Stigmata 39339 225941646 2008-07-16T03:17:12Z EronMain 249600 /* Occurrence */ rv veeeery old vandalism {{for|other senses of this word|stigma|stigmata (disambiguation)}} '''Stigmata''' are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the [[crucifixion]] wounds of [[Jesus]]. The term originates from the line at the end of [[Paul of Tarsus|Saint Paul]]'s [[Letter to the Galatians]] where he says, "I bear on my body the marks of Jesus," stigmata is the plural of the Greek word stigma meaning a mark or brand such as might have been used for identification of an animal or slave. An individual bearing stigmata is referred to as a '''stigmatic.''' The causes of stigmata are the subject of considerable debate. Some contend that they are [[miracle|miraculous]], while others argue they are [[hoax]]es or can be explained medically. Stigmata are primarily associated with the [[Roman Catholic]] faith. Many reported stigmatics are members of Catholic religious orders. The majority of reported stigmatics are female.<ref name="mystical">Poulain, A. (1912). Mystical Stigmata. In [[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]. New York: [[Robert Appleton Company]]. Retrieved July 1, 2008 from [[New Advent]]: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14294b.htm</ref> == Description == {{Expand-section|date=June 2008}} [[Image:Receiving stigmata.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A depiction of [[St. Francis of Assisi|St. Francis]] receiving the ''Stigmata'' by extreme pain.]] Reported cases of stigmata take various forms. Many show some or all of the five Holy Wounds that were, according to the Bible, inflicted on Jesus during his crucifixion: wounds in the hands 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. Other reported forms include tears of blood or sweating blood, wounds to the back as from scourging, or wounds to the shoulder as from bearing the cross. Some stigmatics feel the pain of wounds with no external marks; these are referred to as invisible stigmata. In other cases, stigmata are accompanied by extreme pain. Some stigmatics' wounds do not appear to clot, and stay fresh and uninfected. The blood from the wounds is said, in some cases, to have a pleasant, perfumed odor. == Occurrence == Cases of stigmata have been reported at different ages for different stigmatics. Some have manifested stigmata continually after the first appearance; others have shown periodic stigmata that re-occur at certain times of the day or on certain days, especially holy ones, throughout the year. The first well-documented case and the first to be accepted by [[Roman Catholic Church|Church]] authorities as authentic, was that of [[Francis of Assisi|Saint Francis of Assisi]] ([[1182]]&ndash;[[1226]]), who first experienced stigmata in [[La Verna]], [[Italy]], in [[1224]] <ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm |title = CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Francis of Assisi |accessdate = 2008-07-02}}</ref>. In the century after the death of St. Francis, more than twenty additional cases of stigmata were reported. Stigmata have continued to be reported since, with over three hundred cases by the end of the 19th century <ref name="advent"/>. In the 20th century, the number of cases increased dramatically; over 500 cases have now been recorded. In modern times, increasing numbers of ordinary people as opposed to the usual mystics or members of religious orders, have began to report stigmata. Cases have also been reported among non-Catholic Christians <ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.livingmiracles.net/Stigmata.html |title = www.livingmiracles.net |accessdate = 2008-07-02}}</ref>. The first written record of a woman to have received stigmata is in the [[Medieval]] [[Codex Iuliacensis]], ca. 1320-1350, reporting the stigmata of [[Beatification|Blessed]] [[Christina von Stommeln]] (''d''. 1312), whose relics rest in the Propsteikirche in [[Jülich]], near [[Aachen]] <ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724a.htm |title = CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Blessed Christine of Stommeln |accessdate = 2008-07-02}}</ref>. It is claimed that one can still see marks from the [[crown of thorns]] on Bl. Christina's skull, which is publicly displayed annually during the [[octave]] beginning every [[6 November]] in [[Jülich]]. ==Famous stigmatics== *[[Blessed Lucia Brocadelli of Narni]] *[[Marian Apparitions at Borg in-Nadur#Angelik Caruana|Angelik Caruana]] *[[Catherine of Ricci|Saint Catherine of Ricci]] *[[Catherine of Siena|Saint Catherine of Siena]] *[[Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich]] *[[Saint Francis of Assisi]] *[[Gemma Galgani|Saint Gemma Galgani]] *[[Saint Veronica Giuliani]] *[[John of God|Saint John of God]] *[[Mary Faustina Kowalska|Saint Faustina Kowalska]] *[[Marie of the Incarnation|Saint Marie of the Incarnation]] *[[Therese Neumann]] *[[Pio of Pietrelcina|Saint Pio of Pietrelcina]] (Padre Pio) *[[Saint Rita of Cascia]] *[[Zlatko Sudac]] ==Skepticism== There have been historical stigmatics that were known to have faked wounds, such as [[Magdalena de la Cruz]] ([[1487]]&ndash;[[1560]]), who admitted the fraud. Similarly self-inflicted wounds can be associated with certain [[mental illness]]es. Some people who fake stigmata suffer from [[Munchausen syndrome]] which is characterized by an intense desire for attention. People with Munchausen hurt themselves or fake an illness hoping to end up in a hospital where they can be given attention and care. Skeptics also point out that stigmata have appeared on hands in some cases, wrists in others, and the lance wound has appeared on different sides of the body. This suggests some form of internally generated phenomena, based on the victim's own imagination and subjective in character, rather than something of external divine origin. It is unknown, either through the gospels or other historical accounts, whether [[crucifixion]] involved nails being driven through the hands, or wrists, or what side the lance pierced Christ's body, and this would appear to be reflected in the inconsistent placement of stigmatists' wounds. However, Roman Crucifixions involved the nails driven through the ulna and radias gap, being just proximal to the wrist. No instances of stigmata showing wounds through the wrists were noted before the publication of the photographs of the [[Shroud of Turin|Turin Shroud]] showing wounds of this kind. {{Fact|date=April 2008}} The physical appearance of wounds is often linked to the iconography of crucifixion with which the stigmatic is most familiar. The ratio of left side wounds to right side wounds in stigmatics approximates to the ratio of right handed to left handed people in the general population. This suggests wounding by the stigmatic him or herself. Similarly, no case of stigmata is known to have occurred before the thirteenth century, when the crucified [[Jesus]] became a standard icon of [[Christianity]] in the west<ref name="advent">{{cite web|url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14294b.htm |title = CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Mystical Stigmata |accessdate = 2008-07-02}}</ref>. Since crucifixes typically show Jesus having been nailed by the hands, people popularly believed this depiction to be true. As such, if one were to receive stigmata through the wrists, people would not consider it as Jesus' wounds. In his paper ''Hospitality and Pain,'' iconoclastic Christian theologian [[Ivan Illich]] touches on the phenomenon of stigmata with characteristic terseness: "Compassion with Christ... 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. In 1998, Edward Harrison suggested that there was no single mechanism whereby the marks of stigmata were produced. He found no evidence from a study of contemporary cases that the marks were supernatural in origin. However marks of natural origin need not be hoaxes, he concluded. Some stigmatics marked themselves in an attempt to suffer with [[Christ]] as a form of bizarre piety. Others showed marks as a kind of religious [[performance art]]. Others marked themselves accidentally and their marks were noted as stigmata by witnesses. Often marks of human origin produced profound and genuine religious responses. Dr Harrison also noted that the female to male ratio of stigmatics which for many centuries had been of the order of 7 to 1, had changed over the last 100 years to a ratio of 5:4. Appearance of stigmata frequently coincided with times when issue of authority loomed large in the church. What was significant was that early stigmatics were not predominatly women, but that they were non-ordained. Having stigmata gave them direct access to the body of Christ without requiring the permission of the church through the [[Eucharist]]. Only in the last century have [[priest]]s been stigmatised. There is currently a cluster of cases in the [[United States]]. Similar phenomena in other traditions: [[Caitanya Mahaprabhu]] experienced blood oozing from his body during intense emotional states (Sanskrit bhāva.) == In Popular culture == {{Trivia|date=July 2008}} <!-- Is this a recreation of a removed paragraph? It looks copy-and-pasted from a previous revision but I have done some fixing and wikification. Feel free to clean up (or remove altogether) this section if nessecary. --> Stigmata has been featured as in many television shows, films, and books. ;Television shows *In the ''[[The X-Files]]'' episode "''[[Revelations (The X-Files)|Revelations]]''", a young boy, played by [[Kevin Zegers]], develops stigmata. *In the anime series ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'', [[Rosette Christopher]] develops stigmata. *In an episode of ''[[Picket Fences]]'', [[Adam Wylie]] is blessed with stigmata and an ability to cause miraculous faith healings. *In an episode of ''[[The Glass House]]'', an Australian Television Series, [[Alan Brough]] told his story of sitting in church whilst he was a young boy and picking a wart resulting in him bleeding, which made a nun near by yell "He has received the stigmata". *The ''[[Nip/Tuck]]'' episode "''Agatha Ripp''" involved a woman who claimed to suffer from stigmata. *In an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', [[Milhouse]] develops stigmata, and lifting his arms to show Bart on the playground, he is shown to have blood oozing from the palm of his hands down to his elbow. *In ''[[House (TV Series)|House]]'', episode 105 "''[[Damned If You Do]]''", the primary patient is mistakenly believed to have stigmata by her Catholic sisters. *In episode 46 of ''[[Sealab 2021]]'', entitled "''Butchslap''", Debbie misinterprets the laser beams focused on her chest as "nipple stigmata." *In an episode of ''[[Judging Amy]]'', Judge Amy Grey has to rule a case on a boy who is in a vegetative state but is thought to cure people and show evidence of stigmata. *[[Madonna]]'s 1989 video ''[[Like a Prayer]]'' gained controversy when she was seen with stigmata, as well as her dancing in a field of burning crosses and dancing on the altar of a church. *In the anime series ''[[Code Geass]]'', the character [[C.C. (Code Geass)|C.C.]] has stigmata under her left breast. ;Films *''[[Winter Light]]'' (1963), directed and written by Swedish film-maker [[Ingmar Bergman]]. *''[[Agnes of God]]'' (1985), starring [[Meg Tilly]] and [[Jane Fonda]]. *In ''[[The End of Evangelion]]'' (1997), [[Shinji Ikari]] produces stigmata during the initiation of Instrumentality. *''[[Stigmata (film)|Stigmata]]'' (1999), starring [[Patricia Arquette]] and [[Gabriel Byrne]]. *''[[End of Days (film)|End of Days]]'' (1999), starring [[Robin Tunney]], [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] and [[Gabriel Byrne]]. *In ''[[The Butterfly Effect]]'' (2004), Evan produces stigmata to trick his religious cellmate into helping him. *In ''[[The Exorcism of Emily Rose]]'' (2005), the title character receives the stigmata for her sacrifice of burdening six evil spirits to prove the existence of [[Satan]], and therefore as a balance, [[God]]. *''[[I Know Who Killed Me]]'' (2007), starring [[Lindsay Lohan]]. ;Novels *''[[Keeping Faith]]'' by [[Jodi Picoult]] features a 7 year-old girl, Faith White, with no religious background, who develops stigmata. *''[[Lucky You (novel)|Lucky You]]'', a novel by [[Carl Hiaasen]], incorporates a character that has self-inflicted wounds to represent stigmata in order to attract Christian tourists. *''[[Wild Cards]]'' by various authors (edited by [[George R. R. Martin]]) included among its characters a Joker (an individual disfigured by an alien disease) called Stigmata, whose skin would perpetually rupture and bleed. ;Comic books *''[[Love and Rockets]]'' features a character named Errata Stigmata, a young woman who, to her dismay, has recurring stigmata. *''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', a game. ;Songs *''[[Stigmata]]'' by "Ministry" Hybrid Stigmata by Dimmu Borgir ==References== {{reflist}} {{refbegin}} *[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html The Catholic Encyclopedia] The Encyclopedia Press, 1913, Online Edition 2003, K. Knight. *Boyle, Alan, [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7291066/#storyContinued Science replays the crucifixion], MSNBC, 2005. *Carroll, Robert Todd, [http://skepdic.com/stigmata.html The Skeptics Dictionary], Wiley, 2003. *[http://www.livingmiracles.net/Stigmata.html Living Miracles - Stigmata], Zentropa Real ApS. & Wonders Unlimited, 2005. *Sadaputa Dasa, Religion and Modern Rationalism: Shifting the Boundary Between Myth and Science, ISKCON Communications Journal #1.2, July/December 1993. {{refend}} ==See also== *[[Zlatko Sudac]] - known for his stigmata which he bears on his forehead, wrists, feet and side. ==External links== *[http://www.assap.org/newsite/articles/Stigmata.html The Stigmata of Heather Woods (ASSAP article)] * The Miracle Of Damascus<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.reu.org/public/soufan/damas.htm |title = The Miracle of Damascus<br>Our Lady of Soufanieh |accessdate = 2008-07-02}}</ref> *[http://www.psychics.co.uk/psychics/stigmata.html What is Stigmata? Article by a Spiritualist] *[http://www.answers.com/topic/autobiography-of-a-yogi-chapter-39 Autobiography of a Yogi/Chapter 39: Therese Neumann, the Catholic Stigmatist of Bavaria] Paramahamsa Yogananda meets Therese Neumann *[http://dermatlas.med.jhmi.edu/derm/Display.cfm?ImageID=21132665 DERMATLAS JHU: Stigmata] *[http://www.catholic.org/saints/stigmata.php Stigmata page on Catholic.org] [[Category:Stigmatics| ]] [[Category:Catholic spirituality]] [[Category:Christian mythology]] [[cs:Stigmata]] [[da:Stigmatisation]] [[de:Stigmatisation]] [[es:Estigma (milagro)]] [[fr:Stigmates]] [[ko:성흔]] [[hr:Stigma (rana)]] [[id:Stigma]] [[it:Stigmate]] [[he:סטיגמטה]] [[hu:Stigma]] [[nl:Stigmata]] [[ja:聖痕]] [[no:Stigmata]] [[pl:Stygmat (religia)]] [[pt:Estigma (Cristo)]] [[ru:Стигматы]] [[sq:Stigmata]] [[sk:Stigmatizácia]] [[sl:Stigme]] [[sr:Стигма]] [[fi:Stigmatisaatio]] [[sv:Stigmatisering]] [[uk:Стигмати]] [[zh:聖痕]]