Hi lsid1210!
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary Stigmata is defined as
?bodily marks or pains resembling the wounds of the crucified Christ
and sometimes accompanying religious ecstasy.?
http://www.m-w.com/home.htm
Stigmata -- marks resembling the wounds on the crucified body of Christ
Word Net
http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn?stage=1&word=stigmata
From the Catholic Almanac
?Stigmata: Marks of the wounds suffered by Christ in his crucifixion,
in hands and feet by nails, and side by the piercing of a lance. Some
persons, called stigmatists, have been reported as recipients or
sufferers of marks like these. The Church, however, has never issued
any infallible declaration about their possession by anyone, even in
the case of St. Francis of Assisi whose stigmata seem to be the best
substantiated and may be commemorated in the Roman Rite liturgy.
Ninety percent of some 300 reputed stigmatists have been women.
Judgment regarding the presence, significance, and manner of causation
of stigmata would depend, among other things, on irrefutable
experimental evidence.?
Catholic Almanac
http://www.osvpublishing.com/catholicalmanac/04c.asp
?The first recorded case of Stigmata was Englishman Stephen Langton in
1222 closely followed by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1224. Saint
Catherine of Siena was the most famous female stigmatic and was said
to suffer invisible wounds on her hands and feet.
(?)
?Appearances of stigmata have been widespread, there have been cases
in France, Spain, England, Germany, America and Italy. Famous saints
that have suffered stigmata include St. Frances of Assisi, St.
Gertrude, St. Colette, St. John of God, and St. Marie of the
Incarnation.?
(?)
?The number of reported stigmatics hovers around the 350 mark but new
cases are few and far between. There were only 20 reported cases
during the nineteenth century. A famous current stigmatic, Georgio
Bongiavani, suffers wounds on his hands and forehead.?
http://www.supanet.com/predictions/hocus_focus/index.php?archive=9
STIGMATA:
?Marks resembling the wounds received by Jesus: At the feet and hands
from the nails (although some scholars suggest crucifixion victims
were more likely nailed through the lower legs and wrists); on the
side from the spear; and on the brow from the crown of thorns. In
certain persons, and for no apparent external reason or cause, some or
all of the wounds appear spontaneously. They do not close or heal;
neither do they get infected or pose other medical complications.
Usually bleeding is periodic rather than constant, often on holy days
associated with the crucifixion. Perhaps the best known stigmatist was
Francis of Assisi, although there have been hundreds of others. The
most recent we are aware of is Padre Pio.?
The Zoo Fence
http://www.zoofence.com/define4.html
From an article written by Stan Griffin:
?It was 1224 when the first undisputed and best-known case of stigmata
surfaced on the person of St. Francis of Assissi, one of the great
Roman Catholic Church saints.?
?Two years before his death, St. Francis was praying on Mount Alverna,
a place in central Italy where he often went to be alone. He was in
the middle of a 40-day fast, feeling weak, and his eyes were burning.
While he was praying and concentrating on his meditations, a vision
appeared to him: an angel who was carrying an image of a man nailed to
a cross.?
?When the vision disappeared, St. Francis felt sharp pains in various
places on his body. Looking to find the source, he saw that he had
five marks like those on Jesus' hands, feet, and sides. Observers
described them as "fleshy" and "nail-like ... "round and black,
standing clear of his flesh." His side appeared to have been lanced;
his companions actually saw that wound appear, as though his skin had
been slashed. During the days that followed, St. Francis' trousers and
tunic were often soaked in blood. The marks remained until his death
and reportedly caused him much pain.?
?Church authorities have not recognized St. Francis' stigmata as
"divine intervention." Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) said he was
"doubtful." St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) at first believed the
marks were the result of heavenly action but later came to judge them
as "a product of strong compassion in a person thinking about Jesus'
suffering." Pope Pius (1846-1878), like many of his predecessors,
believed that St. Francis' stigmata were "historically certain but not
an article of faith."
Workers For Jesus
http://www.workersforjesus.com/stigmata.htm
The following book at Amazon may interest you:
The bleeding mind: an investigation into the mysterious phenomenon of
stigmata by Ian Wilson
?About three fourths of the book is history and case studies of famous
and well-documented stigmatists, including St. Francis of Assisi, who
is the earliest known stigmatist;?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0297790994/103-3912844-7018206?v=glance
Search Criteria:
Stigmata
I hope you find this helpful! If anything is unclear with my answer,
please ask for clarification.
Best Regards,
Bobbie7-ga |
