Who Was Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, Whose Body Is Now the Center of Attention in Missouri?
When the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles exhumed the body of their foundress, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, on May 18, they found the unexpected: Four years after her death and burial in a simple wooden coffin, her body appeared remarkably well preserved.
The news quickly spread on social media about the unusual state of the remains of the contemplative order’s African American foundress, drawing hundreds of pilgrims to the monastery in rural Missouri.
Questions remain to be answered about whether an investigation will take place to examine her remains scientifically. In the meantime, many people want to know more about this woman who, at the age of 70, founded the order of sisters best known for their chart-topping Gregorian chant and classic Catholic hymn albums.
A Vision of Jesus
The second of five children born to Catholic parents in St. Louis on Palm Sunday, April 13, 1924, Mary Elizabeth Lancaster (she took the name Wilhelmina when she made her vows) was raised in a deeply pious home.
According to the current abbess, Benedictine Mother Cecilia Snell, as told in a biography published by her community, the future Sister Wilhelmina had a mystical experience at her first Communion at age 9 wherein Jesus invited her to be his.
“She saw something of him at her first Communion. Maybe not very clearly, but she saw he was so handsome,” the abbess said.
“He said, ‘Will you be mine?’
“And she said, ‘He is so handsome, how can I say No?’”
