CNN anchor Jim Sciutto blatantly declined to comment on a story about Catholics flocking to Missouri to see a nun’s preserved remains.
On Monday’s episode of CNN’s News Central, reporter Boris Sanchez covered the story of staunch Catholics who made the pilgrimage to Gower, Missouri to see the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, who died in 2019 but whose corpse does not appear to have decayed.
Sanchez noted that visitors get a chance to kiss the remains before turning the camera to Sciutto.
“Without letting go of that story,” Sciutto replied, before reporting on convicted con artist Elizabeth Holmes going to prison.
CNN anchor Jim Sciutto declined to comment on a story about Catholics flocking to Missouri to see a nun’s preserved remains
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster passed away in 2019 but whose corpse does not seem to have decayed
The bizarre interaction began with Sanchez speaking of the miraculous discovery of Sister Wilhelmina’s body and the fervor it created in a Missouri town.
“Thousands of Catholics are flocking to Gower, Missouri to view the body of a deceased nun who appears to show no signs of decay even though she has been dead for several years,” he said.
The Catholic News Agency reports that Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was 95 years old when she died in 2019. It says her body was recently exhumed so it could be moved to a chapel in the convent she founded,” Sanchez continued.
When they opened her wooden coffin, the nun’s remains were found to be intact, even though her body had not been embalmed.
‘The discovery [is] sparked widespread interest,” he said, before moving on to interviews with some of those who made the pilgrimage to see the nun’s body. They called the experience “rare” and “powerful.”
When the camera returned to him, Sanchez said, “Visitors will have limited opportunities to touch and even kiss the dead nun’s body, Jim.”
At the time, Sciutto, who grew up in a Catholic school, said he would not comment on the story.
On Monday’s episode of CNN’s News Central, newscaster Boris Sanchez covered the story of faithful Catholics making the pilgrimage to Gower, Missouri.
People wait Sunday to view the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictine Abbey of Mary, Queen of the Apostles
Sciutto has spoken out about his Catholic upbringing in the past.
In a 2018 interview with Paternalhe said that his mother, in particular, raised him and his siblings “very Catholic.”
“I went to Catholic school for 12 years, went to church every Sunday, celebrated all the holidays, was also an altar boy and a choir boy,” he said, pointing out that he doesn’t raise his own children that religiously.
“But I definitely take my kids to church during the holidays and make them aware of their faith as much as I can,” he said.
It’s unclear why he declined to comment on the nun’s miraculous story.
Lancaster’s body will be on display for public viewing until Monday, where visitors are allowed to touch her body and pray
Since the discovery of Sister Wilhelmina’s intact body, the abbey in Gower has received about 1,000 visitors each day, said Ashlie Hand, a spokesman for the Kansas City-St. said Joseph.
She noted that the monastery could receive up to 20,000 visitors this weekend.
But the crowds are already so big that the police have added a mobile command center and more land has been cleared to park cars.
The street outside the convent, 316th Street, even became one-way on Saturday, with cars moving west to east, according to Fox 4.
Lancaster’s body will be on display for public viewing until Monday, where visitors are allowed to touch her body and pray. Visiting hours are from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
After May 29, visitors will still be able to see the nun and tour the site, but they will no longer be able to touch her body as it will be enclosed in glass. Lancaster’s glass enclosure will be placed at the altar to “welcome her growing number of devotees.”
The Benedictine nun planned to hold a public rosary procession at 4:30 p.m. Monday, according to a statement they posted online.