Mystery deepens in case of Missouri nun who was buried five years ago but whose body hasn’t decomposed at all: ‘This is highly atypical’
A team of experts cannot explain why a Missouri nun who died in 2019 has still not been deconsecrated, the bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said.
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, the founder of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, died on May 29, 2019. When her body was exhumed in April 2023, it was found to be remarkably well preserved, despite being unembalmed and buried in an unsealed wooden coffin.
The discovery generated widespread interest and a pilgrimage to the town of Gower, Missouri, where Lancaster’s body was publicly displayed.
Bishop James V. Johnston ordered a team of medical experts to investigate the case. After a thorough examination, the team concluded that Lancaster’s condition was “highly atypical” for the time that had elapsed since her death.
“Within the limits of what we have observed during this time period, it appears that Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster’s body did not undergo the decomposition that one would normally expect under such prior burial conditions,” Bishop James V. Johnston of Kansas City-St. Joseph said in a statement on the diocese’s website.
A team of experts has failed to explain why a Missouri nun who died in 2019 has not yet been deconsecrated, the bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said.
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, the founder of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, died on May 29, 2019. When her body was exhumed in April 2023, it was found to be remarkably well preserved, despite being unembalmed and buried in an unsealed wooden coffin.
In addition to examining her body, “the team also inspected the coffin and conducted interviews with eyewitnesses of events immediately preceding the burial in 2019 and the exhumation in April 2023,” he said.
“In the final report, the investigation team noted that the condition of Sister Wilhelmina’s body during the examination was remarkable. No signs of decomposition were found,” Johnston said.
Although the coffin’s lining was “completely rotted away,” Lancaster’s robe and other clothing “showed no signs of wear,” Johnston said.
“The investigation team was able to conduct only a limited examination but nevertheless concluded that ‘the condition of her body is highly atypical for the almost four-year period since her death, particularly given the environmental conditions and findings in associated artifacts,'” he said.
“The report also noted that the history of Sister Wilhelmina’s death and her burial does not describe the circumstances that would be expected to provide protection against decomposition,” he continued.
Pictured: People pray before the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictine Abbey of Mary, Queen of the Apostles on Sunday, May 28, 2023
Although soil tests found no unusual elements that would prevent decomposition, experts could not provide a definitive explanation for the phenomenon.
In the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, the preservation of a body after death is called “imperishability.”
Although Lancaster has not been officially declared “incorruptible,” her case raises questions about the nature of death and the possibility of miracles.
The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, the religious order founded by Lancaster, have told Fox New Digital that they are ‘very instructive’ through the continued interest in their foundress and ‘look forward to beginning the canonization process when the time is right.’
The nun’s remains lie in a glass coffin in the abbey church. According to the abbey’s website, she can be viewed daily.
People wait on Sunday to view the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictine Abbey of Mary, Queen of the Apostles
Pictured: People collect soil from the grave of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictine Abbey of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, Sunday, May 28, 2023
“In the meantime, we are happy to continue to welcome guests who seek her intercession every day,” the statement said, adding that those who sought her intercession have shared “many testimonies of healing and grace.”
‘[We] are so grateful to God for the continuing witness that [Lancaster] gives to our community, the Church and the world,” they said.