Is the stigmata a sign of the most holy saints?

[dbranch]

I know St. Pio and St. Francis received this, does that mean they are elevated above all other saints, per se? On the other hand it could mean they were most united with the Cross. Not sure what the consensus is on this.

Thank you,
David

 

[phil19034]

I don’t think so.

Miracles have a purpose for the living. They really are not about the holiness of the associated individual.

I think St. Padre Pio & St. Francis (and the other Saints who received the stigmata) received it primarily as a message for their fellow priests/brothers. I also think they may have received the stigmata as a message to the local bishops & as a form of “Purgatory on Earth” for the future Saints.

 

[PatK63]

In a cause for sainthood they exhume the body to see if it is incorrupt. The stigmata usually heals before death. My understand is that none of these signs contribute to the cause of sainthood. There still needs to be miracles and lack of any belief in heresy. After they are declared a saint the faithful pay a lot of attention. Pier Giorgio Frassati is a blessed whose body is incorrupt! We pray he be declared a saint soon!

 

[Tis_Bearself]

The Church doesn’t rank the holiness of saints. Saints lead very different lives, all give glory to God, and not all saints are mystics or are called to unite themselves with the passion of Christ.

You also noted only two stigmatics. There are a lot of other saints who were stigmatics, mostly women. And in addition there are other people (mostly women) who had stigmata and are on the path to sainthood but have not reached the level of “saint” yet, and even some alleged stigmatics who do not have a sainthood cause at all. As someone else said, stigmata isn’t a big factor in making someone a saint or not. If someone claimed to have stigmata, then those investigating their sainthood cause would probably examine that claim to make sure they were not making it up and self-inducing the wounds, because if they lied about having stigmata then they probably wouldn’t be considered for sainthood.