odour of sanctity

noun3

1. •
   (historical) A sweet smell, usually likened to that of flowers, said to be emitted by the bodies of saints during their life, or especially at or after death.

   • These [Taoist] 'immortals' were either resurrected or their bodies regrew, or the corpse did not go cold and emitted a 'pleasant' odour of sanctity. — 2005
2. •
   (figurative) A person's reputation for, or state of, holiness.

   • [S]he [Saint Margaret of England] made her profession in the Cistercian nunnery at Laon, where she died in odour of sanctity in 1192. — 1756
3. •
   (humorous, figurative) A (supposed) general aura of goodness or virtue.

   • The twenty-six cartloads of relics which were brought here when the building [the Pantheon in Rome] was dedicated to Sta Maria ad Martyres, have failed to give it the odour of sanctity. — 1901