View source for Stigmata

{{Short description|Marks resembling the wounds of Jesus}}
{{For|other senses of this word|Stigma (disambiguation){{!}}Stigma|stigmata (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Stigmatism}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
[[File:Lienz - Fanziskanerkirche - Außenansicht - Hände mit Stigmata.jpg|thumb|Hands with ''stigmata'', depicted on a [[Order of Saint Francis|Franciscan]] church in [[Lienz]], [[Austria]]]]
[[File:Munchhausen StPantaleon 50.JPG|thumb|''[[Catherine of Siena|St Catherine]] fainting from the stigmata'' by [[Il Sodoma]], Church of Saint Pantaleon, [[Alsace, France]]]]

'''Stigmata''' ({{langx|grc|στίγματα}}, plural of {{lang|grc|στίγμα}} {{transliteration|grc|stigma}}, 'mark, spot, brand'), in [[Roman Catholicism|Catholicism]], are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]] [[Five Holy Wounds|wounds]] of [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]]: the hands, wrists, feet, near the heart, the head (from the crown of thorns), and back (from carrying the cross and scourging).<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/stigmata |title=Stigmata (Christian Mysticism) |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |access-date=2018-07-03}}</ref>

[[St. Francis of Assisi]] is widely considered the first recorded stigmatic. For over fifty years, St. [[Padre Pio]] of Pietrelcina of the [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin]] reported stigmata which were studied by several 20th-century physicians. Stigmatics are primarily a Roman Catholic phenomenon; the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] professes no official view on them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oca.org/questions/romancatholicism/manifestations|title=Manifestations – Questions & Answers|website=oca.org}}</ref>

A high percentage (probably over 80%) of all stigmatics are women.<ref name=Carroll>Carroll, Michael P. (1989). ''Catholic Cults and Devotions: A Psychological Inquiry''. McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 80–84. {{ISBN|0-7735-0693-4}}</ref> In his book ''Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age'', Ted Harrison suggests that there is no single mechanism whereby the marks of stigmata were produced. What is important is that the marks are recognised by others as of religious significance.<ref name="Harrison 1994">{{Cite book | publisher = St Martins Press | isbn = 978-0-312-11372-8 | last = Harrison | first = Ted | title = Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age | year=1994}}</ref> Most cases of stigmata have been the result of trickery.<ref name="Carroll 2003"/><ref name="Nickell 2004"/> Some cases have also included reportings of a mysterious chalice in visions being given to stigmatics to drink from or the feeling of a sharp sword being driven into one's chest.<ref name="Görres1883">{{cite book|author=Johann Joseph von Görres|title=The stigmata, tr. from 'The Mystik', ed. by H. Austin|url=https://archive.org/details/stigmatatrfromm00grgoog|year=1883}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Cigoli, san francesco.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Saint [[Francis of Assisi]] contemplating the wounds of stigmata as part of the ''[[Imitation of Christ]]''<ref name=Goff >''Saint Francis of Assisi'' by Jacques Le Goff 2003 {{ISBN|0-415-28473-2}} p. 44</ref><ref name= Miles160>Miles, Margaret Ruth. (2004). ''The Word Made Flesh: A History of Christian Thought''. Wiley. pp. 160–161. {{ISBN|978-1-4051-0846-1}}</ref>]]

An individual bearing the wounds of stigmata is a '''stigmatist''' or a '''stigmatic'''. In {{Bibleverse|Galatians|6:17|KJV}}, [[Paul of Tarsus|Saint Paul]] says:
<blockquote>
{{lang|grc|Τοῦ λοιποῦ κόπους μοι μηδεὶς παρεχέτω· ἐγὼ γὰρ τὰ στίγματα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματί μου βαστάζω.}}

From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
</blockquote>
A {{transliteration|grc|stígma}} ({{lang|grc|στίγμα}}) is a mark on the skin.<ref>Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''[[A Greek-English Dictionary]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dsti%2Fgma ''s.v.'']</ref>

Reported cases of stigmata take various forms. Many show some or all [[Holy Wounds|Five Sacred Wounds]] <!-- preserved this phrasing even though it sounds non-neutral due to having its own article and to let reader know about it in a more direct way than a simple noun which may be confused as a simple description of it --> that were, according to the [[Bible]], inflicted on Jesus during his crucifixion: wounds in the wrists and feet, from nails; and in the side, from a lance. Some stigmatics display wounds to the forehead similar to those caused by the [[crown of thorns]].<ref name=Carroll/> Stigmata as crown of thorns appearing in the 20th century, e.g. on [[Marie Rose Ferron]], have been repeatedly photographed.<ref>Michael Freze, 1993, ''They bore the wounds of Christ'', OSV Publishing {{ISBN|0-87973-422-1}} p. 125</ref><ref>''A Stigmatist: Marie-Rose Ferron'' by Jeanne S. Bonin 1988 {{ISBN|2-89039-161-2}} p. 153</ref><ref>''Religion and American cultures: an encyclopedia of traditions, Volume 1'' by Gary Laderman, Luís D. León 2003 {{ISBN|1-57607-238-X}} p. 336</ref> Other reported forms include tears of blood or sweating blood, and wounds to the back as from [[scourging]].

Many stigmata show recurring bleeding that stops and then starts, at times after receiving [[Holy Communion]]; a significant proportion of stigmatics have shown a strong desire to receive Holy Communion frequently.<ref name=Carroll/> A relatively high percentage of stigmatics also exhibit [[inedia]], claiming to live with minimal (or no) food or water for long periods of time, except for the [[Eucharist|Holy Eucharist]]. Some exhibit weight loss, and closer investigation often reveals evidence of fakery.<ref name=Carroll/>

Some stigmatics claim to feel the pain of wounds with no external marks; these are referred to as "invisible stigmata".<ref name=Carroll/> Some stigmatics' wounds do not appear to clot, and seem to stay fresh and uninfected. The blood from the wounds is said, in some cases, to have a pleasant, perfumed odor, known as the [[Odour of Sanctity]].

Individuals who have obtained the stigmata are many times described as [[Religious ecstasy|ecstatics]], overwhelmed with emotions upon receiving the stigmata.<ref name="advent">{{cite web|url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14294b.htm |title = Catholic Encyclopedia: Mystical Stigmata |access-date = 2008-07-02}}</ref>

In his paper ''Hospitality and Pain'', Christian [[theologian]] [[Ivan Illich]] states: "Compassion with Christ&nbsp;... is faith so strong and so deeply incarnate that it leads to the individual embodiment of the contemplated pain." His thesis is that stigmata result from exceptional poignancy of religious faith and desire to associate oneself with the suffering [[Messiah]].

Differently from the [[Five Holy Wounds]] of Christ, some mystics like Francis of Assisi and father Pio of Petralcina reported a spontaneous regression and closure of their stigmata in the days following their death.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.avvenire.it/chiesa/pagine/cent-anni-fa-le-stimmate-di-padre-pio-da-pietrelcina | title = Cent'anni fa le stimmate di Padre Pio: quando la scienza si arrende | language = it | website = L'Avvenire | date = September 20, 2018| quote = Poche ore dopo, alla morte erano completamente scomparse, senza lasciare segno di sé.}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=If they were dead, they couldn't have reported anything|date=August 2022}} Both of them claimed to have received the divine stigmata in their hands as well as in their feet.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.lalucedimaria.it/san-francesco-stimmate-assisi/ | title = San Francesco: le fonti che attestano le sue stimmate | date = October 24, 2019}}</ref>

==Specific cases==

===Saint Ansbert of Rouen===

Earlier reports of stigmatics do exist, however there is a lack of consensus on how the concept of stigmata was understood pre-Saint Francis.<ref>Muessig, C. (2013, February 21). "Signs of salvation: The evolution of stigmatic spirituality before Francis of assisi": ''Church history''. Cambridge Core. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/signs-of-salvation-the-evolution-of-stigmatic-spirituality-before-francis-of-assisi/5303041ED21A96178473592D1ADD06B5</ref> St. [[Ansbert of Rouen|Ansbert]] of Rouen (d. 695 AD) could be considered the earliest stigmatic due to the claims of witnesses following his death:

"When they had opened his tomb and they thought his body would stink because of the amount of time that had elapsed since it had been buried, such a sweet fragrant odor like a diversity of flowers flowed forth, and the whole church was filled with little drops of balsam. And when the brothers who had come to see him from the neighboring province... removed the clothes in which he had been buried because they wanted to change them wishing to dress him in new clothes, they found on his forearms the sign of the dominical cross, bearing the likeness of a red color. It was evident to all the faithful that this was given to be understood that while he lived he bore the arms of Christ in his heart, therefore, Christ's stigmata were revealed on the body of the dead man."<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Signs of Salvation: The Evolution of Stigmatic Spirituality Before Francis of Assisi |journal=Church History| jstor=23358905 |last1=Muessig |first1=Carolyn |date=2013 |volume=82 |issue=1 |pages=40–68 |doi=10.1017/S000964071200251X }}</ref>

===Saint Francis of Assisi===
[[File:Giotto. Stigmatization of St Francis. 1295-1300. 314x162cm. Louvre, Paris.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (Giotto)|Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata]] by [[Giotto]]]]
[[File:El Greco - The Stigmatization of St Francis - WGA10562.jpg|thumb|St. [[Francis of Assisi]], by [[El Greco]]]]

St. [[Francis of Assisi]] is widely considered the first recorded stigmatic in Christian history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1163/whats-the-deal-with-stigmata |title=What's the deal with stigmata? |publisher=The Straight Dope |date=1998-02-20 |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref> In 1224,<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Stigmatization |volume=25 |page=918 |first=Alexander |last=Macalister }}</ref> two years before his death, he embarked on a journey to [[La Verna|Mount La Verna]] for a forty-day fast. The legend states that one morning, near the feast of the [[Exaltation of the Cross]], a six-winged angel appeared to Francis while he prayed. As the angel approached, Francis could see that the angel was crucified. He was humbled by the sight, and his heart was filled with elation joined by pain and suffering. When the angel departed, Francis was left with wounds in his hands, feet, and side as if caused by the same lance that pierced Christ's side. The image of nails immediately appeared in his hands and feet, and the wound in his side often seeped blood.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.franciscanfriarstor.com/archive/stfrancis/stf_stigmata_of_st_francis.htm |title=Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi |publisher=Franciscan Friars T.O.R. |access-date=2012-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307093413/http://www.franciscanfriarstor.com/archive/stfrancis/stf_stigmata_of_st_francis.htm |archive-date=2012-03-07 }}</ref> [[Pope Alexander IV]] and other witnesses declared that they had seen these marks both before and after his death.<ref name=EB1911/> In traditional artistic depictions of the incident, Francis is accompanied by a Franciscan brother.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=25151940 |title=Sasseta: crucifixion with St. Francis |journal=The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=46–49 |publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art |last1=Francis |first1=Henry S. |year=1963 }}</ref>

St. Francis' first biographer, [[Thomas of Celano]], reports the event in his 1230 ''First Life of St. Francis'':
<blockquote>
When the blessed servant of God saw these things he was filled with wonder, but he did not know what the vision meant. He rejoiced greatly in the benign and gracious expression with which he saw himself regarded by the seraph, whose beauty was indescribable; yet he was alarmed by the fact that the seraph was affixed to the cross and was suffering terribly. Thus Francis rose, one might say, sad and happy, joy and grief alternating in him. He wondered anxiously what this vision could mean, and his soul was uneasy as it searched for understanding. And as his understanding sought in vain for an explanation and his heart was filled with perplexity at the great novelty of this vision, the marks of nails began to appear in his hands and feet, just as he had seen them slightly earlier in the crucified man above him.

His wrists and feet seemed to be pierced by nails, with the heads of the nails appearing on his wrists and on the upper sides of his feet, the points appearing on the other side. The marks were round on the palm of each hand but elongated on the other side, and small pieces of flesh jutting out from the rest took on the appearance of the nail-ends, bent and driven back. In the same way the marks of nails were impressed on his feet and projected beyond the rest of the flesh. Moreover, his right side had a large wound as if it had been pierced with a spear, and it often bled so that his tunic and trousers were soaked with his sacred blood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/stfran-lives.html |title=Medieval Sourcebook: Thomas of Celano: Lives of St. Francis |publisher=Fordham.edu |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref>
</blockquote>

From the records of St. Francis' physical ailments and symptoms, Edward Frederick Hartung concluded in 1935 that he knew what health problems plagued St. Francis. Hartung believed that he had an eye ailment known as [[trachoma]] and [[Plasmodium malariae|quartan malaria]].<ref name="Hartung 1935">Hartung, Edward Frederick. (1935). "St. Francis and Medieval Medicine". ''Annals of Medical History'' 7: 85–91.</ref>

Quartan malaria infects the [[liver]], [[spleen]], and [[stomach]], causing the victim intense pain. One complication of quartan malaria occasionally seen around Francis' time is known as [[purpura]], a purple hemorrhage of blood into the skin. According to Hartung "If this were the case of St. Francis, he would have been afflicted by ''ecchymoses'', an exceedingly large ''purpura''. The purple spots of blood may have been punctured while in the wilderness and there appear as an open wound like that of Christ."<ref name="Hartung 1935"/><ref>{{Cite news
| issn = 0040-781X
| title = Medicine: St. Francis' Stigmata
| magazine = Time
| access-date = 2009-09-14
| date = 1935-03-11
| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,883261,00.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071116111728/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,883261,00.html
| archive-date = November 16, 2007
}}</ref>

A later medical hypothesis was proposed in 1987 to explain the wounds, it claimed that St. Francis may have contracted [[leprosy]].<ref>Schazlein, Joanne; Sulmasy, Daniel P. (1987). ''The Diagnosis of St. Francis: Evidence for Leprosy''. Franciscan Studies 47: 181–217.</ref>

===Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina===
[[File:Padre Pio of Pietrelcina with the stigmata.jpg|thumb|A young [[Padre Pio]] showing the stigmata]]
For over fifty years, Padre [[Padre Pio|Pio of Pietrelcina]] reported stigmata which were studied by several 20th-century physicians, whose independence from the Church is not known.<ref name="time1">
{{Cite news
 | title = The Stigmatist
 | journal = [[Time Magazine]]
 | date = 19 December 1949
 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,855088,00.html
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080501181214/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,855088,00.html
 | archive-date = May 1, 2008
 | access-date = 2008-01-19
}}
</ref><ref name="time2">
{{Cite news
 | title = A Padre's Patience
 | journal = [[Time Magazine]]
 | date = 24 April 1964
 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870915,00.html
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930114430/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870915,00.html
 | archive-date = September 30, 2007
 | access-date = 2008-01-19
}}
</ref><ref name="clairval">
{{cite web
 | last =  Marie osb
 | first = Dom Antoine
 | title = Letter on Blessed Pader Pio: Stigmata – Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist – Suffering
 | url = http://www.clairval.com/lettres/en/2000/04/24/2260400.htm
 | date = 2000-04-24
 | access-date = 2006-09-27
}}
</ref>
The observations were reportedly inexplicable and the wounds never became infected.<ref name="time1"/><ref name="time2"/><ref>Michael Freze, 1989, ''They Bore the Wounds of Christ: The Mystery of the Sacred Stigmata'', OSV Publishing {{ISBN|0-87973-422-1}} pp. 283–285.</ref> His wounds healed once, but reappeared.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9375317 |title=Padre Pio |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |date=1968 |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref> The wounds were examined by Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the City Hospital of [[Barletta]], for about one year. The physician Angelo Maria Merla noted that the wounds were not [[Tuberculosis|tubercular]] in origin but could not make an official diagnosis without further tests.<ref name="Ruffin 1991">Ruffin, Barnard. (1991). ''Padre Pio: The True Story''. OSV Press. pp. 160–178. {{ISBN|0-87973-673-9}}</ref> The surgeon [[Giorgio Festa]], a private practitioner, also examined them in 1920 and 1925.<ref name="Ruffin 1991"/> Professor [[Giuseppe Bastianelli]], physician to [[Pope Benedict XV]], examined the wounds, but no report of his examinations was made. Pathologist [[Amico Bignami]] of the [[Sapienza University of Rome|University of Rome]] also observed the wounds, describing them as shallow. Festa, who had originally agreed with Bignami, later described the wounds as superficial when covered with a scab.<ref name="Ruffin 1991"/> Giorgio Festa noted that "at the edges of the lesions, the skin is perfectly normal and does not show any sign of [[edema]], of penetration, or of redness, even when examined with a good magnifying glass".<ref name="Ruffin 1991"/> Alberto Caserta took [[X-ray]]s of the hands in 1954 and found no abnormality in the bone structure.<ref name="Ruffin 1991"/> [[Giuseppe Sala (physician)|Giuseppe Sala]] who worked as a physician for Pio between 1956 and 1968 commented that tests revealed his blood had no signs of abnormality.<ref name="Ruffin 1991"/>

There were both religious and non-religious critics who accused Padre Pio of faking his stigmata, saying he used [[Phenol|carbolic acid]] to make the wounds. The historian Sergio Luzzatto recounted that in 1919, Maria De Vito (the cousin of the local pharmacist Valentini Vista at [[Foggia]]) testified that the young Pio bought carbolic acid and the great quantity of four grams of [[Veratridine|veratrine]] "without presenting any medical prescription whatsoever".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Luzzatto |first1=Sergio |title=Padre Pio: Miracles and Politics in a Secular Age |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |isbn=978-1-4299-4645-2 |pages=91–92}}</ref><ref name="telegraph">Quote: Maria De Vito said, "I was an admirer of Padre Pio and I met him for the first time on July 31, 1919...he gave me personally an empty bottle, and asked if I would act as a chauffeur to transport it back from Foggia to San Giovanni Rotondo with four grams of pure carbolic acid. ... He explained that the acid was for disinfecting syringes for injections. He also asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles." {{cite news|last=Moore|first=Malcolm| title = Italy's Padre Pio 'faked his stigmata with acid'| date = 2007-10-24 | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1567216/Italys-Padre-Pio-faked-his-stigmata-with-acid.html|access-date = 2012-04-25| work=The Daily Telegraph}}.</ref>  Pio maintained that the carbolic acid was used to sterilize syringes used for medical treatments and that after being subjected to a practical joke where veratrine was mixed with snuff tobacco, causing uncontrollable sneezing after ingestion, he decided to acquire his own quantity of the substance in order to play the same joke on his confreres.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Luzzatto |first1=Sergio |title=Padre Pio: Miracles and Politics in a Secular Age |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |isbn=978-1-4299-4645-2 |page=103}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Castelli |first1=Francesco |title=Padre Pio under investigation: the secret Vatican files |date=2011 |publisher=Ignatius Press |location=San Francisco |isbn=978-1-58617-405-7 |pages=25, 114}}</ref>

[[Amico Bignami]] in a report wrote that the wounds were caused by "[[Neurosis|neurotic]] [[necrosis]]". He suggested they had been inflicted unconsciously by [[suggestion]] and artificially maintained by [[iodine]] that Pio had used as a disinfectant.<ref name="Ruffin 1991"/> In 1922, physician [[Agostino Gemelli]] went to visit Padre Pio, but Gemelli was denied the right to examine the stigmata without an authorization from the Holy Office. Gemelli, irritated and offended for not being allowed to examine the stigmata, wrote that Pio was a hysteric and his stigmata were self-induced, not of supernatural origin.{{sfnp|Luzzatto|2011|p=59}}<ref name="Higgens 2006">Higgins, Michael W. (2006). ''Stalking the Holy: The Pursuit of Saint Making''. Anansi Press. p. 129. {{ISBN|0-88784-181-3}}</ref> Gemelli also speculated that his wounds were kept open with carbolic acid.<ref name="Higgens 2006"/> Giorgio Festa, who examined the stigmata of the friar on October 28, 1919, wrote in his report that they "are not the product of a trauma of external origin, nor are they due to the application of potently irritating chemicals".<ref>{{cite book| first1 = Saverio |last1=Gaeta |first2= Andrea|last2= Tornielli| title= Padre Pio, l'ultimo sospetto: la verità sul frate delle stimmate|publisher= Piemme| location= Casale Monferrato (Alessandria)|date= 2008|language=it}}</ref>

Throughout his life, Pio had hidden his wounds by wearing fingerless [[glove]]s. At death there were no wounds, only "unblemished skin".<ref name="Nickell 2001">[[Joe Nickell|Nickell, Joe]]. (2001). ''Real-Life X-Files: Investigating the Paranormal''. University of Kentucky Press. pp. 276–288. {{ISBN|0-8131-2210-4}}</ref>

===Mariam Thresia Chiramel===
The first saint from [[India]] with stigmata was nun [[Mariam Thresia Chiramel]].<ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}</ref> She was canonised on 13 October 2019 by [[Pope Francis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-10/biography-mariam-thresia-mankidiyan-mystic-holy-family.html|title=Mother Mariam Thresia Mankidiyan: From silent mystic to apostle of the family |date=October 12, 2019|website=www.vaticannews.va}}</ref>

== Stigmata and gender ==
[[File:Rumoldasterfbed.tif|thumb|[[Belgium|Belgian]] {{ill|Sister Rumolda|nl|Zuster Rumolda}} on her deathbed with stigmata (1948)]]
In the late nineteenth century, a French physician named Dr. An Imbert-Goubeyre began compiling a census of known stigmatics from the thirteenth century to his own time. This census includes 280 female and 41 male stigmatics, meaning women comprise a little over 87% of the list.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Ian |title=Stigmata: an investigation into the mysterious appearance of Christ's wounds in hundreds of people from medieval Italy to modern America |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1989 |isbn=0-06-250974-8 |location=New York |pages=10, 62 |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, the [[University of Antwerp]] released a database of information on 244 stigmatics in April 2019. 92% of the stigmatics in the database are female.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Smeyers |first=Kristof |date=Autumn 2018 |title=Building the Archive of Stigmatic Women Religious |journal=An Irish Quarterly Review |volume=107 |pages=337–339}}</ref> In some cases, convent sisters have attempted to shield stigmatic women from public scrutiny, often out of fear of how their condition would affect the convent's reputation.<ref name=":1" /> So, the number of women stigmatics may be even higher than historical record shows.

Despite the high number of women stigmatics throughout history, the best-known and least contested stigmatics, such as Francis of Assisi and Padre Pio, have been men.<ref name=":0" />

==Scientific research==
[[File:Domenico Beccafumi - Stigmatization of St Catherine of Siena - WGA01536.jpg|thumb|Stigmatization of St Catherine of Siena]]

Many stigmatics have been exposed for using trickery.<ref name="Carroll 2003">[[Robert Todd Carroll|Carroll, Robert Todd]]. (2003). ''[[The Skeptic's Dictionary|The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions]]''. Wiley. pp. 366–367. {{ISBN|0-471-27242-6}}</ref><ref name="Nickell 2004">[[Joe Nickell|Nickell, Joe]]. (2004). [https://skepticalinquirer.org/2004/03/the-stigmata-of-lilian-bernas "The Stigmata of Lilian Bernas"]. ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]''. Retrieved 12 May 2016.</ref> [[Magdalena de la Cruz]], for example, confessed before she died that her stigmata was deliberate deception.<ref>[[Joe Nickell|Nickell, Joe]]. (2001). ''Real-Life X-Files: Investigating the Paranormal''. University of Kentucky Press. p. 281. {{ISBN|0-8131-2210-4}} "That many stigmatics were fakes is well established. For example, Magdalena de la Cruz, having become ill in 1543 and fearful of dying a sinner, confessed that her stigmata, inedia, and other phenomena were deliberate deceptions."</ref>

Early neurologist [[Désiré-Magloire Bourneville]] published works which stated that [[saint]]s claiming to produce [[miracle]]s or stigmata, and those claiming to be [[Demonic possession|possessed]], were actually suffering from [[epilepsy]] or [[hysteria]].<ref>Porter, Dorothy; Porter, Roy (1993). ''Doctors, Politics and Society: Historical Essays''. Rodopi. pp. 120–121. {{ISBN|90-5183-510-8}}</ref><ref>Hustvedt, Asti. (2011). ''Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris''. Bloomsbury. p. 279. {{ISBN|978-1-4088-2235-7}}</ref> Some modern research has indicated stigmata are of hysterical origin or linked to [[dissociative identity disorder]].<ref>Mazzoni, Cristina (1996). ''Saint Hysteria: Neurosis, Mysticism, and Gender in European Culture''. Cornell University Press. pp. 24–28, 136–140. {{ISBN|0-8014-3229-4}}</ref><ref>Seidl, O. (2008). ''Stigmatisation and Absence of Nutrition in the Case of Therese Neumann (1898–1962)''. ''Nervenarzt'' 79 (7): 836–843.</ref><ref>Regal, Brian (2009). ''Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia''. Greenwood. pp. 154–155. {{ISBN|978-0-313-35507-3}}</ref><ref name="Kluger 2013">Kluger, N.; Cribier, B. (2013). ''Stigmata: From Saint-Francis of Assisi to Idiopathic Haematidrosis''. ''Annales de Dermatologie et de Vénéréologie'' 140: 771–777.</ref>

There is a link between dietary constriction by [[starvation|self-starvation]], [[dissociation (psychology)|dissociative mental states]] and [[self-mutilation]], in the context of a religious belief.<ref>{{Cite journal | volume = 3 | issue = 2 | pages = 81–96 | last = Fessler | first = Daniel | title = Starvation, serotonin, and symbolism. A psychobiocultural perspective on stigmata | journal = Mind and Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences | access-date = 2009-09-12 | year = 2002 | url = http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/fessler/pubs/FesslerStigmata.pdf| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060222083502/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/fessler/pubs/FesslerStigmata.pdf| archive-date = February 22, 2006}}</ref> [[Anorexia nervosa]] cases often display self-mutilation similar to stigmata as part of a ritualistic, [[obsessive–compulsive disorder]]. A relationship between starvation and self-mutilation has been reported amongst [[prisoners of war]] and during [[famine]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1002/1098-108X(199501)17:1<33::AID-EAT2260170104>3.0.CO;2-2 | volume = 17 | issue = 1 | pages = 33–38 | last1 = Yaryura-Tobias | first1 = Jose A. |first2=Fugen A. |last2=Neziroglu |first3=Steven |last3=Kaplan | title = Self-mutilation, anorexia, and dysmenorrhea in obsessive compulsive disorder | journal = International Journal of Eating Disorders | year = 1995 | pmid = 7894450 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1136/bmj.2.4476.585 | pmc = 2054516 | pmid = 21284113 | issn = 0959-8138 | volume = 2 | issue = 4476 | pages = 585–586 | last = Curtin | first = A. P.| title = Imprisonment under the Japanese | journal = BMJ | year = 1946 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | publisher = University of Minnesota Press|first=Ancel |last=Keys | title = The Biology of Human Starvation | year = 1950 }}</ref>

The psychologist [[Leonard Zusne]] in his book ''Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking'' (1989) has written:

{{blockquote|Cases of stigmatism fall into two categories: self-inflicted wounds, which may be either cases of fraud or of unconscious self-infliction, and those that are caused by emotional states&nbsp;... Self-induced (through autosuggestion) itching and subsequent scratching of which the individual is unaware is likely to occur in suggestible persons if the stimulus is a mental or actual picture of the Crucifixion used during meditation and if the main motive is to receive the stigmata. The motive behind that may be unconscious conflict and a desire to escape from an intolerable situation into invalidism where one's needs are taken care of. It then becomes a case of hysterical conversion reaction. Many cases of stigmatism can be explained as fraud or unconsciously self-inflicted wounds.<ref>Zusne, Leonard; Jones, Warren H. (1989). ''Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking''. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. pp. 54–56. {{ISBN|978-0-805-80507-9}}</ref>}}

In his ''Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age'', Ted Harrison suggests that there is no single mechanism whereby the marks of stigmata were produced. Harrison found no evidence from a study of contemporary cases that the marks were supernatural in origin. He concluded, however, that marks of natural origin need not be hoaxes. Some stigmatics marked themselves in attempt to suffer with Christ as a form of piety. Others marked themselves accidentally and their marks were noted as stigmata by witnesses. Often marks of human origin produced profound and genuine religious responses.<ref name="Harrison 1994"/>

Harrison also noted that after Saint Francis of Assisi, the stigmata was "seen as a predominantly female experience" with the female-to-male ratio of stigmatics being 7 to 1. Those men that were stigmatic were non-ordained, including Saint Francis. Harrison argues that in many cases the stigmata was a consequence of the intense personal mystical ministries practiced by those excluded from the priesthood. Only in the twentieth century have cases of stigmatic [[Roman Catholic priest|priest]]s appeared.<ref name="Harrison 1994"/>

One suggestion is that [[painful bruising syndrome]] may explain rare cases of non self-induced stigmata.<ref name="Kluger 2013"/><ref>Early, Loretta F; Lifschutz, Joseph E. (1974). ''A Case of Stigmata Loretta''. Arch Gen Psychiatry 30 (2):197–200.</ref><ref>Ratnoff, O. D. (1980). ''The psychogenic purpuras: A review of autoerythrocyte sensitization, autosensitization to DNA, "hysterical" and factitial bleeding, and the religious stigmata''. Semin Hematol 17: 192–213.</ref><ref>Panconesi, E., & Hautmann, G. (1995). "Stress, Stigmatization and Psychosomatic Purpuras". ''International Angiology'' 14: 130–137.</ref><ref>Armando De Vincentiis (2011). [https://www.cicap.org/new/articolo.php?id=274400 "New insights into the phenomenon of Natuzza Evolo"]. [[CICAP|Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims on the Paranormal]]. Retrieved 12 May 2016.</ref>

Skeptical investigator [[Joe Nickell]], who investigated recent cases of stigmata such as Katya Rivas,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://skepdic.com/rivas.html|title=Rivas, Catalina (Katya or Catia) |website=The Skeptic's Dictionary }}</ref> commented that they are indistinguishable from [[hoax]]ing.<ref name="Nickell 2001"/>

In 2002, a psychoanalytic study of stigmatic [[Therese Neumann]] suggested her stigmata resulted from [[post-traumatic stress]] symptoms expressed in unconscious self-mutilation through abnormal autosuggestibility.<ref>{{Cite journal | volume = 25 | issue = 3 | pages = 329–358 | last = Albright | first = M. | title = The Stigmata: The Psychological and Ethical Message of the Posttraumatic Sufferer | journal = Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought | year = 2002}}</ref>

According to a study of the French theologian [[Joachim Bouflet]], in the 21st century there were 200 stigmatics all over the world. Most of them reached the third age without having particular health problems. The oldest stigmatic was [[Marie-Julie Jahenny]] who died in 1941 at the age of 91. As of 1997, the stigmatics who had been declared saints by the Roman Catholic Church were only 7.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www1-adnkronos-com.translate.goog/Archivio/AdnAgenzia/1997/12/18/Cronaca/PADRE-PIO-IN-ITALIA-21-STIGMATIZZATI-COME-IL-FRATE_152100.php?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=it&_x_tr_pto=wapp|publisher=[[Adnkronos]]|title=Padre Pio: in Italy 21 stigmatized like the friar|date=December 18, 1997|location=Rome}}</ref>

==Non-Christian stigmata==

Among the [[Warao people|Warao]] of the [[Orinoco Delta]], a contemplator of [[Tutelary deity|tutelary spirits]] may mystically induce the development of "...(imagined) openings in the palms of his hands."<ref>Johannes Wilbert : "Warao Basketry". ''Occasional Papers of the Museum of Cultural History'', University of California at Los Angeles, No. 3, 1975. pp. 5–6</ref>

Bleeding wounds, described in Western sources as ''stigmata'', are regularly indicated in [[Buddhist art]].<ref>Keith Taylor & John Whitmore : ''Essays into Vietnamese Pasts''. Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 1985. p. 278</ref><ref>cited in Ing-Britt Trankell & Laura Summers : ''Facets of Power and Its Limitations''. Department of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University, 1998. p. 24</ref>

Some spiritualist [[Mediumship|mediums]] have also produced stigmata. During the séances of German medium Maria Vollhardt, it was alleged that bleeding wounds appeared.<ref>Shepard, Leslie. (1991). ''Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology''. Gale Research Company. p. 1779</ref> However, [[Albert Moll (German psychiatrist)|Albert Moll]], a psychiatrist, considered her phenomena to be fraudulent.<ref name="Wolffram">{{cite journal |last=Wolffram |first=Heather |year=2012 |pmc=3381525 |title=Trick, Manipulation and Farce: Albert Moll's Critique of Occultism |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=277–295 |journal=[[Medical History (journal)|Medical History]] |pmid=23002297 |doi=10.1017/mdh.2011.37 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Biot, René. (1962). ''The Enigma of the Stigmata''. Hawthorn Books.
* [[Robert Todd Carroll|Carroll, Robert Todd]]. (2003). [http://skepdic.com/stigmata.html ''Stigmata'']. In ''[[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]''. Wiley. {{ISBN|978-0-471-27242-7}}
* Harrison, Ted. (1994). ''Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age''. St Martins Press. {{ISBN|0-312-11372-2}}
* Mazzoni, Cristina. (1996). ''Saint Hysteria: Neurosis, Mysticism, and Gender in European Culture''. Cornell University Press. {{ISBN|0-8014-3229-4}}
* [[Joe Nickell|Nickell, Joe]]. (1993). ''Looking for a Miracle: Weeping Icons, Relics, Stigmata, Visions & Healing Cures''. Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|1-57392-680-9}}
* [[Benjamin Radford|Radford, Benjamin]]. (2014). [http://www.livescience.com/42822-stigmata.html ''What is Stigmata?'']. [[LiveScience]]. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
* [[Ian Wilson (author)|Wilson, Ian]]. (1988). ''The Bleeding Mind: An Investigation into the Mysterious Phenomena of Stigmata''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. {{ISBN|0-297-79099-4}}
* Yarom, Nitza. (1992). ''Body, Blood, and Sexuality: A Psychoanalytic Study of St. Francis' Stigmata and Their Historical Context''. Peter Lang Publisher.
* {{cite book|first1=Tina|last1=Van Osselaer|first2=Andrea|last2=Graus|first3=Leonardo|last3=Rossi|first4=Kristof|last4=Smeyers|url=https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/402ca62d-df9a-46b3-8817-87829004288e/9789004439351.pdf|title=The Devotion and Promotion of Stigmatics in Europe c. 1800–1950, between Saints and Celebrities|page=487|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden, Boston|series=Numen Book Series-Studies in the History of Religions|date=12 October 2020 |volume=167|issn=0169-8834|isbn=978-90-04-43935-1|lccn=2020031449|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909224121/https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/402ca62d-df9a-46b3-8817-87829004288e/9789004439351.pdf|archive-date=September 9, 2021|url-status=live}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Stigmata}}

{{Private revelation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Catholic spirituality]]
[[Category:Christian mythology]]
[[Category:Christian miracles]]
[[Category:Stigmatics| ]]
[[Category:Crucifixion of Jesus]]