“Mummified nun’s body attracts crowds in Missouri, sparking debate over rare occurrence”

Some say it is a sign of holiness in Catholicism, while others say that the dead body’s non-decomposition may not be as rare as it is believed.

The body of Nun Willemina of Lancaster was exhumed last April, according to a statement issued by the Benedictine Abbey of Mary, Queen of Obstacles in Gower, Missouri.

What happened?

• The statement said that the nuns of the monastery were preparing to add a shrine to St. Joseph, which includes “the reburial of the remains of our beloved founder, Sister Wilhelmina.”

• When the Nuns of Lancaster were exhumed, they were told to expect to find only bones, as they had been buried in a simple wooden coffin without any embalming 4 years earlier.

• Instead, they found her whole body intact, and “a religious garment whose appearance has not completely changed,” as stated in the statement.

• The nuns did not intend to announce the discovery, but someone posted a private email publicly, and the news began to spread like wildfire.

Crowds flock

Volunteers and local law enforcement helped direct the crowds that poured into the city of about 1,800 as citizens from all over the country flocked to see and touch Lancaster’s body.

“It was amazing,” said Samuel Dawson, a Catholic who came from Kansas City with his son last week. “It was so peaceful, so dignified.”

Dawson added that several hundred people were there when he visited the monastery and he saw many cars from out of state.

He explained that the visitors were allowed to touch her, adding that the nuns “wanted to bring her close to the audience. Because in real life she was always among people.”

The abbey said in a statement, Monday, that Lancaster’s body will be placed in a glass shrine in its church, where visitors will still be able to see her body and take soil from her grave, but they will not be able to touch her.

Scientific explanation
• Rebecca George, a professor of anthropology at West Carolina University in North Carolina, said the lack of body decomposition may not be as rare as many expect.

• She explained that “mummification” of un-exhumed bodies is common in a university facility, and bodies can be preserved for many years, if allowed.

• She added that coffins and clothes also help in preserving the bodies.

• “Normally, when we bury people, we don’t exhume them,” George continued. “With 100 years, there might be nothing left. But when you only have a few years, that can happen.”