Stigmata - Encyclopedia

This article is about stigmata in the religious sense. For the Sri Lankan band see Stigmata band. For the Australian band see Stigmata (Band)

Stigmata (plural of stigma) are wounds that were, according to the Holy Bible, inflicted on Jesus during his crucifixion. There have been many reports of other individuals who display similar wounds, the causes of which have been subject to considerable debate. Some contend that stigmata are miraculous, others argue they are hoaxes or can be explained medically. The infliction of stigmata is called stigmatization.

There have been over 500 reported stigmatics who have displayed wounds similar to those inflicted upon Jesus. The first recorded case of these wounds was in the year 1222, by a man named Stephen Langton of England. Saint Francis of Assisi first suffered the wounds in La Verna, Italy, in 1224.

Other famous stigmatists include Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint John of God, and Saint Marie of the Incarnation. The most famous stigmatist of the twentieth century was Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (1887–1968). Stigmata was more recently experienced by Brother Roque (1968–1996); a novice in the order of Los Hijos de Los Hijos de La Madre de Dios (The Sons of the Sons of the Mother of God) in Villavicencio, Colombia; and Canadian Lilian Bernas who began claiming to exhibit stigmata in 1992.

There have been historical stigmatics that were known to have faked wounds, such as Magdalena de la Cruz (1487–1560), who admitted the fraud.

Similarly self-inflicted wounds can be associated with certain brain disorders. Some people who fake stigmata suffer from Munchausen syndrome which is characterised 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 enjoy attention and care.

People also fake stigmata knowing that some who had stigmata were declared holy by the Pope. In this way they try to gain recognition. Self-inflicted stigmata heal naturally.

In his paper on "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 Christ.

The stigmata theme has been used in several movies:

• Agnes of God (1985), which starred Meg Tilly and Jane Fonda
• Stigmata (1999), which starred Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Byrne.
• In The Butterfly Effect, Evan produces stigmata to trick his religious cellmate in to helping him.
• In The Exorcism of Emily Rose, the title character supposedly receives the stigmata for her sacrifice of burdening the six evil spirits to prove the existence of Satan, and therefore as a balance, God.

Stigmata has also played a role in several episodes of television shows:

• The X-Files episode "Revelations" (episode # 3.11, broadcast Dec 15, 1995). Featured a young boy, played by Kevin Zegers, who gets the stigmata.
• In the anime series Chrono Crusade, Rosette Christopher develops stigmata.
• In an episode of Picket Fences, Adam Wylie is blessed with the stigmata and with an ability to effect miraculous faith healings.
• A season two episode of Nip/Tuck involved a woman who claimed to suffer from stigmata.

The comic book series Love and Rockets features a characted named Errata Stigmata, a young woman who, to her dismay, has recurring stigmata.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Stigmata", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page