Nun's Body Exhumed Four Years After Death Shows No Signs Of Decay In 'Miracle'

Credit: The Benedictines Of Mary

The body of a nun who passed away four years ago shows no obvious signs of decay, raising the possibility of a modern miracle.

In order to pay their respects to Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, who passed away in May 2019 at the age of 95, hundreds of people have come to the little Missouri town of Gower.

Lancaster founded the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles in 1995 at the age of 70.

Credit: The Benedictines Of Mary

The coffin of their founder was moved and deposited behind the altar in the chapel last Thursday after being dug up by Benedictine sisters, according to the Catholic News Agency.

Due to the fact that she had been buried "without embalming and in a simple wood coffin," the nuns had been warned to expect "just bones."

You can therefore obviously understand their shock when they opened it and discovered an 'incorrupt' body.

Credit: The Benedictines Of Mary

To the Eternal World Television Network, Mother Cecilia Snell stated: “I had to have the flashlight because you can’t really see in a dark crack even with the sunshine. I thought I saw a foot, but I just paused because, you know, it’s not every day you look into a coffin.”

“So there’s kind of a sense of a little bit of hesitation — what am I going to see?”

She went on: “I thought I saw a completely full, intact foot and I said, ‘I didn’t just see that,’.”

“So I looked again more carefully.”

She took another look and saw that it was a whole foot, and she cheered.

The sister then completely opened the coffin and was shocked to see that the body had essentially no visible symptoms of decomposition.

Speaking to Newsweek, one nun said: “The dirt that fell in early on had pushed down on her facial features, especially the right eye, so we did place a wax mask over it. But her eyelashes, hair, eyebrows, nose, and lips were all present, her mouth just about to smile.”

Snell thinks that God Himself was behind this unusual occurrence.

“I mean there was just this sense that the Lord was doing this,” she said. “Right now we need hope. We need it. Our Lord knows that. And she was such a testament to hope. And faith. And trust.”

The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph's Bishop James Johnston has issued a statement regarding the remains.

He said: “The condition of the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster has understandably generated widespread interest and raised important questions.”

"At the same time, it is important to protect the integrity of the mortal remains of Sister Wilhelmina to allow for a thorough investigation.”