Miracle In Missouri: Catholics Flock to
Missouri Convent to See Exhumed Remains
of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster Whose Body
Is Intact After Her Death Four Years Ago

its all the preservatives in her food

Several years ago, I visited Lincoln's tomb in Springfield, IL. The tour guide told us about the different attempts there had been to steal his corpse. One attempt succeeded in exposing his body, years after its burial. The guide said that amazingly, the body was "perfectly preserved.:" I said, "You mean it had not decayed?" "It was perfectly preserved," came the reply. "No decomposition, whatsoever?" "Perfectly preserved." My point is, I don't recall hearing about any Catholic effort to embrace that Lincoln phenomenon as a miracle. Whereas it may be considered an interesting phenomenon, it does not have to be religiously affiliated.

Very interesting. Perhaps this is a message to us.

To the comment left by the poster, it's not from being anti-Catholic to think it may not be a miracle. It's unusual for buried bodies not to be embalmed; so, who says it was not embalmed? -- maybe someone wanting to hype a miracle. Some buried corpses can remain remarkably intact for years. This nun was 95-years-old. Exactly how good did this corpse look?

are those in the religious orders embalmed upon death?

Re #5, they said that she was not embalmed.

#1 - It was not preservatives in her food. As the article states there are at least 100 cases of incorruptable bodies of Catholic saints dating back centuries. #2 - Lincoln's body was embalmed, whereas Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster's body was not. #4 - There is a photo of the body in the article and the condition of the body is consistent with other incorruptables; the skin is shriveled and features have a sunken appearance. The Catholic Church believes an incorruptable body is a miraculous sign of a saintly life. Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster's life is a model of dedication to the worship of God and His Glory. It is indeed a message to us. A wake-up call to turn our attention back to Our Creator, back to Goodness, back to the Things That Last. Our country is obsessed with Black Live Matter. Our God is showing us that to Him, Black Souls Matter more. AMDG - Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam (For the Greater Glory of God)

I always appreciate, and enjoy, #7’s posts.

I went to other news sites with better pictures. Her face, as far as I can tell, is in a remarkable state of preservation. The nun's hands are clearly showing signs of decomposition or mummification. I'm not prepared to say that it's a miracle, nor am I discounting it. There are a ton of factors that affect decomposition to either speed it up or slow it down. However, we all will decompose to dust in time. Only extreme taking preservation measures will prevent it. Most of the bodies on display in Europe are covered over with wax likenesses or masks.

It is a fluke of nature. Such bodies have been found all over the world. You want it to be a miracle go ahead. Me, not so much. Interesting and curious but I don't need a well preserved corpse to show me that God loves us.

I don't need a majestic sunrise or the hearty belly laugh of my two-year old grandchild or the unexpected kindness of a stranger to show me God loves me, either. But it sure is nice when He sends me little reminders.

The only death that matters for care of the soul is that of Jesus Christ followed by His burial and Resurrection. Life is found in Him alone. Stop being distracted by shiny objects and come to Him.

Maybe I'm out of line here, but I think it is rather ghoulish to display her body and to let people touch it.

#13 The Catholic Church has a tradition of honoring relics from the very beginning of the Church. Miracles have been recorded of those who have been healed by God through the touching of saints in both life and long after death. Aspects of the Supernatural and Mystical realm have been abandoned by far too many Protestants (and Catholics). Remember that the woman with chronic bleeding was healed by merely touching the cloak of Christ. In the Old Testament a man hastily thrown into the open grave of one of the prophets, Elijah I think, actually came back to life. We are all meant to be means of helping each other through the outpouring of God's Love and Grace. Don't be so quick to dismiss what you don't know. Joan Carroll Cruz has two fascinating books: the Incorruptibles and Eucharist Miracles. Also, Father Carlos Martins, who is the curator of the traveling relic exhibit, Treasures of the Church, has a book about St. Maria Goretti, and has many stories about miracles associated with this little saint. To honor the saints and their relics is to be astounded by what God can do through His servants the saints and how much love He has for those who believe.

Not too far from me, but I'll leave the lady to rest without my gawking.

Small places can have miracles of faith, no doubt. In the late 1990s we had an opportunity to visit the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception near Maryville, MO, then undergoing some interior renovation. A friend's niece was doing some of the art restoration high on the walls of the basilica, several stories up and my wife and I were permitted to climb the scaffolding to the ceiling to see the restoration painting done from close up. It was amazing to see, and the Basilica itself, built by monks amazed this engineer. It is a large brick building, designed and built by monks who had no training in structural building, other than looking at other large brick buildings, and clearly some divine guidance, too. The basilica was built in the 1880s, in a small, very rural town by hand and I estimate that the towers are about 6 or 7 stories high. During the renovation of this tall building, with substantial towers, some of the hired engineers decided to dig down on the outside along the walls to examine how the foundations had survive the over 100 years since being built and see if foundation repairs might be needed. When they dug down they found that the first course of bricks had been laid directly on the soil - to clarify - there IS NO FOUNDATION whatsoever, just a three or four story brick building, with 6 or 7 story towers, built on dirt. When they peeled back the interior beautiful oak flooring inside, they found - the wood had been laid directly on leveled and compacted dirt, too, yet it was in reasonably good condition for 100+ year old wood flooring. The monks didn't know any different, and yet, by a miracle, the building stood for over a century without problems, including surviving a tornado. This structural engineer finds that this building is a good bit of a miracle, too. Clearly it was built pretty well to survive without a foundation, which some would say is "impossible". Here is a short video about the basilica, not about the structure, but some about the building and the renovation in the 1990s. https://youtu.be/4_c2RCBiZyA

Re #16, I thought of the Conception Abby in Maryville because it is about 50 miles north of the site of this convent. Both the monastery and the convent are Benedictine.