Editing Stigmata (section)

{{Short description|Marks resembling the wounds of Jesus}}
{{For|other senses of this word|Stigma (disambiguation){{!}}Stigma|stigmata (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Stigmatism}}
[[File:Lienz - Fanziskanerkirche - Außenansicht - Hände mit Stigmata.jpg|thumb|Hands with ''stigmata'', depicted on a [[Order of Saint Francis|Franciscan]] church in [[Lienz]], [[Austria]]]]
[[File:Munchhausen StPantaleon 50.JPG|thumb|''[[Catherine of Siena|St Catherine]] fainting from the stigmata'' by [[Il Sodoma]], Church of Saint Pantaleon, [[Alsace, France]]]]

'''Stigmata''' ({{langx|grc|στίγματα}}, plural of {{lang|grc|στίγμα}} {{transliteration|grc|stigma}}, 'mark, spot, brand'), in [[Roman Catholicism|Catholicism]], are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]] [[Five Holy Wounds|wounds]] of [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]]: the hands, wrists, feet, near the heart, the head (from the crown of thorns), and back (from carrying the cross and scourging).<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/stigmata |title=Stigmata (Christian Mysticism) |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |access-date=2018-07-03}}</ref>

[[St. Francis of Assisi]] is widely considered the first recorded stigmatic. For over fifty years, St. [[Padre Pio]] of Pietrelcina of the [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin]] reported stigmata which were studied by several 20th-century physicians. Stigmatics are primarily a Roman Catholic phenomenon; the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] professes no official view on them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oca.org/questions/romancatholicism/manifestations|title=Manifestations – Questions & Answers|website=oca.org}}</ref>

A high percentage (probably over 80%) of all stigmatics are women.<ref name=Carroll>Carroll, Michael P. (1989). ''Catholic Cults and Devotions: A Psychological Inquiry''. McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 80–84. {{ISBN|0-7735-0693-4}}</ref> In his book ''Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age'', Ted Harrison suggests that there is no single mechanism whereby the marks of stigmata were produced. What is important is that the marks are recognised by others as of religious significance.<ref name="Harrison 1994">{{Cite book | publisher = St Martins Press | isbn = 978-0-312-11372-8 | last = Harrison | first = Ted | title = Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age | year=1994}}</ref> Most cases of stigmata have been the result of trickery.<ref name="Carroll 2003"/><ref name="Nickell 2004"/> Some cases have also included reportings of a mysterious chalice in visions being given to stigmatics to drink from or the feeling of a sharp sword being driven into one's chest.<ref name="Görres1883">{{cite book|author=Johann Joseph von Görres|title=The stigmata, tr. from 'The Mystik', ed. by H. Austin|url=https://archive.org/details/stigmatatrfromm00grgoog|year=1883}}</ref>