Marks of the wounds suffered by Christ in his crucifixion, in hands and feet by nails, and side by the piercing of a lance Some persons, called stigmatists, have been reported as recipients or sufferers of marks like these The Church, however, has never issued any infallible declaration about their possession by anyone, even in the case of St Francis of Assisi whose stigmata seem to be the best substantiated and may be commemorated in the Roman‑Rite liturgy Ninety percent of some 300 reputed stigmatists have been women Judgment regarding the presence, significance, and manner of causation of stigmata would depend, among other things, on irrefutable experimental evidence
As a term of medicine, 'stigmata' refers to the physical marks and characteristics that suggest an individual is abnormal For Lombroso, 'atavistic stigmata' were those physical characteristics that suggested an individual to be atavistic Such stigmata included abnormal skull sizes, hawk-like noses, large jaws and cheekbones, and fleshy lips
Marks resembling the wounds received by Jesus: At the feet and hands from the nails (although some scholars suggest crucifixion victims were more likely nailed through the lower legs and wrists); on the side from the spear; and on the brow from the crown of thorns In certain persons, and for no apparent external reason or cause, some or all of the wounds appear spontaneously They do not close or heal; neither do they get infected or pose other medical complications Usually bleeding is periodic rather than constant, often on holy days associated with the crucifixion Perhaps the best known stigmatist was Francis of Assisi, although there have been hundreds of others The most recent we are aware of is Padre Pio
Stigmata are marks that appear on a person's body in the same places where Christ was wounded when he was nailed to the cross. Some Christians believe that these marks are a sign of holiness. marks that appear on the hands and feet of some holy people, and which look like the wounds made by nails on the body of Christ. In Christian mysticism, bodily marks, scars, or pains suffered in places corresponding to those of the crucified Jesus on the hands and feet, near the heart, and sometimes on the head (from the crown of thorns) or shoulders and back (from carrying the cross and being whipped). They are often presumed to accompany religious ecstasy and are taken as signs of holiness. The first to experience stigmata was St. Francis of Assisi (1224). Of the more than 330 persons identified with stigmata since the 14th century, more than 60 were canonized or beatified by the Roman Catholic church (see canonization)