Stigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. An individual bearing stigmata is referred to as a stigmatic.

The causes of stigmata are the subject of considerable debate. Some contend that they are miraculous, while others argue they are hoaxes or can be explained medically.

Stigmata are primarily associated with the Roman Catholic faith. Many reported stigmatics are members of Catholic religious orders. About 90% of reported stigmatics are female.

Reported cases of stigmata take various forms. Many show some or all of the five Holy Wounds that were, according to the Bible, inflicted on Jesus during his crucifixion: wounds in the hands and feet, from nails, and in the side, from a lance. Some stigmatics display wounds to the forehead similar to those caused by the crown of thorns. Other reported forms include tears of blood or sweating blood, wounds to the back as from scourging, or wounds to the shoulder as from bearing the cross.

Some stigmatics claim to feel the pain of wounds with no external marks; these are referred to as invisible stigmata. In other cases, stigmata are accompanied by extreme pain. Some stigmatics' wounds do not appear to clot and stay fresh and uninfected. The blood from the wounds is said, in some cases, to have a pleasant, perfumed odor.

Cases of stigmata have been reported at different ages for different stigmatics. Some have manifested stigmata continually after the first appearance; others have shown periodic stigmata that re-occur at certain times of the day or on certain, sometimes holy, days of the year.

The first reported cases of stigmata, in a Flemish nun and a young Englishman, occurred in the early 13th century. The first well-documented case, and the first to be accepted by Roman Catholic authorities as authentic, was that of Saint Francis of Assisi (1182–1226); , who first experienced stigmata in La Verna, Italy, in 1224.

In the century after St. Francis's death, more than twenty additional cases of stigmata were reported. Stigmata have continued to be reported since, with over three hundred cases by the end of the 19th century. In the 20th century, the number of cases increased dramatically; over 500 cases have now been recorded. In modern times, increasing numbers of ordinary people – rather than mystics or members of religious orders – began to report stigmata. Cases were also reported among non-Catholic Christians.

Famous stigmatics include Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint John of God, and Saint Marie of the Incarnation. A famous twentieth-century stigmatic was Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (1887–1968). Other modern stigmatics included Brother Roque (1968–1996); a novice in the order of Los Hijos de Los Hijos de La Madre de Dios (The Sons of the Sons of the Mother of God) in Villavicencio, Colombia; Therese Neumann (1898–1962), a German Catholic mystic; and Canadian Lilian Bernas, who began claiming to exhibit stigmata in 1992.

There have been historical stigmatics that were known to have faked wounds, such as Magdalena de la Cruz (1487–1560), who admitted the fraud.

Similarly self-inflicted wounds can be associated with certain mental illnesses. Some people who fake stigmata suffer from Munchausen syndrome which is characterised by an intense desire for attention. People with Munchausen hurt themselves or fake an illness hoping to end up in a hospital where they can enjoy attention and care.

People also fake stigmata knowing that some who had stigmata were declared holy by the Pope. In this way they try to gain recognition.

Skeptics also point out that stigmata have appeared on hands in some cases, and wrists in others . It is unknown whether crucifixion involved nails being driven through the hands or wrists. It has been proven in several studies that the hands would be unable to support the necessary weight, so many advocate the wrist theory; traditional art, however, often presents the opposite view. A New study and a documentory on the National Geographic channel "Quest for Truth: The Crucifixion,", have shown that a person can be supended by the wrists. As the ankels are nailed to the side of the cross producing little strain on the wrists. They also say the palms are a likely place for the nails as it would casue the maximum abount of pain and trauma. a brief news article on the experiment and the documentory can be found here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7291066/#storyContinued and the national geographic site page is here: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/questfortruth/

Similarly, no case of stigmata is known to have occurred before the thirteenth century, when the crucified Jesus became a standard icon of Christianity in the west .

Some believe that the condition can be 'explained' by 'frontier science' such as with the unexplained phenomena of the mind exerting physical effects on the body. There have been claims that non-religious people under deep hypnosis, when told that they have a crown of thorns on their head cutting into their flesh (in the manner that it happened to Christ), have had bleeding welts appear on their foreheads even when nothing has come into contact with the skin. Thus if this is true, the effects have been inflicted by the mind, onto the body. Other accounts of this strong mind-body connection have been observed and documented in experiments such as the case in which heart disease patients were administered a placebo pill, but told that it was a new 'super-medicine', and their conditions noticeably improved. It is thought by some that the deep trance - like state which deeply religious people claim to go into mimics this type of hypnosis, and the extremely strong and vivid impressions of the wounds and suffering are somehow transmitted from the mind to the body. This also fits with the fact that the Stigmata was first observed at around the time when graphic detail of the crucifiction started to apper in Christian art, making the wounds and suffering easier to comprehend and imagine in the minds of observers of the art.

In his paper on "Hospitality and Pain", iconoclastic Christian theologian Ivan Illich touches on the phenomenon of stigmata with characteristic terseness: "Compassion with Christ... is faith so strong and so deeply incarnate that it leads to the individual embodiment of the contemplated pain". His thesis is that stigmata result from exceptional poignancy of religious faith and desire to associate oneself with the suffering Christ.