This week and last, hundreds of people visited a small Missouri town to see the body of a nun who has barely decomposed in 2019. Others say that it is a sign for holiness, but others believe the lack of decomposition could be more common than people think.
According to a press release from the Benedictines Mary Queen of Apostles in Gower (Missouri), Sister Wilhelmina was exhumed on April 1.
In a statement, the nuns said they had been preparing to add a St. Joseph shrine. This included “the reinterment” of Sister Wilhelmina, their beloved founder.
They were told that they could expect to find only bones when they exhumed Lancaster. She had been buried four years earlier in a simple wood coffin, without embalming.
The statement stated that they found an intact body, and “a religious habit perfectly preserved.” The nuns didn’t intend to make the discovery public, but someone accidentally posted an email that was meant for private use. “The news spread like wildfire,” said the statement.
People wait to view the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles abbey on May 28 near Gower, Mo.
Charlie Riedel / AP
The town of 1,800 residents has been managed by volunteers and local law enforcement. People have come from all over to see and feel Lancaster’s corpse.
Samuel Dawson, a Catholic who visited Kansas City last week with his son, said “It was amazing.” It was peaceful. “It was very reverent.”
Dawson reported that there were about a hundred people in the area when he was there, and he also saw a lot of cars from out-of-state.
Dawson added that visitors were allowed to touch the nun, because “in real life she was always available to people.”
In a press release, the monastery announced that Lancaster’s remains will be placed into a glass shrine at their church Monday. Visitors can still see Lancaster’s body and collect dirt from her grave but will not be allowed to touch it.
The Diocese of Kansas City St. Joseph has also released a press release.
The diocese stated that “the condition of Sister Wilhelmina’s remains has generated widespread interest and important questions.” It is also important to preserve the integrity of Sister Wilhelmina’s mortal remains to enable a thorough investigation.
Incorruptibility is rare, but has been proven in the past. The diocese said that there is a process in place to seek sainthood. However, it has not yet been started.
The Benedictines, Mary Queen of Apostles also stated that Lancaster had not yet met the minimum five-year requirement for sainthood.
Rebecca George, an instructor in anthropology at Western Carolina University, North Carolina, says that the lack of decomposition may not be as uncommon as people think.
George said that the “mummification of non-embalmed corpses” is common in the university’s facility, and the bodies can be preserved for years if they are allowed.
She said that clothing and coffins also help preserve the bodies.
“We don’t usually exhume people when we bury them.” George explained that we don’t have the chance to see them for a few years. “Within 100 years, it might not be possible to find anything left.” This isn’t surprising when you have only a few more years to go.
