A team of experts has been unable to explain why a Missouri nun who died in 2019 has not decomposed, according to the Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, the foundress of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, passed away on May 29, 2019. When her body was exhumed in April 2023, it was found to be remarkably preserved despite not being embalmed and being buried in an unsealed wooden coffin.
The discovery sparked widespread interest and a pilgrimage to the small town of Gower, Missouri, where Lancaster’s body was placed on public display.
Bishop James V. Johnston commissioned a team of medical experts to investigate the case. After a thorough examination, the team concluded that Lancaster’s condition was ‘highly atypical’ for the time elapsed since her death.
‘Within the limits of what has been observed during this time, the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster does not appear to have experienced the decomposition that would have normally been expected under such previous burial conditions,’ Bishop James V. Johnston of Kansas City-St. Joseph said in a statement published on the diocesan website.
In addition to examining her body, ‘the team inspected the casket, and interviews were conducted with eyewitnesses to events immediately preceding the burial in 2019 and the exhumation in April 2023,’ he said
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‘In the final report, the investigative team noted that the condition of Sister Wilhelmina’s body during the examination was notable for a lack of any detected features of decomposition,’ Johnston said.
Despite the casket’s lining having ‘completely deteriorated,’ Lancaster’s habit and other clothing ‘showed no features of breakdown,’ Johnston said.
‘The investigative team was only able to conduct a limited examination but still concluded that “the condition of her body is highly atypical for the interval of nearly four years since her death, especially given the environmental conditions and the findings in associated objects,”‘ he said.
While soil tests found no unusual elements that would prevent decomposition, the experts were unable to provide a definitive explanation for the phenomenon.
In the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, the preservation of a body after death is known as ‘incorruptibility.’
Although Lancaster has not been officially designated as ‘incorrupt,’ her case has raised questions about the nature of death and the possibility of miracles.
The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, the religious order founded by Lancaster, have told Fox New Digital that they are ‘very edified’ by the continued interest in their foundress and ‘look forward to beginning the process of canonization when the time is right.’
The nun’s remains are in a glass case in the abbey’s church and she is able to be viewed each day, per the abbey’s website.
‘In the meantime, we are happy to continue welcoming guests each day who seek her intercession,’ the statement said, noting that those who have sought intercession have shared ‘many testimonials of healing an grace.’
‘[We] are so grateful to God for the ongoing witness that [Lancaster] gives to our community, the Church and the world,’ they said.
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