A miracle in Missouri? They exhume the body of a nun and it has not decomposed after 4 years of her death
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Many are traveling to a rural Missouri community to see the body of a Catholic nun who died 4 years ago and, when exhumed.
Hundreds of Catholics are flocking to visit the Benedictine Monastery of Mary, Queen of Apostles in rural Missouri to view the body of a nun that appears to show no signs of decay approximately four years after her death. death, according to the Catholic News Agency.
The body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, who died at age 95 in 2019, was exhumed “approximately four years later” so that it could be moved to its final resting place inside the monastery chapel.
Who was Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, the African American foundress of a Benedictine order of sisters best known for chart-topping Gregorian chants and classic Catholic hymns? https://t.co/9yOrpuMjLp
— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) May 24, 2023
The discovery that the nun's body showed no signs of decomposition years after her death caught the attention of church members and sparked an investigation.
The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph issued a statement about the discovery.
“The condition of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster's remains has understandably generated widespread interest and raised important questions,” the diocese said. “At the same time, it is important to protect the integrity of Sister Wilhelmina's mortal remains to allow for a thorough investigation...Bishop [James] Johnston invites all the faithful to continue to pray during this time of investigation for God's will.”
The diocese's statement notes that “incorruptibility” is very rare and a “well-established process for pursuing the cause of sainthood,” but the process has not begun in Lancaster's case.
catholic tradition
The Catholic Church has a long tradition of so-called “incorruptible saints,” more than a hundred of whom have been beatified or canonized, according to the Catholic News Agency in its article.
Saints are called incorruptible because years after their death, parts or even all of their bodies are immune to the natural process of decay. Even with modern embalming techniques, bodies are subject to natural processes of decomposition.
According to Catholic tradition, the incorruptible saints bear witness to the truth of the resurrection of the body and of the life to come.