The miracle of Missouri: Thousands of Catholics flock to US church to pray over body of nun
Missouri’s miracle cannot be explained by divine intervention, but rather by the conditions in which the body was buried, an anthropologist has said.
Thousands have flocked to a small town church to see and touch the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster. They claimed that the lack of decomposition after four years in the soil is a sign of her “incorruptibility” or sanctity.
Adding to the mystery was the fact that the nun was not embalmed, when a preservative fluid was introduced into the body’s arteries to slow decomposition.
But a forensic anthropologist who has studied more than 100 decomposing bodies said it’s actually “very common” for bodies to look like the nun’s just a few years after their burial.
Dr. Rebecca George told DailyMail.com that a lack of moisture and oxygen in the coffin combined with clay soil that keeps temperatures down would have started to mummify the body rather than break it down.
Thousands have gathered to see and touch Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster’s body, claiming that its lack of decomposition after four years in the ground is a sign of divine intervention. However, anthropologists say her body was mummified due to lack of exposure to oxygen, moisture, and the fact that it was underground at low temperatures.
Sister Wilhelmina is pictured above in the years before her passing in 2019 at the age of 95
The Western Carolina University professor told this website, “Typically, when a… body with clothes is placed in a coffin, as we see in the photos of the nun, you cut off a lot of the oxygen. .
“She is also buried in clayey soil, which keeps the temperature low. This doesn’t stop decomposition, but slows it down, which is what we’re seeing here.”
She added, “The wooden box, it would have drawn fluid from the body — absolutely.”
When someone dies, the bacteria and fungi that live on the skin and in the intestines begin to break down the tissues.
But this process can be kicked into a crawl by a lack of moisture, oxygen or low temperature – all of which are necessary to stimulate respiration and reactions to break down dead cells in the body.
This often happens to bodies when they are buried and cut off from these environmental conditions.
This can only shift if a crack forms in the coffin, possibly caused by decomposition from the outside, allowing moisture and oxygen to re-enter.
Dr. George compared the condition of the nun’s body to an early stage of mummification.
“This is quite common, especially in the circumstances in which this person is buried,” she said.
“Normally we don’t exhume bodies once they’re buried, so we’re getting a glimpse of this process now. But yes, this is very normal.’
After death, a person will usually undergo an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
The body is then kept in a cool and dry place before being buried in a coffin about four feet underground or cremated.
Bodies go through five stages of decomposition. After the first discoloration and rigor mortis set in, the second stage sees the body swell as bacteria begin to break down the insides, causing gases to build up.
But if there is little moisture, low temperatures and a lack of oxygen, this second stage will be delayed as bacteria struggle to grow.
Sister Wilhelmina’s body was exhumed by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, in Gower, Missouri, to make way for construction work.
The nuns had made preparations for a St. Joseph Shrine, dedicated to the acclaimed foster father of Jesus.
Before the exhumation, they had been told to expect only bones, as the 95-year-old nun’s body was not embalmed and was buried in a wooden coffin.
But they were shocked to discover that her body was still almost completely intact.
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster’s body was recovered from her grave in Gower, Missouri with no signs of decay despite being buried since May 2019
Sunday, May 28, prayers will be held at the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster in the Benedictine Abbey of Mary, Queen of the Apostles
Lancaster died on May 29, 2019 and was buried by hand on the grounds of the monastery
The discovery was circulated to other nuns and then posted online, sparking a surge of thousands of visitors to the church.
Catholics believe that if a body does not decompose after death, then a person is ‘incorruptible’, where divine intervention takes place to stop the normal decomposition process. This is seen as a sign of holiness or a special blessing from God.
The nuns now plan to place the nun’s body in a glass shrine for visitors to see.
They will also be able to collect dirt from the grave, although this is currently limited to a teaspoon each.
Questions have also been raised as to whether Sister Wilhelmina is a saint, but the local diocese says she won’t qualify until five years after her death.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in April 1924, she was the second of five children of Oscar and Ella Lancaster.
She decided to enter God’s service when she was only nine years old and received her first communion.
“He seemed to be such a handsome and wonderful man, I instantly agreed,” she wrote.
“Then he told me to meet him at Holy Communion every Sunday. I said nothing to anyone about this conversation, believing that everyone who went to Holy Communion heard Our Lord speaking to them.’
She joined the Oblate Sisters of Providence in 1941, and three years later she was accepted as a nun and given the name ‘Wilhelmina’.
She worked as a teacher and archivist, assisting at the Mount Providence Center of Music and General Culture during her 50 years with the Oblate Sisters.
But in 1995, she left and founded the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, which follows the Rule of Saint Benedict.
Lancaster died on May 29, 2019 and was buried by hand on the grounds of the monastery.