps
  3. Joan Carroll Cruz, The Incorruptibles (TAN Books, 1977), entry 99
  4. Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Relics in the Church: Authenticity and Preservation (2017)

Cite this page

Saints and Science, "The body of St. Bernadette", Case 001, saintsandscience.com, reviewed September 21, 2026.
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Next

Continue to Case 002: The body of St. Catherine Labouré

Feast day: April 16 (February 18 in France).

Continue to Case 002