The Catholic blogosphere has been abuzz the last few weeks with talk about the possibility of the incorruptibility of the body of Sister Wilhelmina, who founded a traditional Benedictine order preserving the Latin Mass, who died in 2019.
Her body is being viewed by the public just northeast of me in Missouri, but the bishop there cautioned the faithful not to venerate her body as truly incorruptible. Some are very cautious not to judge this case as authentic; others are supporting this like it is a miracle.
Here are my thoughts.
This is cause for cautious hope, in my opinion, and I hope the local diocese thoroughly investigates this phenomenon objectively and through the lens that God has performed this miracle before. And that there is cause to suspect it is real since the Sister had a reputation for being holy, and was a religious considering most saints were either religious or priests. And of course since parts of her body have not corrupted.
But I would be concerned the diocese, any diocese today, would not be objective, but biased by the modernism of today to discredit it. Hopefully the Sisters can recruit their own team of scientists, doctors, priests, and canon lawyers to rule out natural causes and present the cause to Church authorities.
There are a couple side issues to this story. One is promoting her for the fact she was Black. On one hand I think it is good to highlight holy Black Catholics to encourage more Blacks to convert to Catholicism, but the mention of this came across to me too PC and not what really matters in this case.
Also some SSPX supporters online criticized the publication of this story, coinciding with the blessing of a new chapel containing her body, as itself too conveniently coinciding the same month with the consecration of the new acclaimed SSPX church the Immaculata in St. Mary’s, KS (see my blog post about us attending the event), not far from these FSSP-affiliated Sisters.
While on one hand I get the concern due to the past, verifiable history of the FSSP (and affiliated people) competing locally with SSPX apostolates, to rescue them from schism (which is untrue), on the other hand I think that’s a minor concern. Instead this is cause for traditional Catholics affiliated with either side of that division to for a moment set aside certain differences.
However much this is a supernatural event or not, I think all Catholics nearby, if they can, should go and pray at the chapel and pray for both the Sister and that the Truth in this be established. The bishop said not to touch the body or venerate it as a relic, but we are still permitted to visit a dead person’s body, honor them, pray for them, ask for their prayers, and support the cause that the Church investigate if her body is miraculously incorrupt. And pray that it is a miracle.
Her body was only buried for four years, so some lack of bodily corruption at this point may be possible naturally. But her body was not embalmed and her coffin had a crack letting in moisture, so you would not expect this.
Personally I think this is a miracle. Even if there is a natural explanation, this would still be an extraordinary natural wonder (a lower form of a miracle than a supernatural miracle) and a sign from God verifying the Sister’s sanctity.
It would also confirm God’s support of her work in establishing the traditional Benedictines, and on a more global level the mission of the Traditional Catholic, Latin Mass movement to uphold the Doctrine of the Faith, and a worship that is in accord with that Faith.
Imagine years from now her body remains incorrupt, and both science and the Church confirm there is no natural cause. And she is canonized as a saint.
After all every canonized saint is typically first revered as a saint by a lay movement supporting their canonization, and in the case of incorruptible saints the laity often first establish their personal belief in the body’s incorruptibility establishing public support for the Church to investigate.
So I think those involved with this believing in the incorruptibility of Sister Wilhelmina are doing a good in promoting this cause.
I myself will be asking the good Sister for her intercession, whether that is from heaven as a saint, or from purgatory.
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