WEIRD CATHOLIC: Incorruptibles, Ossuaries & Ghosts!
Step inside a world where ancient mysteries, the supernatural, and the sacred all blend into one fascinating tapestry—that’s the Catholic Church like you’ve never seen it. Forget the solemn incense-filled masses, the paintings of saints, or lofty cathedrals. What lurks beneath is a much weirder, wilder, and altogether more mysterious tradition—one that gives our sense of reality a good shake. Welcome to the strange realms chronicled in Michael J. Lichens’ book, the “Weird Catholic Handbook.” In a riveting conversation on the podcast "Things Visible and Invisible," Lichens dives deep into bizarre wonders that are very real—and very Catholic. From miraculous corpses to haunted chapels, the church’s oddities just might change how you look at faith, death, and the unexplained forever.
Miraculous Mummies: The Strange Saga of Incorruptibles
Our journey into Catholic oddities begins at the tomb. For most, dead bodies eventually return to dust, and anything else would seem downright unnatural. But the Catholic tradition is filled with tales—and in some cases, visible proof—of what are called the “incorruptibles”: saints whose bodies simply refuse to decompose.
Imagine opening a tomb decades, even centuries, after someone’s death and finding the body eerily preserved, limbs still flexible and skin eerily life-like. No mummification process, no embalming, just seemingly miraculous preservation. Lichens shares stories like that of St. Cecilia, whose body still bore fresh-looking wounds from her martyrdom centuries after her death. Or Mother Willina Lancaster in the U.S., where even her habit remained intact after years in a damp grave. It’s a marvel both creepy and compelling—a “miraculous mummy” as Lichens puts it.
Why do some bodies resist decay? Science, as Lichens explains, is as puzzled as religion. There are rigorous investigations, X-rays, and analysis—with some bodies debunked as being intentionally mummified. But a small number, such as St. Rita of Cascia, don’t fit any known scientific explanation. Less than 200 such cases exist among thousands of saints, making incorruptibility an extremely rare and mysterious phenomenon. While the Vatican no longer considers incorruptibility sole proof of sainthood, it continues to both baffle and inspire.
Bone Churches: When Mortality Becomes Art
Think a chapel is all marble and stained glass? Think again. Scattered across Europe, and especially popular with “dark tourists,” are ossuaries or “bone churches.” Picture chapels where every decoration—from chandeliers to wall frescoes—is constructed out of human bones. The Capuchin crypt in Rome, for example, features the remains of thousands of monks, their skulls and bones laid out in astounding Baroque patterns.
Beyond the morbid display lies a powerful message: memento mori, the ancient reminder of death’s inevitability. These bone churches aren’t just macabre art installations; they’re meant to confront us with our mortality and spark reflection. As Lichens recounts, his first visit was motivated by a sense of morbid curiosity, but the experience quickly turned spiritual. Staring at the remains of long-dead monks, he felt connected to a community beyond life—reminded not just of inevitable death, but also of eventual resurrection, a core Catholic hope.
The original reason for creating such chapels was both practical and philosophical. Medieval cities with limited burial space had to find ways to reuse graves, and the bones that surfaced ended up as spiritual reminders and, ultimately, as hauntingly beautiful works of art.
Ghosts, Saints, and the Catholic Embrace of the Supernatural
Does the Catholic Church believe in ghosts? According to great medieval philosophers like Thomas Aquinas, the answer is a resounding yes. The faith acknowledges the possibility of encounters with spirits: whether they are saints visiting to offer comfort, souls from purgatory seeking prayers, or even those from the damned making appearances to instruct or warn the living.
Lichens relates plenty of tales from the medieval period—enough, he notes, to fill an entire book. One poignant story comes from St. Gregory the Great: a bishop visiting a bathhouse sees a ghostly deacon, later revealed to be suffering in purgatory and in need of prayer. Once masses were said for him, the disturbing visits stopped. For Catholics, these stories reinforce the reality of spiritual connections, the need to pray for the dead, and the boundary-blurring nature of the world.
Of course, the Catholic Church issues warnings: Catholics shouldn’t seek contact with the dead precisely because demonic impersonation is a risk. Yet, an acceptance of the supernatural is woven into the very fabric of this faith—ghost stories are just another way of grappling with the invisible mysteries that shape existence.
Ghost Stories with Heart: The Comforting Side of the Weird
Not all Catholic weirdness is grim. Lichens shares a story that’s both uplifting and uncanny: St. John Bosco, a beloved 19th-century Italian saint, once made a pact with his friend Luigi—they agreed that, whoever died first, would send a sign back to the other. After Luigi died suddenly, Bosco was comforted one night by a ghostly visit—Luigi’s voice assuring him of salvation. The experience was heard by others, and for Bosco, offered immense solace—proof that friendship and hope extend even beyond the grave.
More Than Curiosity: Why the Weird Matters
From incorruptible bodies to bone chapels and affirmed ghostly encounters, the “weirdness” of Catholicism isn’t random. These stories confront us with mystery, mortality, and the limits of human understanding. They challenge believers and skeptics alike to consider what lies beyond, and prompt humanity to prepare—not just for death, but for what might follow.
Lichens’ Weird Catholic Handbook, and conversations like those on "Things Visible and Invisible," shine a spotlight on the peculiar corners of religion. Yet at their core, these strange phenomena aren’t just church curiosities or fodder for ghost stories. They are invitations to wonder, to reflect, and, perhaps, to see that there’s far more to the world—visible and invisible—than meets the eye.
Never heard of incorruptible saints or bone churches? Curious about a faith that embraces miracles and ghosts? Maybe it’s time to look again, and dive into the mysteries that the Catholic Church has long kept alive. As these stories show, there’s always something new—and weird—waiting to be discovered just beneath the surface.
If this journey into the Catholic mysterious has intrigued you, check out Michael J. Lichens’ ‘Weird Catholic Handbook,’ find local bone-chapels, or simply spend a moment reflecting on what it all might mean for your own sense of life and the hereafter. The weird, after all, might just be the most human thing about faith.
📕 Guest: Michael J. Lichens
Michael is a longtime editor and author with a passion for the strange and spiritual. His latest book Weird Catholic Handbook is available from Sophia Institute Press and wherever books are sold.
🌍 Website: https://www.mlichens.com/
📘 Publisher: https://sophiainstitute.com
