Missouri miracle | Tourists flock to see nun’s body intact four years after death

Hundreds of tourists gathered at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles Monastery which is in rural Missouri to witness the dead body of a nun who is showing no signs of decay even around four years after her death, stated Catholic News Agency.

The dead body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, who died in 2019 at the age of 95, was exhumed “roughly four years later” so that it can be shifted to its final resting place which was in the monastery chapel, reported the Catholic News Agency.

When the authorities unearthed the coffin, they found the body of Lancaster apparently “incorrupt”, which is referred to as the body’s preservation from normal decay in the Catholic tradition. The remains did not decay even though the body was not embalmed and kept in a wooden coffin, according to the news outlet.

The discovery captured the attention of some members of the church and prompted an investigation. The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph issued a statement about the discovery.

“The condition of the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster has understandably generated widespread interest and raised important questions,” stated the diocese.

“At the same time, it is important to protect the integrity of the mortal remains of Sister Wilhelmina to allow for a thorough investigation… Bishop (James) Johnston invites all the Faithful to continue praying during this time of investigation for God’s will,” he added.

The statement issued by the diocese noted that “incorruptibility” is very rare, and a “well-established process to pursue the cause for sainthood,” however, the process has not started in Lancaster’s case. 

Dead bodies remaining well-preserved not very uncommon, says experts

The Catholic News Agency reported that the authorities have canonised 100 incorruptible bodies after their bodies defied the natural process of decaying. However, experts claimed that it is not very uncommon for dead bodies to remain well-preserved, especially in the initial years after death.

Speaking to CNN, Western Carolina University Associate Professor and Director of Forensic Anthropology Nicholas V Passalacqua said, “It’s hard to say how common this is, because bodies are rarely exhumed after burial. But there are many famous cases of well-preserved human remains. Not just things like Egyptian mummies which were intentionally preserved, but also things like the Bog Bodies of Europe which were very well preserved for thousands of years because they were in environments with low oxygen that restricted bacterial grown and access of the remains to scavengers.”

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Passalacqua further noted, “In general, when we bury a body at our human decomposition facility, we expect it will take 5 years for the body to become skeletonised. That is without a coffin or any other container or wrapping surrounding the remains. So for this body, which was buried in a coffin, I personally don’t find it too surprising that the remains are relatively well preserved after four years.”

Till May 29, the body will be laid out in the sisters’ chapel when the sisters plan a rosary procession. After the procession, the body of Sister Wilhelmina will be encased in glass near the altar of St. Joseph in the chapel.

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