A listener named Hannah asks Father Dave about saints who have received the stigmata, or wounds of Christ. “When saints have received the stigmata, they have it in the palms of their hands – Take Saint Francis and Saint Padre Pio, for example,” Hannah says. “If Jesus was crucified with nails in his wrists, why wouldn’t the saints’ wounds be in their wrists?” She notes that the answer isn’t a “dealbreaker” for her faith, but was curious after gazing upon the crucifix.
Father Dave first explains what the stigmata is. He says, “It is an actual miraculous phenomenon, where some people — most of the ones we know about have eventually become saints — experience the wounds of Christ. Sometimes just the hands, or all five traditional wounds of Christ — his hands, side and in his feet.” He notes that these wounds actively bleed in certain cases, such as for Saint Padre Pio.
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He describes why modern scholars think that Christ’s wounds may be in his wrists and not his hands. “In order to do crucifixions the way the Romans wanted to do, the idea was you were being tortured; they weren’t killing you instantly,” Fr. Dave says. “The whole point was the humiliation, the public spectacle, the long time it takes to die, and how much excruciating pain that you’re in while it’s happening…This was the most heinous form of capital punishment.” He explains that putting nails through one’s wrists would hold a person up longer than the palms of their hands.
Father Dave unpacks why there may be a discrepancy in where the wounds of Christ are. “In the Scriptures, the word is ‘hands,’ and yet the Greek word and how they used it could mean any part of [the arm] from the elbow up,” he says, noting the example of Thomas in the Gospels.
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While he notes a few potential explanations, ultimately Father Dave explains that we do not know for sure if Christ was crucified in his hands or wrists. “One might say that if the stigmata is part of our tradition, why would God grant some sort of miraculous thing of pain in the wrong place? Doesn’t God know where they put the nails?” Father Dave says. He posits that God knows our anatomy as our creator, and a person with the stigmata may not be able to survive if bleeding from their wrists.
The team discusses how certain details of our faith are not always explained, but it is good to ask questions. Brett says, “I like when people are this curious. That’s not a problem to be asking questions like this. It would be an issue if it’s a deal breaker for your faith, because some of these things aren’t exactly answered.”
