Stigmata
Stigmata (Ancient Greek: στίγματα, plural of στίγμα stigma, 'mark, spot, brand'), in Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, feet, near the heart, the head (from the crown of thorns), and back (from carrying the cross and scourging).[1]
For other senses of this word, see Stigma and stigmata (disambiguation).
St. Francis of Assisi is widely considered the first recorded stigmatic. For over fifty years, St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin reported stigmata which were studied by several 20th-century physicians. Stigmatics are primarily a Roman Catholic phenomenon; the Eastern Orthodox Church professes no official view on them.[2]
A high percentage (probably over 80%) of all stigmatics are women.[3] In his book Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age, Ted Harrison suggests that there is no single mechanism whereby the marks of stigmata were produced. What is important is that the marks are recognised by others as of religious significance.[4] Most cases of stigmata have been result of trickery.[5][6] Some cases have also included reportings of a mysterious chalice in visions being given to stigmatics to drink from or the feeling of a sharp sword being driven into one's chest.[7]
Specific cases[edit]
Saint Ansbert of Rouen[edit]
Saint Francis is widely considered the first recorded stigmatic. Earlier reports of stigmatics do exist, however there is a lack of consensus on how the concept of stigmata was understood pre-Saint Francis.[17] St. Ansbert of Rouen (d. 695 AD) could be considered the first recorded stigmatic in Christian history. After his death, witnesses claimed the following:
"When they had opened his tomb and they thought his body would stink because of the amount of time that had elapsed since it had been buried, such a sweet fragrant odor like a diversity of flowers flowed forth, and the whole church was filled with little drops of balsam. And when the brothers who had come to see him from the neighboring province... removed the clothes in which he had been buried because they wanted to change them wishing to dress him in new clothes, they found on his forearms the sign of the dominical cross, bearing the likeness of a red color. It was evident to all the faithful that this was given to be understood that while he lived he bore the arms of Christ in his heart, therefore, Christ's stigmata were revealed on the body of the dead man."[18]
Non-Christian stigmata[edit]
Among the Warao of the Orinoco Delta, a contemplator of tutelary spirits may mystically induce the development of "...(imagined) openings in the palms of his hands."[61]
Buddhist "stigmata"[62][63] are regularly indicated in Buddhist art.
Some spiritualist mediums have also produced stigmata. During the séances of German medium Maria Vollhardt, it was alleged that bleeding wounds appeared.[64] However, Albert Moll, a psychiatrist, considered her phenomena to be fraudulent.[65]
