Hundreds of people are flocking to the small town of Gower, Missouri, to see the body of a nun who died in 2019 and was recently exhumed, showing no visible signs of decomposition. The founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster’s body was being moved to its final resting place inside the monastery chapel.
According to the Catholic News Agency, the practice is a long-standing custom to place the remains of founders and foundresses under the altar of the church. Seemingly immune to the natural process of decay, the church calls them “incorruptible saints.” They say it is a sign of holiness and that the person lived a life so closely aligned with Christ that normal processes are delayed.