Thousands of people have been traveling to a small rural Missouri hamlet to see Sister Wilhemina Lancaster, a Catholic nun. There’s a catch, though. Since 2019, she has passed away.
Sister Wilhemina Lancaster of the Most Holy Rosary, OSB, passed away on May 29, 2019, at the age of 95, and very little degradation has occurred in her body since then, according to the Catholic News Agency.
Sisters from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles Monastery in Gower, Missouri, took Lancaster’s remains into their chapel, which is when the shocking discovery was made.
One sister told Newsweek, “We were told by cemetery staff to expect just bones.”
But to their surprise, they discovered an almost entirely undamaged body.
Sister Wilhemina was interred in a wooden casket after she passed away and was not embalmed. Sister Wilhemina’s remains were almost completely intact, except for a layer of mildew that had developed from a break in the casket.
“I didn’t just see that,” the witness stated, “because I believed I had seen a fully developed, intact foot.” The residing abbess referred to Mother Cecilia, OSB. “So I took another, closer look.”
Everyone was stunned.
We need hope at this time.
Catholic tradition holds that “incorruptible saints” have seen the afterlife and the resurrection of the body. They are referred to as incorruptible since their bodies exhibit little to no evidence of deterioration even years after death.
The absence of deterioration also represents a relationship to Christ.
Over one hundred of the reported instances of incorruptible bodies have received canonization or beatification, numbering in the several hundred ranges.
The Diocese of Kanas City-St. Joseph issued a statement acknowledging the “widespread interest” and inevitable “important questions.”
To enable a comprehensive inquiry, it is crucial to maintain the integrity of Sister Wilhelmina’s mortal remains.
In addition to finding Sister Wilhemina’s remains unharmed, the sisters also discovered that the objects she was buried with, including her clothing, were in “remarkably preserved condition.”
Even more amazing was that her holy clothing, made of natural fibers and for which she struggled so fervently throughout her monastic life, had been completely preserved. The synthetic coffin lining was fully destroyed, constructed of a substance identical to the synthetic veil.
The sisters constructed a wax mask of Sister Wilhemina’s face and hands after removing the “mask of thick mold” from her face. The preservation procedure and air exposure led to some deterioration, but the corpse was largely unharmed.
Since Sister Wilhemina’s discovery, thousands have traveled to the small hamlet to pay their respects. According to Clinton County Sheriff Larry Fish, over the Memorial Day weekend, they anticipate anywhere between 10 and 15,000 people daily.
After several days on display, Sister Wilhemina’s body was placed in a glass case close to the chapel’s altar.
It’s considered a miracle by many. Some contest it. How do you feel? Please tell us in the comments.