Indestructible bodies

After death, the bodies of many stigmatics were found to be incorruptible. Saint Clare of Montefalco (1268–1308), Saint Teresa of Avila (1515–1582), Saint Rita of Cassia (1381–1457), and others. It is believed that the holiness and purity of these saints kept their bodies incorrupt.

In 1468, the Sicilian stigmatic Eustochia Calafato died at the age of 35. She was buried in the apse of a church in Montevergine, Italy. A local cult soon developed, and numerous miracles occurred at her tomb.

When the city of Montevergine was struck by a powerful earthquake in 1615, people flocked to Eustochia's tomb to pray for protection. The sisters removed the perfectly preserved body from the chapel, where it had rested for over 150 years, and placed it in an upright position in the old choir chamber.

Suddenly, the saint's mouth allegedly opened and her voice, flowing from the heart, began to sing the first verse of the Psalm of the Night Rite.

The earthquake was reported to have stopped at that moment. To this day, the saint's body remains the destination of many pilgrimages.