On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we look at the phenomenon of Stigmata—the spontaneous appearance of the five holy wounds of Jesus Christ on regular people. Much debate occurs about the validity of the bleeding miracle wounds. The Catholic church recognizes stigmata as a real thing, and they have specialists who look into cases to tell if they are frauds or legitimate. Skeptics, of course, think there is no such thing and look for many explanations other than the power of the Christian god.

The first known case of stigmata was St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century. He claims to have seen a crucified angel and was then a stigmatic, suffering from the wounds and even bleeding out of his eyes. Another famous case was much more recent, and it was the case of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who experienced stigmata in the early 1900s. His case was explored by physicians and the church, and it was ruled as miraculous; the pope even made him a saint in 2002. However, many people thought he was a fraud and that he did these things for popularity.

So, what do the skeptics say about stigmata? Many cases are obvious, intentional frauds from people looking for attention or fame. Other cases, however, have no clear motive or origin, and skeptics think they have an answer for those as well. So what might be the cause of stigmata for people if it isn’t divine or intentional fraud? How many cases have there been according to the Catholic Church? Does it affect certain religions, classes, or sexes more often? What are the twelve signs of genuine stigmata according to the church? Listen, laugh, learn.