STIGMATA

This centuries-old cloth is thought by many faithful to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, and that it miraculously bears his image. Skeptics believe that it is a clever forgery. So far, several forensic tests have been unable to definitively support either claim.

A bleeding "Rosa Mystica" statue of the Virgin Mary; 1982.

Giorgio Bongiovanni developed this unusual stigmata during a visit to the shrine at Fatima. Part of a UFO cult, Bongiovanni claims that he's seen both Mary and Jesus arrive in flying saucers. Jesus, he said, was wearing fuchsia-colored overalls. He also has stigmata on his feet and all wounds bleed almost daily.

Antonio Ruffini of Italy has had stigmata on his hands for over 40 years. The would go clear through his palms and have been examined by doctors, who offer no rational explanation. Also, the wounds never become infected as they normally would.

There have been many people throughout the ages who claim to suffer the stigmata - the wounds Christ suffered at the crucifixion - that spontaneously and mysteriously appear on their hands, feet or head. In the 1950s, Sister Elena Ajello of Calabrai, Italy was one such person.