A Catholic diocese is to carry out a 'thorough investigation' after it emerged the body of a nun who died several years ago has barely decayed since her death.
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster has unintentionally attracted hundreds of people to the site of her burial in the small town of Gower in the US state of Missouri in recent weeks.
Her body was found intact following an exhumation in April by nuns of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles order.
Visitors were able to see and touch her corpse, which has hardly decomposed since her burial in 2019.
They were also allowed to take a teaspoon of dirt from her grave.
People collect dirt from the gravesite of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles Abbey near Gower, Missouri. Picture by: Associated Press / Alamy Stock PhotoSister Lancaster, a founder of the order, was buried four years ago without any embalming - the act of preserving a corpse by treating it with chemicals - in a plain wooden coffin.
She was exhumed by the monastery in preparation for a new shrine to be installed involving her "reinterment" - and was discovered with "a perfectly preserved religious habit", according to the nunnery's statement.
Around 1,800 people flocked to the town after a private e-mail mentioning the news mistakenly went public and the "news began to spread like wildfire".
People wait to view the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles Abbey near Gower, Missouri. Picture by: Associated Press / Alamy Stock PhotoA visitor from Missouri, Samuel Dawson, visited the site and described it as "very peaceful" and "very reverent".
Mr Dawson, who is Catholic, said the nuns let visitors touch Sister Lancaster because they "wanted to make her accessible to the public, because in real life, she was always accessible to people".
The phenomenon has been described as a Catholic sign of holiness by some, though scientific explanations for the lack of decay have been offered too.
Rebecca George, an anthropology tutor at the Western Carolina University, said the body's lack of decomposition might not be that rare.
She said that coffins and clothing help to preserve bodies.
"Typically, when we bury people, we don't exhume them. We don't get to look at them a couple years out.
"With 100 years, there might be nothing left. But when you've got just a few years out, this is not unexpected," she added.
People pray over the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles Abbey near Gower, Missouri. Picture by: Associated Press / Alamy Stock PhotoBishop James Johnston Jr, from the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph, said the case 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," he said.
"The Church has an established process for determining if someone is a saint and worthy of veneration.
"No such process has yet been initiated on behalf of Sister Wilhelmina.
"It is understandable that many would be driven by faith and devotion to see the mortal remains of Sister Wilhelmina given the remarkable condition of her body, but visitors should not touch or venerate her body, or treat them as relics," Bishop Johnston added.
Sister Lancaster has not yet reached the required minimum of five years since death for any sainthood process to begin.
The monastery is to place her corpse in a glass shrine in the church, where visitors will still be able to see it and collect dirt from her grave, but not touch her.
Additional reporting: IRN
