Some saints have been deemed worthy to share in the suffering of Christ in a very real and unique way through the Stigmata.

The Stigmata is a divine gift that gives a person physical marks that parallel the wounds Christ received during Crucifixion.

The Church has always taken due care to examine any claims of the stigmata, and a long list of criteria must be met before Church leaders approve it as a supernatural grace. Saints almost never have asked for such a sign, even though they may have been perfectly willing to bear pain in order to be more like Christ. The stigmata is a unique way for a person to be united to Christ’s suffering while on earth and so draw closer to spiritual perfection.

These holy men and women experienced some of the pain Jesus underwent for our salvation:

𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝗶

One of the earliest persons recorded to receive the stigmata, Francis was marked with the holy wounds of Christ after making a special 40-day retreat on Mount La Verna. At the end of the retreat, Francis saw a winged seraph come toward him and in the midst of the seraph he saw Christ suffering on the cross. Francis’ first biographer, Thomas of Celano, recorded what happened next.

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.

𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗼

St. Pio de Pietrelcina had a vision of the crucified Christ from whom he received the stigmata–the only priest to have received such a gift.

During the apparition, Christ lamented the ingratitude of men, particularly consecrated persons, and invited the Capuchin friar to unite himself to the Passion and offer his suffering.

After the vision, Padre Pio had open wounds on his hands, feet, and sides that he attempted to keep hidden. However, in obedience to his superiors, he gave his testimony and allowed for a photo of him with the stigmata to be taken as it seemed the Lord intended Pio to serve as a sign for the whole Church.

𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗮

An Italian nun during the 15th century, Rita did not receive the full stigmata as the other saints did, but as a single thorn embedded in her head. One day a Franciscan priest came to preach in Cascia and St. Rita went to the church to hear him. The topic was the passion and death of Jesus, but what really struck Rita was the crown of thorns that caused Jesus such great suffering. After leaving the church Rita went immediately to a chapel and prayed the following prayer.

𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴, 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴? 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘢𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵. 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵. 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢. 𝘕𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴𝘰𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘵. 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘰. 𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺-𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵. 𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳! 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳. 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.

Rita is unique in that she asked Jesus for a portion of the stigmata and her request was answered. A thorn pierced her forehead and left a deep wound that lasted until death. It pained her greatly every day, but she felt more united to Jesus’ suffering and believed it to be a special grace from God.

𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗺𝗺𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶

An Italian woman who lived from 1878-1903, Gemma had a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart and received a special vision of Jesus. In it, Jesus appeared with his wounds, and fire came down and touched Gemma. This is her account of the experience:

𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 … 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭, 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘥.

The stigmata continued for years up until Gemma’s death, appearing on Thursdays and disappearing on Fridays. After her death, there remained on her body faint marks of where the stigmata had appeared during her life.

𝗦𝘁. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗮𝗼𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘆

A Discalced Carmelite who lived from 1846-1878, Mariam experienced the stigmata early on in her life as a religious novice in the convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition. The stigmata occurred every week from Wednesday through Friday. It created problems for her in the convent, as some of the other sisters were skeptical or envious of this favor — especially since the sisters were French, and Mariam, who was of Greek Catholic background and had been born in Galilee, was thought of as “the little Arab.” Mariam would eventually be transferred to a Carmelite monastery, where she made her profession as a nun. Here is her account of the stigmata:

𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘳: 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯: 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘴.

Her life was filled with other miraculous signs. Mariam Baourdy is a recent saint, canonized on May 17, 2015, by Pope Francis.

𝗦𝘁. 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗮

Catherine was a 14th-century Dominican tertiary who led a deep life of prayer and contemplation. During her life she received the wounds of Christ after receiving Holy Communion, and they were at first visible. However, she petitioned God that the grace be made invisible, so that she could still participate in the suffering of Christ but remain hidden to the world.

She asked this because the visible stigmata, if made public, may attract a cult of followers who, even though well-intentioned, can distract from a person’s mission. God granted her request, and for the rest of her life she bore the hidden stigmata (visible only to herself), suffering interiorly the wounds of Christ. After death the stigmata returned on her body for the world to see.

Source: Fear Not