WARNING: This article contains imagery that some readers may find upsetting
It may not be everyone’s dream travel destination, but hundreds of people have decided to visit the ‘miracle’ nun in Missouri.
Despite passing away in 2019, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster’s body shows little sign of decomposition – with some people believing it is a modern-day miracle.
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Her accidental discovery has caused many tourists to flock to the tiny town of Gower to pay their respects to the late sister.
Sister Lancaster was part of the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, a group she founded in 1995 at age 70.
After her death in 2019, she was buried at the monastery in a simple wooden coffin, with non-embalming, and there she lay undisturbed for four years.
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It was only when a new shrine to St Joseph was being built that the other nuns made the shocking discovery, as they'd planned to move her remains under the altar in the chapel.
Although they had expected only to find ‘just bones’, the Benedictine Sisters found their former leader’s body to be largely unchanged.
Shortly after, the news of the discovery was leaked and tourists began flocking to the area.
Local law enforcement and a group of volunteers have been managing the crowds as people have come from across the United States pay their respects.
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“It was pretty amazing,” Samuel Dawson said, a Catholic who’d travelled from Kansas City with his son to visit Sister Lancaster.
“It was very peaceful. Just very reverent,” he added, stating that tourists were also allowed to touch the Benedictine Sister during their pilgrimage.
According to Dawson, it was because the nuns wanted to make Sister Lancaster ‘accessible to the public ... because in real life, she was always accessible to people’.
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Given the intense attention Sister Lancaster has received however, the monastery will now intern her in a glass shrine on Monday – meaning that the public will no longer be able to touch the former nun.
The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph released a statement about the new policy, saying: “The condition of the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster has understandably generated widespread interest and raised important questions.
“At the same time, it is important to protect the integrity of the mortal remains of Sister Wilhelmina to allow for a thorough investigation.”
It continued: “Incorruptibility has been verified in the past, but it is very rare. There is a well-established process to pursue the cause for sainthood, but that has not been initiated in this case yet.”
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The Benedictine Sisters have also confirmed that Sister Lancaster will not be considered for sainthood yet, as the process can only commence five years after death.
Katherine Sidnell