The Stigmata: a history of various cases

The Stigmata – is a book about a history of various cases of stigmata, published in 1883 and written by Johann Joseph von Gorress. The miraculous grace of the stigmata was a thing unknown to the church until the time of St. Francis of Assisi. There may have been unnoticed cases of partial stigmatization, but they are not registered. When St. Paul says that he wears the signs (stigmata) of the Lord Jesus on his body, this should not mean that he imprinted five sacred wounds on his body: he rather alludes to the chains, stripes, etc., which he carried for Christ, the traces of which were on his body. Actually, the so-called stigmata were kept in the treasury of God, in a secret box, until the day when St. Francis comes to decorate them. Since the time of St. Francis, Stigmata "become a not unusual grace." In addition to the most remarkable authentic cases, there have been and are many others, although not known to the general public. The stigmata are first of all received by the soul through a strong sympathy for our Lord in His Passion. But since the soul and the body are one person, these stigmata always tend to pass from the soul to the body, so that the body, after its model, participates in that which so deeply affects the soul, but stigmata do not always pass from the soul to the body. In any case, wearing the Stigmata of our Lord in the body is a great mercy. People will always admire in heaven those who circle around our Lord, wearing their living likeness of Him in their bodies, being living images of Him in their five wounds. So on earth, when we see, or endure, or read of these miraculous results of our Lord's love and the close union of His chosen ones with Him, our hearts naturally awaken to a deeper and more intense love of His Passion. May the reading of this little book contribute to making the crucified Jesus Christ more loved and adored.