A nun’s body which shows almost no sign of decomposition after being exhumed four years on from her death has been hailed as a miracle.
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster died at the age of 95 in May 2019 and was exhumed in the small town of Gower, Missouri.
Her body has gone on display and thousands of people have flocked to witness the ‘Miracle in Missouri’.
Sister Wilhelmina, who at the age of 70 founded the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, was exhumed last Thursday.
Benedictine sisters dug up the coffin so they could move it to beneath the altar when they made the stunning discovery.
“We went out to her grave to say the rosary after the sisters finished the digging,” one sister said.
“Mother Abbess Cecilia looked through the crack made in the coffin, which very clearly occurred soon after her burial.
“She saw a totally intact foot with the sock on, looking just like it did when we had buried her. She could not help but scream with joy.”
They added: “We took turns feeling the still-socked feet, very damp, but all there. The dirt that fell in early on had pushed down on her facial features, especially the right eye, so we did place a wax mask over it.
“But her eyelashes, hair, eyebrows, nose and lips were all present, her mouth just about to smile.”
The sister continued: “After we cleaned off the mould and mildew because of the wet conditions in the coffin, it looked like we had just put [the habit] on her that day.
“This was a testament to her love for the sisterhood and what she was passing down to us who followed her.”
Now on display, a sign next to the body says “Please be gentle when touching sister’s body, especially her feet!”
Associate professor and director of forensic anthropology at Western Carolina University Nicholas Passalacqua told the news outlet that the sister’s body may have been well preserved depending on temperature, the environment the body is in and if it was been chemically treated.
“The warmer it is, the more active bacteria and enzymes will be and also the more active insect scavengers will be because their metabolisms are correlated to ambient temperature,” the professor said.
“If the remains have been treated with chemicals, then this will drastically slow the decomposition process.”
The body is on display until May 29 and it will then be moved to the altar.
In a chilling revelation that has stunned the scientific community and captivated the public, explorers in Antarctica have reported the discovery of a massive cave harboring mysterious and terrifying creatures. This unprecedented find has sparked a wave …
For decades, the KGB, the пotorioυs secυrity ageпcy of the Soviet Uпioп, has beeп shroυded iп mystery aпd specυlatioп, with пυmeroυs coпspiracy theories swirliпg aroυпd its activities. However, receпt revelatioпs, sυpposedly stemmiпg from пewly declassified …
A metal detectorist in Frinton and Walton, a civil parish in Essex, England, made two extraordinary finds while sweeping the grounds. The unnamed treasure hunter found both a medieval “love motto ring” and a silver gilt hooked tag, which women once used …
For 1,800 years the story of the ‘ɩoѕt British emperor’ who defied ancient Rome has been merely a footnote in history books. Carausius’s аᴜdасіoᴜѕ seizure of рoweг and seven-year гeіɡп over Britain and much of Gaul have largely been foгɡotteп. But thanks …
Reсent аrchаeologicаl dіscoverіes іn Egyрt аnd Antаrcticа hаve ѕent ѕhockwaveѕ through the ѕcientific сommunity, ѕuggeѕting the рossibility of аdvаnced сivilizations vіsіtіng Eаrth thouѕandѕ of yeаrs аgo. Reѕearcherѕ hаve unсovered whаt they belіeve to …
“Thorin”, one of the last Neanderthals to walk the planet, was part of a previously unknown lineage that was isolated for 50,000 years, a new analysis of his DNA finds. Discovered in 2015 at the entrance to the Grotte Mandrin rock shelter in the Rhône …