“Remarkable state of preservation”: Alumnae Nuns Recall Sr. Wilhelmina Lancaster, O.S.B.

Long before the world knew Sr. Wilhelmina Lancaster, O.S.B., for the extraordinary preservation of her body in the grave, two alumnae of Thomas Aquinas College were among those who knew the nun for her decades of devotion to religious life.

“When they found the coffin and got the lid off, they saw that not only her whole body was in a remarkable state of preservation, but even her religious habit. We didn’t know what to expect, but we certainly weren’t expecting that!”

Sr. Mary Josefa (Kathleen ’07) Holcomb, O.S.B., overlapped with Sr. Wilhelmina at the Abbey of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, for nine years, and Sr. Sophia of the Holy Eucharist (Gina Marie ’08) Eid, O.S.B., for seven-and-a-half. Both helped to care for the elderly nun over the years. “As time went by, she had withdrawn a little from the normal flow of community life,” says Sr. Sophia. “But that allowed some private time for the novice helpers. There was this one-on-one with her that was very edifying. It was beautiful to hear her talk about the things always on her mind — Our Lord and Our Lady, the things that we needed to pray for in the world.”

As young nuns, Sr. Sophia and Sr. Mary Josefa were especially impressed by Sr. Wilhelmina’s nearly 80 years of exemplary Benedictine life. “It was an important part of our formation to see religious life lived so long and so fully,” says Sr. Mary Josefa. “To see that example of fidelity to the very end was a huge grace.” Adds Sr. Sophia, “We have a 72-inch ruler in the Abbey sewing room. When I celebrated two years in vows, Sister celebrated 72 years. I remember I looked at the ruler and compared the two inches at one end with the whole length of it and I was awestruck.”

Sr. Wilhelmina’s fidelity through the years was especially remarkable, since much of that time coincided with a period of turmoil in the Church. As numerous religious congregations relaxed the traditional demands of their vows, such as wearing a habit, Sr. Wilhelmina remained steadfast — a trait that ultimately led her to found the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. When she died in 2019, she was laid to rest in her habit — which, as the sisters discovered earlier this year, seemed to have a mysterious steadfastness of its own.

“When Mother Abbess decided to complete the St. Joseph’s altar and to have sisters’ relics placed in the altar — as it’s customary for a Benedictine monastery to have their founder’s relics in the abbey church — she had a rotating crew of sisters digging up the grave,” said Sr. Mary Josefa. “When they found the coffin and got the lid off, they saw that not only her whole body was in a remarkable state of preservation, but even her religious habit. We didn’t know what to expect, but we certainly weren’t expecting that!”

The state of Sr. Wilhelmina’s body made headlines in May, which brought numerous pilgrims to the congregation’s motherhouse in Gower, Missouri. “There were a lot of other people going on pilgrimage — hundreds, maybe even thousands,” says Sr. Sophia. “They were coming from all over. It was beautiful.”

While the sisters themselves await a proper investigation by Church authorities, they cannot help but see God’s hand in the discovery. “It was an assurance for us that Sister’s humble life was precious in God’s eyes, and that He preserved her in some way for us to see,” says Sr. Mary Josefa. “It was significant that He preserved her habit, because she suffered so much to keep it. To see the habit intact really spoke to us — a sign of God’s fidelity in reward for sister’s fidelity.”