Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was buried for four years, not embalmed, her coffin cracked and she came out looking like this.
In life, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was the founder of The Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles in Gower, Missouri — an order that created chart-topping albums of Gregorian chants and Catholic hymns. In death, she's become known for refusing to decompose, according to Catholic News Agency.
Lancaster died in 2019 at age 95. (She founded the Benedictine Sisters of Mary when she was 70.) She was buried without being embalmed, the Benedictine sisters say. Recently, the sisters decided to dig her up and move her to the monastery chapel. According to the Catholic News Agency, this is common for founders of orders.
Exhuming a body after four years seems like a messy undertaking, but the nuns were expecting to just find bones, especially when they saw the wooden coffin had cracked. But instead, they found Lancaster's remains fully intact — if a bit moldy.
“We think she is the first African American woman to be found incorrupt,” Mother Cecilia told the Catholic News Agency.
If you aren't Catholic, this interest in decomposition and remains as relics might be a little strange. (Maybe you heard that St. Louis' toe bone recently made a visit to St. Louis.)
But in Catholic tradition, when someone doesn't decompose it is a sign of holiness. Could beatification for Lancaster be far behind?
Since news broke of the intact body, people have been flocking to Gower, Missouri, to pray with Lancaster and touch her remains. If that doesn't give you the heebee-jeebees you, too, can bear witness to the Missouri miracle until May 29.
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