The Miracle of Sister Wilhelmina

In these difficult times, in a divided nation, we look for a light at the end of a long dark tunnel, something to lift our spirits. 

Do you believe in miracles? Something unexplainable recently occurred that has garnered tremendous attention, especially among the religious faithful. But first, before I explain, allow me to ask how things are going in your life. Does each new day bring with it anxiety and frustration? Do you find yourself asking when the anger, resentment, and for many, hatred, will come to an end? When, if ever, will this divided nation come together in a spirit of comity and brotherhood? It’s a difficult way of having to go through life, and it only adds to the prospect and burden of a bleak and uncertain future. 

There have been countless miracles throughout history. In the New Testament, there are over 70 recorded miracles, from the virgin birth, the marriage feast at Cana, and Christ’s healing of the blind and sick. Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, had over 700 miracles attributed to him, and the healing waters of Lourdes have been attributed to many cures. There have been miracles over the last century that have been examined and eventually justified and declared as to their legitimacy, and are now widely accepted.

* The Miracle of the Sun occurred on October 13, 1917, in Portugal and was witnessed by upwards of 100,000 people. Each claims that following a heavy downpour of rain and a dark and dismal sky, the sun suddenly appeared as a spinning disk emitting multi-colored rays of light, and then came toward Earth. Most of those who were present said that the clothes they wore were drenched by the rain, but after the event they were completely dry.

This happening was apparently preordained and attributed to the apparition of “Our Lady of Fatima,” the Virgin Mary, appearing before three young Portuguese children on three occasions who were told to expect the Miracle of the Sun to occur on that October day. The Catholic Church officially accepted both events as miracles in October 1930.

* Stigmata is the term given to describe the appearance of the same wounds on the palms and feet of ordinary, or perhaps extra-ordinary people, that were suffered by Christ at His crucifixion. Padre Pio was a Capuchin priest in the 1920s, and his was perhaps the world’s most famous case of Stigmata. The Padre was also recognized for having healing powers, prophesying, and levitation, and was recognized by the Church as miraculous. 

But it was not only in life that Padre Pio was world famous. What was to become another miraculous manifestation occurred after his death. It was mysterious, and a sign of a special man who I believe found favor with God. After the passage of 40 years, his body was exhumed and it was discovered that his corpse had suffered no decomposition; it was preserved as when first buried.

* Miracles of course do not have to involve any religious or spiritual aspect. Vesna Vulvic was a Serbian flight attendant. In 1972, the passenger airline she working on exploded at 33,000 feet and plunged to earth. She was the only survivor of the explosion and was found alive in the wreckage. She suffered numerous life-threatening injuries but survived.

* Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was one the founders of the Benedictines of Mary Queen of the Apostles. The Sister was beloved and noted for her goodness and benevolence. She passed away in 2019 at the age of 95, and was buried in a simple wooden coffin. Recently, her remains were to be transferred to a crypt beneath the abbey. 

Upon opening up her coffin, it was found that the Sister's remains, like Padre Pio’s, were not decomposed; she looked as when first buried. What was most astonishing was that when you consider the moisture in the earth, corrosion, decay of the coffin, and tattered attire, as was found, Sister Wilhelmina’s state of incorruption could be nothing short of a miracle. Some also believe this is a sign of sainthood.

Many of us are looking for that light at the end of a dark dismal tunnel, a hopeful sign that perhaps things will get better. Perhaps something to lift our spirits, and give us reason to believe that there are untold unexplainable mysteries all around us. And to take a line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, with a slight change, “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”