What happens when you have stigmata can vary quite a bit from person to person, though the experience is almost always harrowing. "Stigmata" is a term used in the Christian faith to describe the experience of immense pain and sometimes actual wounds corresponding to those of Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. An individual suffering from stigmata might bear one or more of the five holy wounds which include marks from the crown of thorns on the forehead, whipping marks, nail wounds at the hands and feet, and the mark of a spear through the side.

In addition to these wounds, however, stigmata signs can encompass many supernatural abilities that a person suddenly develops, abilities that are believed to be gifted from God. These gifts can include but are not limited to: angelic visions, the ability to converse with God, and the ability to heal others. While some symptoms are awesome, others are downright terrifying. Collected here are some signs you have stigmata, as well as frightening but inspiring stories of stigmata sufferers.

You Develop Phantom Pains After Becoming Devout

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The very first recorded stigmatic in Christian history is St. Francis of Assisi. Now, Francis was quite the rambunctious youth and he got himself into multiple situations that could have resulted in death. His near misses inspired him to turn over a new leaf, and he devoted the rest of his life to God.

In 1224, there was a mountain retreat and 40-day fast in honor of the Assumption. It was while on this retreat that Francis had his first vision that marked the onset of stigmata. He saw the heavens explode as a seraph with wings of fire descended from heaven. He felt the wounds of the crucifixion and heard Jesus speak to him. In his waking life, scars on his body mirrored Christ’s wounds. Although he suffered great pain and died within two years of becoming stigmatic, he never had any open wounds, only scars. 

In the case of St. Catherine, she too experienced the pain of the crucifixion while having visions and conversations with Jesus for most of her life. The wounds however, didn’t appear until after her death.

The Wounds Of Christ's Crucifixion Appear On Your Body

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While the wounds of the crucifixion are the first thing that come to mind when hearing the word "stigmata," not all stigmatics receive actual open, bleeding wounds. Those who do have real wounds often don’t get them all at once, and they may seem to come and go. There are only about 30 stigmatics in existence who have experienced all of Christ’s wounds at once.

The deeply pious Marie Rose Ferron is one of those extremely rare cases. She began receiving visions of the crucifixion at the age of six. In her teens, she was stricken with a mysterious paralysis that led to her becoming completely bedridden. In 1927, whip-like wounds appeared on her arms and soon her body bore all five of the holy wounds. Rose lived in agony, the stigmata never left. Rose cried out to God, asking when he would take her home. "Seven years" was his reply, and seven years later she died. She was 33 years old - the same age Jesus was when he died on the cross.

You Develop The Ability To Levitate

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When fresh blood mysteriously appeared on the hands of Ethel Chapman on Good Friday in front of witnesses at the Cheshire Home in England, there was no denying she was becoming stigmatic. In addition to the wounds, she also began smelling sweet perfumes and levitating. 

Chapman, who has suffered with multiple sclerosis and was paralyzed from the waist down, had asked for a sign from God to give her hope and she received it. In 1973, she told the BBC, ‘

I remember saying quite plainly, "Oh Lord, please show me in some way you're there." I felt myself being drawn on to the Cross. I felt the pain of the nails through my hands and through my feet… I felt myself all the agony and all the pain that the Lord Himself went through.

You’re Suddenly Able To Be In Two Places At Once

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A 31-year-old priest named Zlatko Sudac began to demonstrate signs of the stigmata while at a social gathering back in 1999 (only slightly awkward). Apparently, he felt no pain, but about a year later, he began bleeding from his wrists, feet, and side. These wounds would pulse and ache as he prayed, but it wasn’t all strange bloody wounds. Not only does he claim to be able to levitate, but he has the gifts of prophecy and bilocation - meaning he can literally be in two places at once.

Blood Writing Appears On Your Body

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Sometimes wounds just aren't enough. There have been stigmata cases where actual words and images seep through bandages. This very direct approach is known as hemography, Christian writings and symbols miraculously formed in blood.  

Oddly enough, Natuzza Evolo never learned to read or write, and yet when the stigmata fell upon her, it came in the form of writings. Images and words in Hebrew and Aramaic began appearing on her body and soaking through bandages around Easter. She suffered immense physical and psychological pain as a result. Before her death in 2009, many traveled from all over the world to seek out Natuzza for prayers and healing.

Your Blood Smells Sweet

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Padre Pio began having visions from the age of just five years old. He dedicated his life to God and became a Franciscan in 1903, and an ordained priest soon after. It was 1918 when Padre Pio had a vision of being pierced with a lance, and he spent a full month feeling it inside him.  Then he started bleeding from his hands and feet. He remained stigmatic for 50 years, averaging about a cup per day in blood loss. No infection ever occurred and his wounds emitted blood with a sweet odor known as the “odor of sanctity.”

Your Mere Presence Makes Statues Weep

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This could actually go either way. If religious icons are weeping in your presence, you’ve got something either incredibly holy or incredible unholy circulating through you.  

Luckily for Father James Bruse it was the Holy Ghost causing these curious miracles. Bruse had spent some time questioning his faith back in 1991 - that is, until a statue of Our Lady of Grace began to weep in his presence. It started in his parents' home but soon spread to other statutes. Thousands of people witnessed Bruse enter the room only to have statues weep, and as if that weren’t odd enough, they began to change color around him too.  

It was the day after Christmas in 1991 when sharp pains began and wounds appeared on his wrists, his feet, and his right side. Bruse was also believed to be able to perform medical miracles; he is said to have restored a young girl's eyesight after blessing her. Then in 1992, the statutes stopped weeping and by 1994, all his wounds healed completely.

You’re A Woman And You Marry Jesus

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A little-known fact is that about 80% of stigmatics are women, and apparently the concept of a mystical wedding is not unheard of.

Saint Catherine of Ricci is said to have experienced mystical ecstasies during her prayers and even during daily tasks. Apparently, she was so overcome by it, she would often drop plates of food and those around her thought she was an incompetent klutz until they realized what she was experiencing. Her erratic behavior soon gained respect and admiration as it was believed she having both visions and corporeal encounters with Jesus.

She is said to have held and saddled baby Jesus, and later she united in marriage with adult Jesus. She spontaneously began bleeding with the wounds of crucifixion while meditating. She developed the stigmata, and during prayer it is said a coral ring appeared on her wedding finger, representing her marriage to Jesus.

You Are Miraculously Healed

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In 1918, Therese Neumann was left partially paralyzed from a devastating fall, and by 1919, she was also bedridden and blind. Frustrated by her limitations and suffering from bedsores so deep her bones were exposed, she turned to God for answers.

Then, on the very same day as the beatification ceremony for sister Therese of Lisieux, Therese Nuemann miraculously got her sight back. It was two years later, when Therese of Lisieux was canonized, that Therese Nuemann had a vision of the saint, who told her that she could now walk again. And she could.

Then Nuemann began to receive the wounds of stigmata in 1926, accompanied by visions of the last days of Christ. Therese seemed to be dying from it all and last rites were given. Then she miraculously went back to normal. The stigmata would re-appear for about two days on a weekly basis, but she lived until 1962. In 2005, the process for her beatification and canonization was officially opened.

You’re Shown The Apocalypse

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Marie-Julie Jahenny was a mystic, miracle worker, and stigmatic who was bombarded with images of the end of days. She experienced many apparitions of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ but was also given a front row seat to the destruction that would befall first France, then the rest of the world. These waking nightmares included earthquakes, storms, failed harvests, and rapidly spreading plagues.

She was also shown a seven-week "Blood Rain," a civil war in France, three days of darkness, the coming of the Antichrist, and religious persecution ending in complete closure of all churches and the slaughter of Christians. She witnessed the coming of the Great Monarch and the Angelic Pontiff who together would restore the church. She is also said to have suffered supernatural attacks from the devil.