Stigmata
Stigmata are the appearance of Jesus Christ's crucifiction wounds on the bodies of Christians.
The stigmata appear as holes, often bloody, through the palms of the hands (or, more rarely, wrists), and the soles of the feet. In some cases the stab wound, where the centurion pierced the dying Jesus's side, also appear, and sometimes cuts around the scalp and forehead, corresponding with the crown of thorns.
The first recorded stigmatic, and one of the very few cases endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church as a genuine miracle, was Francis of Assisi in the thirteenth century, who reportedly received the stigmata after a divine vision of an angel giving him the five wounds of Christ.
There have been several recorded cases in the centuries since, and many within the last century. Stigmatatics are almost invariably Roman Catholics, and often ascetics such as monks or nuns. Sometimes they have been preachers or mystics operating outside the church's approval.
According to some accounts, stigmata can exhibit some unusual, and allegedly supernatural, tendencies, such as remaining consistent for long periods, without either healing or rotting. Reportedly, sometimes they give off a sweet, perfume-like smell.
Possible explanations for stigmata
- They're a divine miracle, signifying God's blessing of the stigmatic.
- They're a psychosomatic condition: if a person has strong enough faith in their relationship with God, and wants to have stigmata strongly enough, their body may respond with physical symptoms.
- The wounds are self-inflicted, done in a deliberate or delusional plea for attention and approval (God's or other people's).