- Feb 5, 2002
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Why tens of thousands are making a pilgrimage to the body of a black nun
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster led a secluded life in a monastery in Missouri. Four years after her death, the black founder of the order of "Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles" is making headlines - and causing controversy.
The sisters remember a peaceful farewell. They had gathered around the bed of their order's founder, Wilhelmina Lancaster, and sang "Salve Regina"; like so often in the abbey not far from the small town of Gower. The little nun's eyes were closed, but it seemed as if she wanted to tune in again, says Prioress Scholastica Radel, describing the "holy" atmosphere in the room.
Sister Scholastica was also there when the community wanted to transfer the order's founder from the modest grave site to the abbey church this spring. “All the sisters screamed,” the prioress tells Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) about the moment when the fully preserved body came to light. "Even the flowers she had been holding were still dry in her hand."
The local undertaker, Jack Kline, who issued Wilhelmina's death certificate, shares the astonishment. Her body looked better after four years than many others did after three days, he told National Public Radio. The sister was neither embalmed nor was she in a special coffin.
“Thorough investigation” announced
Continued below.
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster led a secluded life in a monastery in Missouri. Four years after her death, the black founder of the order of "Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles" is making headlines - and causing controversy.
The sisters remember a peaceful farewell. They had gathered around the bed of their order's founder, Wilhelmina Lancaster, and sang "Salve Regina"; like so often in the abbey not far from the small town of Gower. The little nun's eyes were closed, but it seemed as if she wanted to tune in again, says Prioress Scholastica Radel, describing the "holy" atmosphere in the room.
Sister Scholastica was also there when the community wanted to transfer the order's founder from the modest grave site to the abbey church this spring. “All the sisters screamed,” the prioress tells Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) about the moment when the fully preserved body came to light. "Even the flowers she had been holding were still dry in her hand."
The local undertaker, Jack Kline, who issued Wilhelmina's death certificate, shares the astonishment. Her body looked better after four years than many others did after three days, he told National Public Radio. The sister was neither embalmed nor was she in a special coffin.
“Thorough investigation” announced
Continued below.
