Incorrupt Sister Wilhelmina, osb ~ Foundress of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

#SisterWilhelmina #Incorruptible #BenedictinesofMaryQueenofApostles #Missouri #Catholic #Benectines #TraditionalLatinMass #LatinMass #CatholicChurch From the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles : - Our beloved foundress, Sr Wilhelmina (Lancaster) of the Most Holy Rosary, born in St. Louis Missouri, died May 29, 2019 at 95 years of age. - With the preparation of our St. Joseph altar uderway, and after much prayer, we decided the rightful place of our holy foundress was in the Church. This practice is very common in religious communities, even before their cause has been introduced. - Sister had been buried in the ground in a simple wooden coffin, without any embalming or vault, with a puddle of water at the bottom of the grave. - On April 28, the Feast of St Louis Marie DeMontfort the Sisters exhumed her. The top had caved in at the time of burial, so dirt had gotten in and lay over her remains - Not only was her body in a remarkable preserved condition, her crown and bouquet of flowers were dried in place, the profession candle with the ribbon, her crucifix, and rosary were all intact. Even more remarkable was the complete preservation of her holy habit, made from natural fibers, for which she fought so vigorously throughout her religious life. The synthetic veil was perfectly intact, while the lining of the coffin, made of very similar material, was completely deteriorated and gone. - The careful process of cleaning and removing the dirt and mold began, and the body began to lose volume since the initial exhumation with exposure to air. Thus some shrinking and darkening took place. All facial features were visible, but as falling dirt had caused damage, especially to the right eye, a Sister carefully crafted a wax mask to cover the face. - Sister is laid out here until the completion of the St. Joseph altar, now under construction, and due to be installed in our Church behind the high altar on May 29th, the anniversary of her death. Encased in glass, and behind a removable frontal, she can welcome her growing number of devotees. - Once the popular cultus is well established, her cause for sainthood may be introduced within the Diocese, so that Sister's holiness may eventually be recognized by Holy Mother Church.