Stigmata
Stigmata (from the Greek: stizo “to prick”) refers to the five wounds found on Jesus Christ’s body after his Crucifixion, and to those people who spontaneously bear similar wounds on their bodies that resemble Christ’s marks. The five stigmata come from the bloodly puncture marks that Jesus received while he was crucified, namely the nails in his hands (more correctly wrists) (2 marks), the nail through his shins (1 mark) his crown of thorns (1 mark), and the piercing of his heart by a Roman’s spear (1 mark). A person who bears one or more of these marks is called a “stigmatic”. Stigmatics are most commonly found in Christianity, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, although there have been documented cases elsewhere.
Historical Antecedents
Originally, in the Greco-Roman world, stigmata referred to any form of puncturing of the flesh including “marks” such as tattoos. In the ancient world such branding of the flesh was common and tattoos were burned onto humans and animals to indicate ownership and to deter theft. Stigmata branded on humans were primarily used to denote slaves or soldiers who were marked by their rulers. There were various locations of such stigmata ranging from the forehead to the thigh, breast, and hand. Thus, stigmata were originally intrinsically related to ownership.
Human stigmata could also be used to designate acclaim or disgrace. Criminals and deserters from armies were often branded with tatoos as signs of dishonor. However, sometimes stigmata indicated a positive message for the bearer such as membership in a specific religious cult or a certain level of achievement within an organization. One of the earliest examples is this is the sect of Carpocrates who “employed outward marks [of membership or baptism], branding their disciples inside the lobe of the right ear” (Irenaeus. Against Heresies. Book I: Chapter XXV, Verse 6).
Precedents and Marks in the Bible
The Old Testament notes that slaves had their ear pierced voluntarily to indicate a desire to remain in the service of their owners: “If, however, the slave declares, ‘I am devoted to my master and my wife and children; I will not go free,’ his master shall bring him to God [to the sanctuary] and there, at the door or doorpost, he shall pierce his ear with an awl, thus keeping him as his slave forever” (Ex. 21:5-6, cf. Deut. 15:16-17).
Another controversial example is found in the “mark of Cain”, which was said to be a mark of protection for Cain, who murdered his brother, Abel. Cain implores God to intercede for him as he served the punishment of banishment for his crime. Cain said: “ ‘Since you have now banished me from the soil, and I must avoid your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, anyone may kill me at sight.’ ‘Not so!’ the Lord said to him. ‘If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged sevenfold.’ So the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest anyone should kill him at sight” (Gn. 4:13-15). This is the first indication in scripture of a mark placed on someone by God. It indicates a special relationship between God and the man, Cain. Even though Cain was a murderer, he was God’s possession.
Although there are numerous Old Testament references to signs and marks that can be taken as stigmata, the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel denotes a special stigmata that will be relevant to the coming Christian era. In order to save God’s oppressed people from the coming chastisement upon evildoers, the Prophet relates a vision of the oncoming destruction: “With that I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate which faces the north, each with a destroying weapon in his hand. In their midst was a man dressed in linen, with a writer’s case at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar. Then he called to the man dressed in white linen with the writer’s case at his waist, saying to him: Pass through the city [through Jerusalem] and mark an X on the foreheads of those who moan and groan over all the abominations that are practiced within it. To the others I heard him say: Pass through the city after him and strike! . . . But do not touch any marked with an X” (Ez. 9:2-6). This stigma, of the ancient Hebrew letter taw, is cross-like and, as a stigma denoting salvation from final judgement, it is amazingly symbolic of future and current stigmata which refer to the wounds of Christ’s crucifixion.
Two more examples of stigmata are found in the Book of Revelation. Both examples denote ownership. The first is found in Chapter 7 and denotes a seal put on the foreheads of the servants of God: “ ‘Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the Israelites” (Rv. 7:3-4). This mark or seal represents a sacred stigma that shows divine selection and predestination. Those so marked are identified with God in contrast to the other stigmata which represents those identified as followers of Satan and are destined for destruction and divine wrath.
The second stigma of Revelation is described in Chapter 13. It refers to the power of the Second Beast, who deceives the inhabitants of the earth. Then,
- [i]t forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to be given a stamped image on their foreheads, so that no one could buy or sell except one who had the stamped image of the beast’s name or the number that stood for his name. Wisdom is needed here; one who understands can calculate the number of the beast, for it is a number that stands for a person. His number is six hundred and sixty-six (Rv. 13:16-18). [There is much speculation as to the meaning of this mark. Those who believe The Book of Revelation speaks of events that happened prior to the time of its writing argue that the name Cesar Nero adds up to 666. Others, who insist the Catholic Church, represented by the pope, is the beast argue the title, Vicarius Feli (Filii) Dei (Vicar of the Son of God), inscribed on the pope’s mitre, adds up to 666 when the Latin letters are converted to numbers and totaled.]
This second stigma of Revelation dooms its bearers to destruction because they reject God and his salvation which is acquired through the merits of Jesus Christ.
One further mark that is appropriate to the concept of stigmata as a sign of the sacred and of Christ is the seal of baptism—the sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ. Catechumens and those baptized are marked with the sign of the cross in oil on their foreheads. Thus, this form of stigmata is both invisible and metaphysical. However, many Christians throughout the ages have also marked their bodies with either a cross or the name of Jesus in some form.
The only reference to the term “stigmata” in scripture is found in The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians at Chapter 6, verse 17: “From now on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks [FJ\(:"J"] of Jesus on my body.” A more precise rendering of this verse is found in the wording of the Amplified Bible: “From now on let no person trouble me [by making it necessary for me to vindicate my apostolic authority and the divine truth of my Gospel], for I bear on my body the [brand] marks of the Lord Jesus [the wounds, scars, and other outward evidence of persecutions—these testify to His ownership of me]!” [The Precise Parallel New Testament. Kohlenberger, J. R. III. Gen. Ed. P. 1034. 1995. Oxford University Press, Inc. New York, NY. Scripture taken from The Amplified New Testament. Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.]
This statement by Paul is related to his discussion of circumcision in verses 12-15. His point is that there is no need for new converts to Christianity to undergo a ritual circumcision. It appears that some new Jewish Christians were insisting on this procedure to avoid persecution by the (Jewish) authorities. But Paul has preached Jesus Christ in a powerful way to those who heard him and he stressed the necessity of a personal commitment and identity with the risen Jesus Christ as the true way of life for Christians. Paul has undergone much suffering, and physical abuse in his proclamation of the Gospel and he shows signs of his loyalty to Christ in the various wounds and scars on his body.
For Paul, it is not so much adherence to the Old Law of Moses that defines who is a Christian (any more than a slave being marked by his or her owner defines slavery), but identification with the suffering of Jesus. If Jesus had not suffered, died, and risen, Christianity would not have survived and grown to the extent that it has and it was the preaching of Paul throughout the Roman world of his time that gave Christianity the exposure it had in such a short time. Paul, as a former persecutor of Christ and Christians, was well aware of how brutal the death of Jesus was. He had seen quite a number of scourgings and crucifixions in his time and knew the identifying marks left on the victims’ bodies. It is doubtful that Paul had the exact same scars as Jesus (thus the claim that he might be the first stigmatic is tenuous), but he certainly was wounded and scarred in many ways for his Christian faith.
What is especially important in the concept of stigmata as a succinctly Christian phenomenon is that Paul has associated the Greek term with the wounds of Christ. Thus, these wounds which are in effect puncture wounds are consistent with the usual translation of stigmata as described in the opening remarks. Of course, any person (Christ, Christian, or otherwise) undergoing a crucifixion would exhibit the four marks of crucifixion: pierced feet/ankles and pierced wrists/hands. But Christ exhibited a fifth mark when he was pierced in his side by a Roman spear. Normally, crucifixion victims were simply left on the cross until they died or their legs were broken to hasten death, they were not speared. Additionally, since Christ had a crown of thorns pushed into his head these left a number of deep punctures one his head and scalp. Much of his body was also marked by the Roman scourge which was a whip-like instrument of torture which had pieces of lead, bone, or stones attached to some of the various strands from which it was made.
Since Christ is the most famous crucifixion victim, it is logical that any marks corresponding to those of a crucifixion would be equated to him. However, scripturally speaking, it is the words of Paul that link the actual term stigmata with Christ’s particular five wounds. Whether or not Paul had the same marks of Christ, he did identify himself completely with Christ’s sufferings on both a physical and a spiritual level. Therefore, he has laid the groundwork for those stigmatics who arose in later years.
One of the fundamental concepts associated with individuals who became stigmatics was their keen concentration on Jesus Christ in their lives. Originally, the stigmatics were associated with the Roman Catholic Church and were Europeans. However, the exploration and population of the Americas have led to a growing number of stigmatists in the Western hemisphere and, in the post reformation period, stigmatics have arisen who are not Catholic. However, it appears that this phenomenon is almost exclusively confined to the West and to Christianity.
The phenomenon of the stigmata (expressly related to the wounds of Christ) has been documented in more than five hundred cases. The Catholic Church has investigated and officially recognized more than three hundred stigmatics (both men and women) and sixty-two of these have either become saints of the Church or have received the title, “blessed”. These numbers indicate a growing trend of non-Catholic stigmatics and although stigmatics typically display bleeding wounds of the crucified Christ, some have invisible wounds while others have wounds and bleeding from the head and scalp as typified by the crown of thorns pressed into Christ’s head or from whip-like marks on various other parts of their bodies. Common to all stigmatics is painful suffering, whether or not their marks are visible or invisible.
The stigmata are often associated with bleeding from the wound areas. The blood flow cannot be stopped as would be the case with an injury or self-inflicted wound, but once the emanation ceases, the wounds themselves heal until the next episode. Analysis of blood flowing from such wounds often reveals a blood-type different from that of the individual stigmatic. Although St. Francis of Assisi received all of his wounds at once, many stigmatics exhibit only one would at first and then progressively add another at successive appearances until they bear all five wounds. There may also be a perfume-like odor that accompanies the events.
One noteworthy requirement traditionally noted of stigmatics is their tendency to be ecstatics who have cultivated the ability to focus on God, or Jesus, to such a degree that they become immersed in the sufferings of Christ and often received visions and revelations associated with divine mystics. In some cases these individuals have led lives of extreme poverty or mental and physical illness and suffering. As such they seem able to reach a state of oneness with the sufferings of the crucified Christ and are able to achieve a deep sense of the significance of the Passion of Christ not attained by most people. As Christ meditated to such a degree in his Passion that he erupted into a bloody sweat, so too do some of the stigmatics when they are focused on this event.
Many of the stigmatics exhibited their marks and bleeding on Fridays in accordance with the day of the week on which Christ was crucified. Some are especially susceptible during the Easter season. Others have blood oozing at frequent intervals, while some exhibit the puncture wounds without any blood. Lengthy periods of contemplation, prayer, and ecstatic visions accompany the stigmata of many of these individuals. There are cases where some discontinue eating or drinking and survive only on the communion wafer for years at a time, often receiving the host only once a week.
It must be noted that there has been a great deal of skepticism regarding the cause of stigmata on individuals. While they may well be miraculous or supernatural manifestations of divine origin, some call for a scientific or medical explanation. Needless to say, some stigmatics have been closely examined and monitored by doctors and scientists. There is no doubt of the actual existence of these various wounds on stigmatics’ bodies. There has also been evidence that some individuals have deliberately inflicted wounds themselves for various reasons. This could be explained by a legitimate focus on the Passion to such an extent that the person wants to identify with it to the fullest extent. This would be akin to a person having a tattoo of the cross or other religious symbol on his or her body or, since papal decrees of holiness surround such emanations, some attempt to achieve this status for themselves through their own endeavors. It would be expected that such wounds would eventually heal, thus exposing the fraud. However, there are simply too many documented cases of stigmata that are not self-inflicted to discount a supernatural origin.
One other area of investigation is a minute examination of the wounds themselves. Certainly they can appear to be puncture wounds that exhibit blood-like emanations without being actual bloody wounds. It seems scientifically dubious that one could simply will or wish to ooze blood from parts of his or her body when possessed of normal faculties. However, extreme agitation under abnormal conditions might account for some instances, especially something on the order of a bloody sweat in the absence of actual wounds.
But, with respect to verified stigmata (of those exhibited by saints), the Catholic Encyclopedia: Mystical Stigmata reports
- . . . no explanation has been offered of three circumstances presented by the stigmata of the saints:1. Physicians do not succeed in curing these wounds with remedies.2. On the other hand, unlike natural wounds of a certain duration, those of stigmatics do not give forth a fetid odour. To this there is known but one exception: St. Ritaof Cassia had received on her brow a supernatural wound produced by a thorn detached from the crown of the crucifix. Though this emitted an unbearable odour, there never was any suppuration or morbid alteration of the tissues.3. Sometimes these wound give forth perfumes, for example those of Juana of the Cross, Franciscan prioress of Toledo, and Bl. Lucy of Narni. [Catholic Encyclopedia: Mystical Stigmata. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/1429b.htm Retreived 2006-04-24.]
Therefore, while some stigmata may be fraudulent, self-inflicted, or have a natural explanation, many simply defy explanation and remain in the realm of the divine or supernatural.
Historical Stigmatics
Aside from Paul’s introduction of the stigmata as the wounds of Christ, there were no reported incidents of this phenomenon until about the year 1222. The first known stigmatic was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton. He was an especially pious priest who labored to reform the church and state, often opposed by the king, and he is responsible for the chapter divisions of the Bible. One possible explanation for the lengthy interval between Paul’s writings and this first stigmatic could be that those who had the wounds earlier were afraid to come forward because they might be condemned in some way for them, perhaps even being accused of witchcraft. [Clearly, there were other cases of stigmata as well as fraudulent stigmata. For instance, and related to Stephen Langton, in the same year as his stigmata (1222) in England, at Oxford “a young man and two women were brought before the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton for crucifying the boy and displaying the stigmata. (Source: Kittridge, Witchcraft in Old and New England, 46)” http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/witchtrials/eis.html Retrieved 2006-05-08.]
In fact, many stigmatics suffer from attacks by Satanic forces and they undergo great trials, afflictions and illnesses. One example is the life of Teresa Neumann, a German stigmatic who died in 1962 at the age of sixty-four having been a stigmatic for thirty-six years. At the age of twenty-five, she was miraculously healed of blindness and paralysis which she suffered from an accident at age twenty. Teresa was especially devoted to St. Therese of Lisieux and her recovery is credited with the numerous prayers devoted to the saint. She is one of the stigmatics who survive only on the Eucharistic wafer which she received daily.
In addition to the period of paralysis and blindness, Teresa was also afflicted with a number of falls that caused damage to her back and head. She spent much of her life in severe pain. She developed pneumonia and lung diseases, foul-smelling sores on her body, deafness causing abscesses in her ears, severe muscle contractions, loss of skin on the sole and ankle of her left foot (exposing the ankle bone and eventual deformity), digestive tract difficulties, blindness, appendicitis, severe bed sores, and other painful maladies. All of these afflictions were suddenly cured at varying intervals, again through prayer and veneration to St. Theresa. Her stigmata appeared in 1926. She initially received the five wounds of Christ and later marks of the Crown of Thorns, then a shoulder wound (from the carrying of the cross), and finally marks of a scourging on her body. This example of Teresa Neumann typifies the painful life of many of the stigmatics. Her life of suffering is in keeping with the idea of stigmata as a form of penance for the expiation of sins. In the case of individuals who have lived exemplary lives (free of sinful inclinations or actions), their sufferings, including the suffering caused by the wounds of the stigmata, are often deemed to have meritorious value for a divine purpose with the stigmata possibly a confirmation of their relationship with Christ’s suffering for humankind.
The most famous stigmatic is usually thought to be St. Francis of Assisi. In keeping with the harsh life of many stigmatics, St. Francis led an austere life of poverty and humility, declining ordination to the priesthood and forming the Friars Minor to promote penitence and faith while refusing to acquire property. In 1224, two years prior to his death, he was involved in restructuring the order which had grown to the extent that it was approximating the structure of established religious orders. While attempting to address this situation, he was in deep prayer and received all five of the wounds of Christ on his body. These were accompanied by severe and debilitating pain.
Another early stigmatic was St. Catherine (Katherine) of Sienna who suffered greatly from the pains of the stigmata, even though she did not display visible wounds during her actual lifetime (it is claimed that she prayed that her marks would not be visible and this prayer was answered when they disappeared). She was one of the great female mystics and a “bride of Christ” who in one of her ecstasies was told by Jesus that he had taken her to be his bride. She authored a number of works on piety and faith and died in 1380. She is also an example of a stigmatic who partook only of the Eucharistic bread for long periods of time, while declining all other forms of nourishment. This is a remarkable occurrence in one who was often in great pain and in a weakened condition.
One of the twentieth century stigmatics was St. Pio of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio. He suffered from bleeding from both of his hands for fifty years on a daily basis. His visible stigmata occurred during a vision he received on September 20, 1918 (he had suffered from invisible stigmata for exactly three years prior to this event). After celebrating Mass he was overcome with drowsiness and a trance-like state instantly leading to a sense of great peace. His vision was of a person from a previous vision who now bore the five bleeding wounds of Christ. Once the vision disappeared, he found that his own body was bleeding in the same locations. It is noteworthy that the wound is in his left side not the right side that is usually depicted in illustrations of Christ’s crucifixion. These heart wounds are often fatal, but Padre Pio’s wound, although bleeding daily, remained most active from the evening before Fridays and through to Saturdays. When the stigmata started, he was heard to cry out in pain and fell unconscious to the floor, immediately exhibiting the visible wounds and blood loss. Medical examinations have confirmed the loss of about one cup of blood per day from his side alone. Padre Pio had numerous visions prior to his ordination and past events were revealed to him that were confirmed as true by various sources. He is said to have encountered and survived many attacks by Satan without losing his faith. After his receipt of the visible stigmata he received supernatural gifts that often defy belief. While other saints and stigmatics received some of these gifts, only Padre Pio exhibited all the supernatural gifts of: “perfume, of conversion, of bilocation, of discernment of spirits, and of penetrating the future.” [Who is Padre Pio? 1974. Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. Rockford, IL. P. 13.] There are numerous documented cures of the sick by Padre Pio as well as many conversions to the Catholic faith by individuals who formerly opposed it.
All of these stigmatics are from Europe and are only a few representations of the majority of stigmatics from the earliest to those of the twentieth century. However, there has been a recent trend of stigmatics arising in North and South America. What follows next is a survey of recent stigmatics from the United States, reported in Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age, by Ted Harrison.
Father Jim Bruse of Lake Ridge, near Washington, D.C. received the stigmata on December 26, 1991. This event occurred when local statues of the Virgin Mary were observed to shed tears after they were touched by Fr. Bruse (p. 80-87). Another American stigmatic arose in 1972 in California. She was a 10-year-old black girl whose family were members of a Baptist Church. She exhibited daily bleeding (up to six times per day) from her left palm, although she did not experience any pain. During the following two week period, bleeding from the other wounds of Christ became evident even though there were no physical marks on her skin. This phenomenon occurred near Easter and on Good Friday she experienced bleeding from all of the sites and then the bleeding ceased. This child had reported hearing voices calling her to pray for the healing of certain individuals. She was also noted for a keen awareness of the suffering of Christ (p. 87-90).
Harrison has also documented the case of a Canadian stigmatic, Georgette Faniel of Montreal. She has reported hearing the voices of Christ, Mary, and the devil speaking to her as a child. She has suffered extreme pain and paralysis and spent fifty years confined to her bed while she prayed continuously. She gave signs of being pregnant in sympathy with a pregnant acquaintance at the age of sixty-two, thus allowing the younger woman to experience a normal delivery. Her stigmata first appeared on her wrists and feet in 1950 and expanded to a Crown of Thorns in 1953. These were also accompanied by a painful wound in her heart and an identification with Christ’s pain from carrying the cross. Although she did not exhibit puncture wounds (the sites were extremely swollen with noticeable discoloration), her pain was most noticeable “on Fridays and at the point of consecration during Mass” (p. 91).
Recent times have seen the arising of a number of South American stigmatics. In 1983, in Argentina, Gladys Quiroga de Motta began having visions of the Virgin Mary on a regular basis. Eventually she started to receive messages and these grew in frequency to number approximately 1,800. The visions of Mary eventually asked for a sanctuary to be built in her honor in the area. Later, she and a nine-year-old girl, in the company of several other people, claimed to see a light from above illuminate a site where the Virgin wanted a church to be built. This area soon became a pilgrimage site with miraculous cures being attributed to the Virgin Mary through de Motta’s prayerful intercessions. She also reports more than sixty visions of Jesus Christ, along with perfumed fragrances.
The signs of stigmata began to appear on her wrists around the Fridays of Advent and on Holy Fridays “[h]er left foot becomes ‘fixed’ on top of her right foot and once, during an examination, defied the doctors’ attempts to separate them with their bare hands.” [ForteanTimes. http://www.forteantimes.com/articles/163_stigmatics.shtml Retrieved 2006-04-24.]
Another Argentinian stigmatic is Emiliano Aden who, at age 19, received his first wound. This was initially manifested as a sharp pain on his forehead, but later developed in a cross-shaped wound that emitted blood. Rather than body temperature, this blood’s temperature was quite cold. Later, his wrists began to ooze blood, without visible signs of wounds. Like other stigmatics, the wounds on the body of Aden are very painful. He too is a very prayerful individual with particular devotion to St. Luis del Palmar, patron saint of his father’s town. [Ibid.]
Another stigmatic who received wounds at the age of 19 is from Cuba. Her name is Irma Izquierdo. She was very religious at a young age and was the recipient of visions of winged beings. These prefigured a dramatic vision of Christ’s Passion at Easter during which she seemed to find herself experiencing actual crucifixion and the piercing of her own side. Just before Holy Week (1956), the five wounds appeared on her body with a bloody sweat appearing on Easter morning. These signs were accompanied by her hair changing texture and an orange tint to her complexion. Later, the letters ‘INRI’ formed on her thighs. She developed an ecstatic language and shouted unknown words of praise. Additionally, after prevailing upon neighbors to construct a cross for her, Izquierdo carried it across the island to the Hermitage Caridad del Cobre, a 560 mile journey! [Ibid.]
The final stigmatic to discuss is Ana Luz Hernández of Puerto Rico. She had a childhood of extreme poverty and suffered from poliomyelitis which left her crippled and with poor vision. Later, she developed a brain tumor which required surgery for removal after other treatments failed. Surgery was arranged for her in the United States, but it was cancelled shortly before she was scheduled to be operated on. Hernández fully expected she would not survive the night, but fell asleep and awoke very early in the morning, feeling quite ill. After a period of prayer, she started to feel better and then became aware of a rare cross-shaped stigma on her forehead. After returning home, she continued her volunteer and missionary work, with a number of additional periods of hospitalization. Within a few days, doctors found that the near fatal tumor had disappeared, but her stigma bleeds continuously.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
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Harrison, T. Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age. 1994. St. Martin’s Press. New York.
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Who is Padre Pio? 1974. Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. Rockford, IL.
Who is Teresa Neumann? 1974. Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. Rockford, IL.
