To decide merely the facts without deciding whether or not they may be explained
by supernatural causes, history tells us that many ecstatics bear on hands,
feet, side, or brow the marks of the Passion of Christ with corresponding
and intense sufferings. These are called visible stigmata. Others only have
the sufferings, without any outward marks, and these phenomena are called
A reader disputes the following paragraphs of FACTS with an article
written by a family who claims earlier stigmata than what is mentioned
Their existence is so well established historically that, as a general thing,
they are no longer disputed by unbelievers, who now seek only to explain
them naturally. Thus a free-thinking physician, Dr. Dumas, professor of religious
psychology at the Sorbonne, clearly admits the facts (Revue des Deux Mondes,
1 May, 1907), as does also Dr. Pierre Janet (Bulletin de l'Institut psychologique
international, Paris, July, 1901).
St. Catherine of Siena
at first had visible stigmata but through humility she asked that they might
be made invisible, and her prayer was heard. This was also the case with
St. Catherine de'
Ricci, a Florentine Dominican of the sixteenth century, and with several
other stigmatics. The sufferings may be considered the essential part of
visible stigmata; the substance of this grace consists of pity for Christ,
participation in His sufferings, sorrows, and for the same end--the expiation
of the sins unceasingly committed in the world. If the sufferings were absent,
the wounds would be but an empty symbol, theatrical representation, conducing
to pride. If the stigmata really come from God, it would be unworthy of His
wisdom to participate in such futility, and to do so by a miracle.
But this trial is far from being the only one which the saints have to endure:
"The life of stigmatics," says Dr. Imbert, "is but a long series of sorrows
which arise from the Divine malady of the stigmata and end only in death:
(op. cit. infra, II, x). It seems historically certain that ecstatics alone
bear the stigmata; moreover, they have
visions which correspond
to their rôle of co-sufferers, beholding from time to time the
blood-stained scenes of the Passion.
With many stigmatics these
periodical, e.g., St.
Catherine de' Ricci, whose ecstasies of the Passion began when she was
twenty (1542), and the Bull of her canonization states that for twelve years
they recurred with minute regularity. The
ecstasy lasted exactly
twenty-eight hours, from Thursday noon till Friday afternoon at four o'clock,
the only interruption being for the saint to receive
Catherine conversed aloud, as if enacting a drama. This drama was divided
into about seventeen scenes. On coming out of the ecstasy the saint's limbs
were covered with wounds produced by whips, cords etc.
Dr. Imbert has attempted to count the number of stigmatics, with the following
1. None are known prior to the thirteenth century. The first mentioned
is St. Francis of
Assisi, in whom the stigmata were of a character never seen subsequently;
in the wounds of feet and hands were excrescences of flesh representing nails,
those on one side having round back heads, those on the other having rather
long points, which bent back and grasped the skin. The saint's humility could
not prevent a great many of his brethren beholding with their own eyes the
existence of these wonderful wounds during his lifetime as well as after
his death. The fact is attested by a number of contemporary historians, and
the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis is kept on 17 September.
2. Dr. Imbert counts 321 stigmatics in whom there is every reason
to believe in a Divine action. He believes that others would be found by
consulting the libraries of Germany, Spain, and Italy. In this list there
are 41 men.
3. There are 62 saints or blessed of both sexes of whom the best known
St. Francis of Assisi
(1186-1226); After a rowdy and even dissipated youth, Francis's transformation
to a more austere way of life came ab out only after much illness and witnessing
the horrors of a civil war. He was never ordained as a priest but was the
found of two friaries.
His stigmata appeared only two years before his death at a time when he was
praying outside a cave in the mountains. In 1224 Saint Francis of Assisi
had a vision of Christ. He formed a friare in the town of Maria degli Angeli
near Assasi. While praying outside of a cave on his 40th day of retreat he
received stigmata. Nails appeared in his wounds.
The stigmata were of a character never seen subsequently; in the wounds of
feet and hands were excrescences of flesh representing nails, those on one
side having round back heads, those on the other having rather long points,
which bent back and grasped the skin. On his right side, as if it had been
pierced by a lance, was overlaid with a scar, and often shed forth blood,
so that his tunic and drawers were many times sprinkled with the sacred blood.
The saint's humility could not prevent a great many of his brethren beholding
with their own eyes the existence of these wonderful wounds during his lifetime
as well as after his death. The fact is attested by a number of contemporary
historians, and the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis is kept on 17 September.
St. Lutgarde (1182-1246), a Cistercian;
St. Clare Offreduccio
di Favarone (1193 - 1253)Assisi, Italy.
St. Margaret of
In 1275 a nun named Elizabeth said she was witnessing Christ's crucifiction.
She developed stigmata on her forehead said to be caused by Christ's crown
St. Gertrude (1256-1302), a Benedictine;
St. Clare of
Montefalco (1268-1308), an Augustinian;
Bl. Angela of Foligno
(d. 1309), Franciscan tertiary;
St. Catherine of Siena
(1347-80), Dominican tertiary;
St. Lidwine (1380-1433);
St. Frances of Rome
St. Colette (1380-1447),
(1449 - 1505) Mantua, Italy
St. Rita of Cassia
Calafato - (1437-1491) Messina,
Bl. Osanna of Mantua (1499-1505), Dominican tertiary;
St. Catherine of Genoa
(1447-1510), Franciscan tertiary;
Bl. Baptista Varani
(1458-1524), Poor Clare;
Bl. Lucy of Narni (1476-1547), Dominican tertiary;
Bl. Catherine of Racconigi (1486-1547), Dominican;
St. John of God
(1495-1550), founder of the Order of Charity;
St. Catherine de'
Ricci (1522-89), Dominican; St. Catherine of Siena at first had visible
stigmata but through humility she asked that they might be made invisible,
and her prayer was heard. This was also the case with St. Catherine de' Ricci,
a Florentine Dominican of the sixteenth century, and with several other
stigmatics. The sufferings may be considered the essential part of visible
stigmata; the substance of this grace consists of pity for Christ, participation
in His sufferings, sorrows, and for the same end--the expiation of the sins
unceasingly committed in the world. If the sufferings were absent, the wounds
would be but an empty symbol, theatrical representation, conducing to pride.
If the stigmata really come from God, it would be unworthy of His wisdom
to participate in such futility, and to do so by a miracle. But this trial
is far from being the only one which the saints have to endure: "The life
of stigmatics," says Dr. Imbert, "is but a long series of sorrows which arise
from the Divine malady of the stigmata and end only in death: (op. cit. infra,
II, x). It seems historically certain that ecstatics alone bear the stigmata;
moreover, they have visions which correspond to their rôle of co-sufferers,
beholding from time to time the blood-stained scenes of the Passion. With
many stigmatics these apparitions were periodical, e.g., St. Catherine de'
Ricci, whose ecstasies of the Passion began when she was twenty (1542), and
the Bull of her canonization states that for twelve years they recurred with
minute regularity. The ecstasy lasted exactly twenty-eight hours, from Thursday
noon till Friday afternoon at four o'clock, the only interruption being for
the saint to receive Holy Communion. Catherine conversed aloud, as if enacting
a drama. This drama was divided into about seventeen scenes. Oncoming out
of the ecstasy the saint's limbs were covered with wounds produced by whips,
St. Mary Magdalene de'
Pazzi (1566-1607), Carmelite;
Bl. Marie de
l'Incarnation (1566-1618), Carmelite;
Bl. Mary Anne of Jesus (1557-1620), Franciscan tertiary;
Bl. Carlo of Sezze (d. 1670), Franciscan;
Blessed Margaret Mary
Alacoque (1647-90), Visitandine (who had only the crown of thorns);
St. Veronica Giuliani
St. Mary Frances of
the Five Wounds (1715-91), Franciscan tertiary.
4. There were 20 stigmatics in the nineteenth century. The most famous
Elizabeth Canori Mora (1774-1825), Trinitarian tertiary;
Anna Maria Taïgi
Maria Dominica Lazzari (1815-48);
Louise Lateau (1850-83), Franciscan tertiary. Louise spent her life in the
village of Bois d'Haine, Belgium (1850-83). The graces she received were
disputed even by some Catholics, who as a general thing relied on incomplete
or erroneous information, as has been established by Canon Thiery ("Examen
de ce qui concerne Bois d'Haine", Louvain, 1907). At sixteen she devoted
herself to nursing the cholera victims of her parish, who were abandoned
by most of the inhabitants. Within a month she nursed ten, buried them, and
in more than one instance bore them to the cemetery. At eighteen she became
an ecstatic and stigmatic, which did not prevent her supporting her family
by working as a seamstress. Numerous physicians witnessed her painful Friday
ecstasies and established the fact that for twelve years she took no nourishment
communion. For drink
she was satisfied with three or four glasses of water a week. She never slept,
but passed her nights in contemplation and prayer, kneeling at the foot of
Marie de Moerl (1812-68) , Franciscan tertiary.
Marie de Moerl spent her life at Kaltern, Tyrol (1812-68). At the age of
twenty she became an ecstatic, and ecstasy was her habitual condition for
the remaining thirty-five years of her life. She emerged from it only at
the command, sometimes only mental, of the Franciscan who was her director,
and to attend to the affairs of her house, which sheltered a large family.
Her ordinary attitude was kneeling on her bed with hands crossed on her breast,
and an expression of countenance which deeply impressed spectators. At twenty-two
she received the stigmata. On Thursday evening and Friday these stigmata
shed very clear blood, drop by drop, becoming dry on the other days. Thousands
of persons saw Marie de Moerl, among them Görres (who describes his
visit in his "Mystik", II, xx), Wiseman, and Lord Shrewsbury, who wrote a
defence of the ecstatic in his letters published by "The Morning Herald"
and "The Tablet" (cf. Boré, op. cit. infra).
Medrano de Bianchini - Barrancas, Venezuela on November 22, 1928
Padre Pio : (1887 - 1968)
Padre Pio was born to Giuseppa and Grazio Forgione, peasant farmers, in the
small Italian village of Pietrelcina on May 25, 1887. From his childhood,
it was evident that he was a special child of God. Padre Pio, a humble
Capuchin priest from San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, was blessed by God in many
wonderful and mysterious ways. The most dramatic was the stigmata. Padre
Pio bore the wounds of Christ for fifty years!
After praying on September 15, 1915, the Padre felt strange pains in his
hands and found that he had gained five wounds of stigmata. For the rest
of his life, the Padre was in pain from the wounds which would not heal.
He seemed to gain healing powers and the ability to appear in multiple locations
Among his other gifts were perfume, bilocation, prophecy, conversion, reading
of souls, and miraculous cures. People are still being cured through his
intercession in ways that cannot be explained by medicine or science.
More important, if less spectacular, are the spiritual healings that take
place in all parts of the world! Padre Pio is a powerful intercessor!!
The Padre Pio Foundation of
The Light of Padre
3, 1999 - Pope Beatifies Padre Pio
Stigmatizations of Padre Pio of Pietralcina and Saint Francis of Assisi
Theresa Neumann, born in 1898, was known to suffer from many illnesses during
her childhood which seemed to cure themselves on certain religious days.
A series of severe illnesses and accidents presaged the onset of her
religious asceticism. These led to her being bedridden and blind and during
this time she frequently suffered severe convulsions. Her disability
continued for years until suddenly these afflictions were apparently miraculously
cured, one by one, seemingly by the intercession of St. Therese of Lisieux,
a French nun to whose example Neumann showed deep devotion. As she
grew older, wounds seemingly caused by a crown of thorns appeared on her
brow and on each Friday, she would lose a pint of blood and nearly 8 pounds.
By the following Sunday, though, Neumann would be cured.
Even more difficult to explain is another characteristic of some stigmata.
The blood flowing from the wounds in her feet would, if she was lying face
up on a bed, flow upwards towards her toes; that is, in a direction counter
to gravity. This is, of course, the direction in which Christ's blood would
have flowed from his foot wounds during the crucifixion. This was witnessed
on many occasions and it must surely take more than auto-suggestion to flaunt
the laws of physics.
In 1926 Theresa is alone in bed one night during the Christian season
of Lent, deep in contemplation. A vision of Christ appears before her and
stigmata wounds simultaneously appeared. She and her sister try to hide the
wounds, but on Good Friday, at a family gathering, blood flows openly from
her palms, feet, and side. Tears of blood begin falling from her eyes. Later,
wounds from a crown of thorns develop. The stigmatas begin to glow and hardened
skin forms itself into nails that penetrate the wounds on her hands and feet.
Her stigmata bled periodically and at such times she would usually have visions.
On Fridays she would enter a trance and re-enact the entire Passion as though
she was witnessing the event. At these times blood would flow from her hands,
feet, shoulder, forehead, and eyes in such quantities that bandages were
used to soak it up. These ecstasies became so common that the people of
Konnersreuth would gather at her house on Fridays in the hopes of being admitted
to see her in this state.
In 1927 she had a vision in which she was told that she would no longer need
to rely on earthly food. From then on she neither ate nor drank anything,
yet she did not lose weight, nor did she weaken but lived a normal healthy
life. A commission was formed which tested this inedia of hers and kept her
under constant surveillance affirmed that she took no food or water during
a period of 14 days in 1927.
--Miracles, p.67 - D. Rogo, Dial Press
(1926). Lincolnshire, England, and attended a convent school at Nottingham.
Her correspondence was collected by Cecil Kerr who used it to construct a
Sister Agnes Katsuko
Sasagawa (1973) Akita, Japan
Maria Al Acaris - 1980
Since the early 1980's Maria Al Acaris from Syria spontaneously begins to
bleed from all over her body. It happens on Good Friday and lasts for hours.
She develops scratches on her forehead. Then as if by another miracle
the wounds spontaneous heal in a few hours.
Giorgio Bongiavanni - 1989
Giorgio Bongiavanni is a man who experiences stigmata on his hands and forehead
every day of his life.
Giorgio's wounds are legitimate. He lectures about the return of
extraterrestrials to the planet -
biblical prophecies linked
Giorgio Bongiovanni was born in Floridia (Syracuse) (Sicily) on September
He was a little more than thirteen when he met the contactee Eugenio Siragusa
who raised him with a culture and a knowledge coming from other worlds. He
became then, in every respect, his spiritual father. In 1984 he got married
and moved to Porto Sant'Elpidio, in the region Marche; he worked for a little
firm which dealt with footwear accessories, of which he became the owner.
A son was born of his marriage.
Giorgio is a UFO contactee. He talks of the many occasions when he has met
and spoken to extraterrestrial beings. Most of these he describes as "beings
of light" in that they quite evidently are beings from a higher spiritual
plane. Other people have called these beings trancendentals or, more
traditionally, angels. However, Giorgio says that he sees these figures as
having a physical body - "very bright" - and he says it is quite possible
to photograph them. They speak to him in words rather than telepathically.
Besides these beings of light, Giorgio says he has occasionally encountered
humanoids who also come from stellar systems many light years from plant
Earth. These are the 'grey's who loom large in the demonology of the UFO
subject, though he denies that they are in any way demonic. They technology,
he says, is about 100 years in advance of our own and they have their purpose
in the universal scheme of things.
Giorgio's encounters with beings of light can be described as visions, since
others who are with him are usually unable to see these divine presences.
This is very similar to the frequent visions of ht bLessed Virgin Mary
experienced by the children of Medjugorje or the young visionaries of Fatima.
On April 5, 1989 Giorgio Bongiovanni had the first of a series of contacts
that would cause a radical change in his life. Upon coming out of work, next
to his car, he perceived from afar, a woman figure who seemed to be waiting
for him. On approaching, Giorgio noticed that that beautiful being was hovering
above the ground.
The enchanting woman appeared luminescent; she was dressed in white and a
blue belt girded her waist, a red rose crowned her breast. She talked with
a sweet voice and said she was Myriam, the Mother of Jesus. She informed
him that the time had come to bring to light the antichristic causes which
are driving man towards annihilation.
At this first encounter some others followed in which the Virgin, among other
things, told him some revelations as to his previous lives on Earth and said
to have chosen him because he is not influenced.
On September 2, 1989, obeying to the call of the Madonna, Giorgio went to
Fatima, in the big square of the Sanctuary, the site where the Virgin promised
to give him a very important sign, for him and for all the mankind. It was
a little past midday when, under the same oak tree of 1917 apparitions in
Cova da Iria, Giorgio fell into ecstasy and, hovering next to a big branch,
he saw the same Divine Lady. The celestial being greeted him and said: "I
am happy that you have come... I was waiting for you" revealing to him the
mission he had been called for: to spread the contents of the
Third Message of
Fatima which, with Her great regret and sorrow the Catholic Church hadn't
yet officially revealed to all mankind.
In the end She asked him if he was willing to carry upon himself part of
the suffering of Her Son Jesus. When Giorgio agreed, two beams of light came
out of the Virgin's chest and struck the palm's of Giorgio's hands stigmatizing
him. After that the splendid woman disappeared absorbed by the globe of light
that until then had been hovering behind Her. During the journey back home
the little holes on the palms of his hands appeared also on the back. The
rays of light had struck his hands, his feet, his left side and his forehead.
Just few days went by when Giorgio experienced another ecstasy in Porto
Sant'Elpidio, in the presence of a thousand people, friends and sympathizers.
This time the Virgin was not by Herself, Jesus was with Her. She transmitted
to Giorgio that the last part of the Third Secret of Fatima was entering
the "operative" phase, at the end of which there will be the second manifestation
of Jesus on Earth. Also, She announced that She would not longer appear to
him but from that day on Jesus would advise him and accompany him throughout
his mission. As She spoke this words, tears of blood streamed down the wonderful
face of the Virgin.
On September 2, 1991, exactly two years after his stigmatization occurred
in Fatima, Giorgio, during one of his ecstasies at his home, was stigmatized
on his feet by Jesus. At the beginning, they appeared as two bleeding crosses,
but in the following days they seemed like the ones marked in the hands.
On may 28, 1992 he received the stigmata on the left side and on July 26,
1993 meanwhile he was in Uruguay he received the one on his forehead.
On September 2, 1996, at completion of his 33 years Giorgio wept and bled
tears from all stigmata and from the forehead, in the same point where to
Jesus the crown of thorns had been hammered.
During the bleeding, in ecstasy, he saw Jesus with the same signs of blood
that in that moment were coming out on his body. The same prodigy was repeated
on September 2, 1997. The stigmata he received are permanent wounds unlike
the case of those who have simple stigmata Those on his feet appeared some
time after his hands were stigmatized and the wound in his side months after
that. The wound on his forehead which corresponds to Christ's "Crown of Thorns"
is more recent. It has spontaneously shaped itself into a very definite cross
which is. unusual. However, the coagulated blood of stigmata frequently do
form insignia, such as crosses or a crown of thorns, and this has been the
case with Giorgio.
His stigmata bleed very day, most often in the morning and this causes
him considerable pain. Doctors have tested these flows of blood and expressed
amazement at what they find. There has never been any sign of infection as
would normally be the case with an open wound. Indeed, in normal circumstances,
such an open wound would soon lead to severe infection or even death. Nor
does Giorgio display any signs of anemia.
The blood from the stigmata coagulates very rapidly, perhaps within ten seconds.
Normal blood would take about ten minutes to coagulate and this is the case
with blood taken from veins on other parts of his body. It is almost as if
he had two different types of blood in one body.
We can not but think that such a traumatic sign wants to transmit us such
a strong message. A message which certainly invites us to pay attention,
not only to the experience of Giorgio Bongiovanni but also to the voice of
all the ones among researchers, scholars, religious people or simple testimonies
who shout an alarm because of the tragical path undertaken by man.
In the course of the last three years, the physical manifestation, the
tangibility of the signs has been naturally followed by a deep spiritual
maturity which has brought Giorgio to fully realize the sense of his mission
together with the objectives to pursue. Unfortunately, in the first months
of 1998, lived with deep sadness, occurred the dissociation from his spiritual
father Eugenio Siragusa. This suffered decision finds its cause in the
non-sharing of Eugenio operative line, which in the last years has become
closed but most of all incoherent with those precious teachings which himself,
in the past, through a non common wisdom, transmitted to him. Day after day,
for Giorgio the charge of his suffering increased but this did not impede
to carry on the mission of testimony in the world. Travels continued to follow
uninterruptedly. The visited countries are South America, the United States,
Russia, Africa, Australia, Europe.
The message divulged by him embraces all the aspects of life reaching chiefs
of State, politicians, high military charges, astronauts, scientists, common
people. A message that tells the secret of Fatima and all the aspects in
it contained, among which the one about the great disclosure of the presence
of beings coming from outer worlds, who are visiting Earth and soon will
show themselves to its inhabitants "... and in that time, the second half
of the XXth century, cosmic beings will come to Earth from remote places
of the universe, in the name of God".
These are the words of the Virgin representing the true and the real secret
of the secret. The divulgation, carried on by Giorgio, about the message
of Fatima, together with its dramatic prophecies of catastrophical events
is today supported by the proposal of a concrete alternative for a society
based upon Christ's teachings. An alternative named "Antropocrazia", a greek
word which means "government by man".
A term of ancient origin whose significance resembles a deep philosophical
concept which sees man as a free being responsible of himself and his fellow
creatures. Until today the social organization in which we live has never
respected these values. The example and the teaching of Jesus Christ have
been limited to the rite and the preaching but left aside by the practice
of the daily life. Equality, Brotherhood, Justice, Love and Peace appear
just as void words to be used when is most convenient. The "antropocrazia"
introduces then itself as a valid alternative to the chaotic situation which
we are forced to live and which does not seem to show way out.
A suggestion to give a positive turn to life for those who feel a renewed
spiritual up-lifting and would like to know how it's possible to realize
it in a practical way. If the human being felt the responsibility of the
discouraging situation in which he lives and had the courage to establish
the need of a change with concrete daily actions, his life would have an
immediate turn over. If he empathized with the suffering of the Earth which
is hosting him, this blue planet given to him to care for, today in agony
because of his egoistic, barbarian actions, he would feel inside the
unrestrainable wish to do all that is possible to remedy his serious mistakes.
If man became aware of this, we could then see science, religion, rationality
and faith melt for the development of a sane society based upon a perfect
law which is the law of the spirit. A new theology then which finds its roots
deeply set in this time, so that its vital lymph which bears knowledge and
truth, flows in the veins of the man of the third millennium. A new theology
committed to a free and non-influenced man. A man marked by the Divine Signs
of Jesus Christ's suffering, and which represents the ultimate universal
manifestation of life, the loftiest example of Divine Love ever given to
THE SECRETS OF FATIMA
Giorgio Bongiovanni was told by the beings of light that he was in fact the
reincarnation of Francesco Marto, one of the three children of Fatima. The
purpose of his stigmata was that the whole world should know of these matters
and that the suppressed third secret of Fatima should be made known.
The principal visionary of Fatima, Lucia dos Santos, had given the secrets
revealed to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary to her priest and these were passed
on to the Vatican. The first two secrets were made public in 1941 but the
third secret was never disclosed in 1960 which was when she had been told
that it could be revealed.
The first secret was that Francesco and Jacinta, his sister, would soon die
and join the Blessed Virgin Mary in heaven. This prediction soon came
to pass and both children died of influenza in the great epidemic which raged
The second secret was that another world war would scourge the earth if man
did not stop offending God. This war would be heralded by a mysterious light
in the sky. This prediction also came to pass; the aurora borealis were seen
all over Europe on January 25th, 1938, which was not long before the outbreak
of World War II. This display of northern lights was most spectacular and
extended far further south than is normal. Together with the warning that
a further ferocious war might be waged, came a plea to pray for Russia otherwise
that country might spread its evil influence throughout the world.
The third secret was supposedly read by Pope John XXIII to a secret conclave
of cardinals in the Vatican in 1960. A decision was taken not to reveal it
publicly and it is said that distraught and white-faced attendees were seen
to emerge from that meeting shortly afterwards.
Giorgio Bongiovanni says that Popes John XXIII and Paul VI communicated the
warning of the third secret through diplomatic channels on an unofficial
basis. His mission, which if he is the reincarnated Francesco seems especially
suitable, is to divulge this secret at the present time. The secret came
in three main parts and was interspersed with much invocation to prayer and
penance, and warnings of dire misfortune.
Firstly there will be a crisis in the Roman Catholic church which will divide.
Secondly, that there was danger of nuclear war and ensuing holocaust which
could erupt at any time in the second half of the 20th Century if man did
not stop offending God. This danger, he says, is not yet past although it
appears to have receded. (How the concept of "nuclear" war was expressed
in 1917, long before such things were known, is a mystery.)
Thirdly, beings of light will be seen by everyone and humanity will discover
it is not alone in the universe. This will happen before some great natural
catastrophe occurs. The second coming of Jesus, accompanied by beings of
light will occur at the end of this century or in the first years of the
next century. Giorgio has not been given an exact date for this.
The Purpose of these signs
He says that, as for the crop circles, there would be more signs of this
kind all over the world. In the same way as Giorgio's stigmata, these would
enlighten and affect man people who would gradually begin to realize
that man is not alone and is not the highest form of life in the universe.
Giorgio points to what has happened with successive religions; each one has
lead to division, war and the quest for power. He says this is why he does
not belong to any religion and does not wish to create a religion or church.
Although he describes himself as a Christian, he remains outside the Catholic
church, which officially disapproves of much of what he says, such as his
claim of reincarnation.
The Vatican is well aware of Giorgio Bongiovanni and some regard him as a
heretic. Nevertheless he has his supporters within the hierarchy. At present
he travels widely and has appeared on TV in many countries, spreading the
message of "non siamo soli", that we are not alone. Today, he says,
this visitation is stronger, more visible and more present than in the past.
It is stronger because of the tragic circumstances which man himself has
brought abut on earth: war, starvation and the pollution of our planet. Even
so, it is for us to change things, he says, though we would receive help
from the beings of light if we were to ask for it.
Miracles or mania?
Many dismiss the stigmata as merely a psychosomatic condition which can occur
in certain highly religious people who are of a hysterical disposition. Such
a glib explanation is hardly consistent with the facts. Undoubtedly
a wide variety of psychosomatic conditions can be caused by hysteria but
hardly deep wounds which bleed on a regular basis. There are stigmatics
undoubtedly who suffer hysteria but it is a totally insufficient explanation.
Some like Giorgio are the very opposite, and could be described as serene,
One should not confuse hypnotically induced stigmata with the genuinely mystical
stigmata. The former are transient effects which can be self-induced or induced
by hypnosis. Mystical stigmata, which we have considered in the cases above,
bleed either perpetually or periodically. The wounds of the genuine stigmatic
never heal, nor can they be healed: sometimes deep fissures open up and intense
pain is experienced. Transient hypnotic stigmata where the blood - if it
appears at all - merely seeps through the skin. Divine stigmata always first
appear when the stigmatic is undergoing an ecstasy or vision, and there is
no way such deep and permanent wounds can be simulated or faked Just let
hoaxers try to produce effects like these!
No discussion of stigmata is complete without mention of one objection which
is often raised. It is said that when the Romans crucified their victims
they drove nails through their wrists, since if driven through the hands,
this would not support the weight of the body, which would tear loose. Thus
the wounds of Jesus would not have been in his palms but on his wrists. There
is some proof of this from skeletal remains of crucifixion victims but this
really is a canard. Very likely those condemned would be tied to the cross
before the nails were driven through their hands and this, together with
support from a projecting foot block, would be quite sufficient to support
the body's weight.
In attempting to rationalize what many see as a miracle, those who are
not metaphysically inclined will maintain that all of these effects are produced
by the human psyche: that of the stigmatic himself or herself. External
influence, whether divine or extraterrestrial, is a concept that simply cannot
be allowed. I suggest that this is an entirely false limitation that results
from our established way of looking at the world. If we approach this in
terms of consciousness, all consciousness from whatever level is interconnected
and so the concept of internal or external influence is simply inapplicable.
There are subtle energies and there are also, of course, physical factors
which determine these phenomenon. But maybe that is not so much the issue
with which we should concern ourselves: the 'how' is of less importance than
the 'why'. It is the message of the stigmata and the message of the cropcircles
which we should seek to understand.
Excerpted from The Cerealogist #14 - 1995 ppgs 4-6
|The Cerealogist - quarterly magazine with articles, pictures. Contact:
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Mrs Rani John
Kanjikode 1996 - Mannampetta
1997 - Little
Audrey, The Silent Soul
The facts having been set forth, it remains to state the explanations that
have been offered. Some physiologists, both Catholics and
maintained that the wounds might be produced in a purely natural manner by
the sole action of the imagination coupled with lively emotions. The person
being keenly impressed by the sufferings of the Saviour and penetrated by
a great love, this preoccupation acts on her or him physically, reproducing
the wounds of Christ. This would in no wise diminish his or her merit in
accepting the trial, but the immediate cause of the phenomena would not be
We shall not attempt to solve this question. Physiological science does not
appear to be far enough advanced to admit a definite solution, and the writer
of this article adopts the intermediate position, which seems to him
unassailable, that of showing that the arguments in favour of natural
explanations are illusory. They are sometimes arbitrary hypotheses, being
equivalent to mere assertions, sometimes arguments based exaggerated or
misinterpreted facts. But if the progress of medical sciences and
psycho-physiology should present serious objections, it must be remembered
that neither religion or mysticism is dependent on the solution of these
questions, and that in processes of canonization stigmata do not count as
No one has ever claimed that imagination could produce wounds in a normal
subject; it is true that this faculty can act slightly on the body, as
Benedict XIV said,
it may accelerate or retard the nerve-currents, but there is no instance
of its action on the tissues (De canoniz., III, xxxiii, n. 31). But with
regard to persons in an abnormal condition, such as ecstasy or hypnosis,
the question is more difficult; and, despite numerous attempts, hypnotism
has not produced very clear results. At most, and in exceedingly rare cases,
it has induced exudations or a sweat more or less coloured, but this is a
very imperfect imitation. Moreover, no explanation has been offered of three
circumstances presented by the stigmata of the saints:
Physicians do not succeed in curing these wounds with remedies.
On the other hand, unlike natural wounds of a certain duration, those of
stigmatics do not give forth a fetid odour. To this there is known but one
exception: St. Rita
of Cassia had received on her brow a supernatural wound produced by a
thorn detached from the crown of the crucifix. Though this emitted an unbearable
odour, there was never any suppuration or morbid alteration of the tissues.
Sometimes these wounds give forth perfumes, for example those of Juana of
the Cross, Franciscan prioress of Toledo, and Bl. Lucy of Narni.
To sum up, there is only one means of proving scientifically that the
imagination, that is auto-suggestion, may produce stigmata: instead of
hypothesis, analogous facts in the natural order must be produced, namely
wounds produced apart from a religious idea. This had not been done.
With regard to the flow of blood it has been objected that there have been
bloody sweats, but Dr. Lefebvre, professor of medicine at Louvain, has replied
that such cases as have been examined by physicians were not due to a moral
cause, but to a specific malady. Moreover, it has often been proved by the
microscope that the red liquid which oozes forth is not blood; its colour
is due to a particular substance, and it does not proceed from a wound, but
is due, like sweat, to a dilatation of the pores of the skin. But it may
be objected that we unduly minimize the power of the imagination, since,
joined to an emotion, it can produce sweat; and as the mere idea of having
an acid bon-bon in the mouth produces abundant saliva, so, too, the nerves
acted upon by the imagination might produce the emission of a liquid and
this liquid might be blood. The answer is that in the instances mentioned
there are glands (sudoriparous and salivary) which in the normal state emit
a special liquid, and it is easy to understand that the imagination may bring
about this secretion; but the nerves adjacent to the skin do not terminate
in a gland emitting blood, and without such an organ they are powerless to
produce the effects in question. What has been said of the stigmatic wounds
applies also to the sufferings. There is not a single experimental proof
that imagination could produce them, especially in violent forms.
Another explanation of these phenomena is that the patients produce the wounds
either fraudulently or during attacks of somnambulism, unconsciously. But
physicians have always taken measures to avoid these sources of error, proceeding
with great strictness, particularly in modern times. Sometimes the patient
has been watched night and day, sometimes the limbs have been enveloped in
sealed bandages. Mr. Pierre Janet placed on one foot of a stigmatic a copper
shoe with a window in it through which the development of the wound might
be watched, while it was impossible for anyone to touch it (op. cit. supra).
Transcribed by William G. Bilton, Ph.D.
In memory of the Most Rev. Leo T. Maher
Bishop of Santa Rosa and San Diego, California
Is Stigmata for Real?
In a religious context, stigmata are the wounds of Christ's hands, feet,
forehead, and side that mysteriously appear on someone else. In some instances
only the marks appear, but in the vast majority of cases the appearance of
stigmata is accompanied with pain and blood loss (up to 1½ pints per
day). Historically, there are well over 300 reported stigmatics, some of
whom are living today. Many, many of these cases are well documented by the
religious world and the scientific world as well.
One of the best documented modern stigmatics is Jane Hunt in England. On
July 25th, 1985 she was "blessed" with the visitation of stigmata. She, like
many of her fellow stigmatics before her, experienced a weekly cycle of the
sign. On Friday of each week she would manifest deep bleeding wounds in her
hands and feet, but by the next Monday or Tuesday no scars nor marks were
apparent. This phenomenon was studied carefully by doctors and scientists
alike. Indeed, a video documentary was produced that recorded the weekly
event and it aired publically in the United Kingdom in 1986.
But is it for real? Actually, the evidence for stigmata is so overwhelming
that the only skeptics tend to be the uninformed. Certainly, those medics
and scientists who have studied these wonders have been convinced of their
authenticity. In some cases the wounds in the hands have been so profound
that the scientists and doctors could see light from the other side of the
However, there are some discrepancies with the many occurrences of stigmata.
For one, the location, the shape, and the number of wounds vary significantly
from one person to another. In some cases the marks are on the hands and
feet only. In others, there are wounds on the forehead and the side as well.
And in still others, scrapes on the knees appear. One of the most common
discrepancies is the wounds in the side. These vary in location from the
right side, to the left, some above the heart, and some below it. Further,
the shapes of these wounds vary from a small slit to open wounds in the shape
of a cross. All of which gives rise to the question, "If stigmata is a divine
manifestation, why isn't it consistent?"
Scientists and doctors alike are baffled by the appearance of stigmata. There
have been many theories, but no definitive answers. Most believe that the
wounds are psychosomatic. If this is true it would explain the inconsistency
of the marks, since the placement would correspond with the subconscious
mind's understanding of the crucifixion.