The stigmas in the Body

Nailed to Jesus on the cross by the hands and feet. In addition, they put a Crown of thorns and a dead time, nailed him a spear on the side. The news of living people with spontaneous wounds that match one or more of the wounds of Christ have recurred in later centuries.

STIGMATA: 

 Mark or sign in the body. In its religious sense refers to the phenomenon of physically carry the wounds of the crucifixion of Christ. These sores occur in the hands, feet, side and head of certain Saints as a sign of their participation in the passion of Christ.
The stigmata can be: visible or invisible; bloody or not; periodic (usually resurfacing in days or seasons associated with the passion of Christ), permanent or transient. The invisible stigmata may cause both pain and the visible. Stigmas can stay many years, as in the case of Padre Pio, who took them for 50 years and was the first priest who is known to be stigmatized. (San Francisco had the stigmata, but was not a priest). On the death of his stigmata miraculously disappeared.

Therese Neumann (1898-1962) appeared it for the first time in 1926, causing an avalanche of curious

THE SACRED STIGMATA:

Stigmata (Greek stigma. sting, signal) can take different forms. Some of them fail to be bruises or spots on the skin, but in other cases can lead to pain. The most common are to be open wounds that time after complete healing, but in some cases they are permanent but not oozing or infected. The phenomenon of stigmatization seems to be limited almost exclusively to Roman Catholic ios, and particularly affects women.

THE CARRIERS OF WOUNDS

So far have been sanctified 80 stigmatized people. The stigmata by itself alone are not cause of sanctification for the Church, which is governed according to other criteria. The authenticity of the stigmata is questioned again and again, mostly due to the unreliability of historical sources. In some cases, is taken for granted that the description of the stigmata of a person is proof of the link between that person and Jesus.
One of the first who spoke of "signs of Christ" was the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians. However, although some later sources say, it is not entirely clear that referring to the stigmata. On the other hand, St. Francis of Assisi (towards 1181-1226) is a proven case of stigmatization.

THE HYPOTHESIS

There is a theory which holds that man is able to influence upon his body through his mind. There is news of people who have been able to perform superhuman acts in extreme situations, such as lifting objects super-heavy. Given that the stigmata appear mainly among Catholics, it would be logical to think that these people are so devout that his body is raised somehow those wounds. However, also a few cases of stigmata occurred in non-Christian. Another possibility is that those affected have a peculiar form of hysteria, i.e. an OverDrive which can cause various symptoms such as subcutaneous bleeding. He has tried to support this theory with sessions of hypnosis and, indeed, people object of study left dark stains in the places of the wounds of Christ.
The stigmata can be gift from God (as in the Saints) or falsification or mental health problems caused by the subject. In some cases of diabolical character. Therefore, the Church has established criteria to determine the authenticity of the stigmata.
Some criteria: sores are located in places of the five wounds of Christ.

DO WOUNDS AUTHENTIC?

Around the stigmas have also been impostors. There is who is content to explain that once carried the sacred Stigmata, but others arrive at infligír is them themselves to show the scars as proof. The most extreme cases are characterized by people who kept open for a long time the wounds themselves had caused, to the detriment of their health. Despite not being a phenomenon too often, recently have been known examples of stigmatization, which, moreover, have been documented by science. However, still not is has been able to offer a completely convincing explanation.

Source: Great Enigmas of Nigel Blundell-Wikipedia-dictionary Insolito-grandes adventures of man