ANDREA SEABROOK, host:
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was in the economically depressed state of Michigan today. Romney told a rally in Southfield that if he's elected, he will not rest until Michigan makes a comeback. Governor Romney is hoping to edge out Arizona Senator John McCain, who made a comeback himself in the New Hampshire primary.
Overshadowed by the sagas of political resurrection of McCain and Senator Hillary Clinton this past week was another kind of resurrection. The event set commentator Peter Manseau's mind working.
PETER MANSEAU: It was a good week for escapes from the crypt. We witnessed miracles of political rebirth for two presidential hopefuls, and the Roman Catholic Church announced that it is going to exhume the body of Padre Pio, an Italian priest made a saint in 2002.
According to church officials, the holy man's remains will be unearthed to guarantee the best conditions for their conservation. A team of scientists is standing by to assist with preparations for the massive public viewing planned for later this year. All of this will take place in honor of the 40th anniversary of Padre Pio's death.
Of course, some would wonder if digging a person up and putting him on display is an honor at all. Throughout history, graveyards have been either sacred ground or places to be avoided - sometimes both. Yet, one thing across time and cultures has almost always been true - once a body has been sent to the great beyond, we usually prefer it to stay there.
So what to make of exceptions to the rule? Why are some bodies welcomed back? The church points out that exhumation really isn't so unusual. Would-be saints are regularly given a physical, years after death, to determine if sanctity has slowed the process of decay. Pope John XXIII was examined in 2001. St. Catherine Laboure was inspected in 1932. St. Bernadette was exhumed twice, once in 1909 - three decades after her death - and again in 1919.
And it isn't just saints who have received posthumous attention. Eva Peron's body was kept in a display case in the early days after her death. Then it went missing for 16 years. She logged more miles as a corpse than many do in a lifetime. From Argentina to Italy to Spain and then back again, she was buried, reburied and occasionally exhibited at each stop along the way. Mussolini, likewise, had a busy schedule as a cadaver. A year after he was shot, his body was dug up by supporters who kept it for four months before they were discovered.
What do all these unburied dead have in common with politicians who escape the ditches dug for their careers? In every case, a trip to the grave and back again brings greater fame - or infamy. The stories of our national narratives are mercifully less bloody and less macabre than tales told of saints and sinners of old, yet they are no less compelling. We love to hear stories of those who have escaped the inevitable. They bring us to the brink and back again.
SEABROOK: Peter Manseau is the editor of Science & Spirit magazine. He's writing a book about the history of religious relics.