How many stigmatists have there been down through the ages? Ask any Catholic this question and he or she might venture a guess of 10 or 12. But that number would be way off the mark.
Paul Kengor, in his recently published book “The Stigmatists: Their Gifts, Their Revelations, Their Warnings,” provides the answer to this question. The number of “generally known and accepted stigmatists since the time of St. Francis of Assisi seems to run in a range of about 400-500 and is still counting and growing today.” That number was an eye opener, at least for me!
A stigmatist, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, is an individual who has been gifted with one or all of the same wounds our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ bore.
And, interestingly enough, Kengor makes a good case for including St. Paul on the list of stigmatists. That would make him the very first stigmatist, preceding St. Francis of Assisi by some 1,200 years.
An Interesting Book and an Easy Read
Kengor’s book is an easy read considering Kengor’s academic credentials. Most academics tend to write for readers with a college education. Kengor, however, has put together a well-researched book that anyone with a high school education should be able to read and enjoy.
In Chapter One of the book Kengor provides an overview of the “Stigmatists through history.” Then in the next seven chapters he concentrates on perhaps the seven most widely known stigmatists today. They are, in historical order, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Catherine of Siena, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Saint Gemma Galgani, Saint Padre Pio, Blessed Elena Aiello, and Saint Sr. Faustina.
Kengor is also careful to point out those stigmatists who have Church approval and those who do not. He also notes that Church approval usually takes a long time due to a lengthy investigation process.
In Chapter 9 of the book, Kengor delves into “The Stigmatists among us.” In this chapter Kengor takes a look at some modern day and not very well known stigmatists. Some are Therese Neumann (1898-1962), Marthe Robin (1902-1981), Blessed Alexandrina da Costa (1904-1955), and Adrienne von Speyr (1902-1967).
Kengor also writes about Luz de Maria de Bonilla and Gisella Cardia in this chapter. The website Countdown to the Kingdom features predictions by both of these seers.
In Chapter 10 Kengor profiles Sr. Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa. She is “known as the seer of Our Lady or Akita.” He also takes a look at similarities in “The Prophetic Warnings” of the various stigmatists. The chapter also takes a look at the “Three Days of Darkness” predicted by a number of the stigmatists.
Informative Throughout
Readers will find the book very informative. Not only does it delve into the lives of the stigmatists, it highlights many of their revelations as well.
For instance, on page 48 Kengor writes about the “master work” of St. Catherine of Siena, “The Dialogue.”
As Kengor writes, “The book [The Dialogue] is a dictated transcript related verbatim from the saint, the heavenly words given to her in a mystical state during the final three years of her life.” He then offers a section of an 1896 edition of The Dialogue. In this section Our Lord tells St. Catherine that the “accursed sin against nature” (sodomy) is “such an abomination that for it alone I buried five cities by a Divine judgement, My Divine justice being no longer able to endure it.”
Our Lord also says that even “the devils whom these wretches have made their master” flee when this sin is being committed because even they cannot bear to watch it. Those who attempt to defend homosexual relationships might want to make note of this.
Satan Unchained
On page 78, Catherine Anne Emmerich speaks of the “frightful arrangement that had been made, permitted by the Almighty Himself: “God Himself had decreed this; and I was likewise told, if I remember rightly, that he [Satan] will be unchained for a time fifty or sixty years before the year of Christ 2000.”
Kengor then writes, “Of course, that fifty to sixty years before the year 2000 would have been circa 1940-50. That would have been the time of the deadliest war in the history of humanity – World War II.”
Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong also rose to power during this period and were responsible for the deaths of some 100 million. This time frame also includes the “upheavals of the sexual revolution, hundreds of millions of abortions, terrorism, and much more.”
During this time Pope Paul VI also said that “the smoke of Satan has entered the Church.” Many of the stigmatists noted this as well.
Wrapping Up
Paul Kengor, PhD, is a professor of political science at Grove City College (Grove City, PA) and a senior editor for The American Spectator. He is also the author or co-author more than 20 books since 2000. This latest book by Kengor is well researched and documented. It is a fascinating, enjoyable, and informative book.
The 284-page book, published by TAN Books, includes 24 pages of endnotes (footnotes) and an 8-page index.
5 thoughts on “A Review of the New Book “The Stigmatists””
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It’s deeply depressing to imagine the educated and intellectual Doctor of the Church, St. Catherine of Sienna, alone in her dotage tortured by visions of sodomy. Seems much more devilish than divine.
Don’t let your imagination depress you, Susanne. St. Catherine wasn’t being “tortured by visions of sodomy.” She was being told by God that sodomy is an abomination.
Thomas of Celano, St. Francis’ first biographer wrote the holes were in his wrists. Some of the ancient words such as the Greek included the wrist and hands together as one.
A cause for Sainthood has been opened up for Iriving “Francis” Houle of Michigan. So, he is a modern day Stigmatist.
Sometimes, I am unclear of what to think of when one reads someone had an “invisible” stigmata. It’s not as rare as what one might think. St. Faustina was one I believe.
Yes, Professor Kengor has been on Relevant Radio and has written on a number of stimulating subjects.
We tend to think of St. Francis of Assisi for the stigmata. I’m most fascinated with the modern stigmatists which I’m grateful that Paul Kengor included in his latest book. Thanks for the review!