A ten-year-old black girl in California bled from her palms, feet, right side, and the middle of her forehead for nineteen days in 1972, until good Friday, when the bleeding stopped. A Washington, D.C., priest experienced spontaneous bleeding from his writsts, feet, and right side in 1991. Since St. Francis of Assisi in the thirteenth century, ordinary people have suffered spontaneous lesions and bleeding resembling the wounds received by Christ during the crucifixion. Until recently, the occurrences of this religious and medical phenomenon had been limited to European cultures, but more and more cases of stigmata are being reported in Latin America and the United States. Including a startling analysis of the socioeconomic conditions that might give rise to the emergence of stigmatics at the end of another millennium and interviews with a medical expert on stigmata, this intriguing and objective examination is one of the most controversial books about religious phenomena since Embraced by the Light.

Ted Harrison is one of Canada's most renowned artists. As a former teacher, he expertly knows how to connect with children through his bold, colorful illustrations and simple, playful text. His first book, Children of the Yukon, won several awards, and he became the first Canadian artist to see his work accepted into the prestigious Illustrators' Exhibit in Bologna, Italy. His passion for and devotion to the North is evident in every masterful image that fills his books. Ted is the recipient of many honors, including the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada. Originally from England, he fell in love with Canada, living in the Yukon for 25 years, and later in Victoria, British Columbia.

StigmataAcknowledgments

Introduction

1. Marks of Crucifixion

2. A Medical View

3. Cases from the Past

4. Cases from the Present

5. Authentication

6. Why Then?

7. Finding One's Own Conclusion

8. Epilogue