A sister's soul leaves her hand print on a wooden door.
On November 4, 1859, when a certain pious nun at the Franciscan Tertiary Convent in Folgino in Italy, by the name of Sr. Teresa Gesta died, her superior lamented and thought it wouldn't be surprising if God would glorify her by some miracle.
After the nun's death, her job of being in charge of the sacristy went to a Sr. Anna Felicia who also belonged to the same convent. Twelve days at her new job, Sr. Anna was about to enter the sacristy when she heard mournful moaning coming from beyond the closed door. Summoning all her courage, she flung open the door but found no one inside. But soon she heard again the deep groaning so clearly that she was about to give in to her fear. She cried out, "O my Lord! My Lady! What can be making these sounds?"
"Oh! How I suffer!" a voice interrupted Sr. Anna's prayer. She quickly recognized it to be the voice of Sr. Teresa. At that, the room was packed with thick smoke, and the apparition of Sr. Teresa glided along the walls and towards the door. When the apparition reached the door, Sr. Teresa said out loud, "Behold a proof of the mercy of God." Then she struck the upper wooden panel of the door, burning a print of her right palm into the wood. After this, she quickly disappeared.
Paralyzed in fear, Sr. Anna called for help, which stirred the convent and rushed to her in the sacristy. They couldn't help but see and smell the burn mark on the door, which was the same remarkably small size and shape of the deceased Sr. Teresa. They immediately said prayers for their deceased sister, and the next morning they received Holy Communion with the intention of the repose of her soul.
News of this quickly spread in the city and people also united their prayer intentions for the soul of Sr. Teresa.
On the third day after the remarkable event, November 18, Sr. Anna heard a voice calling her name as she was going to her cell. She recognized it perfectly as the voice of Sr. Teresa. At that moment a bright light filled her cell as if daylight entered it. Then she heard Sr. Teresa say in a joyful and triumphant voice, "I died on a Friday, the day of the Passion; and behold on a Friday I enter into eternal glory." And then Sr. Teresa became dazzling and rose to heaven.
An official investigation was initiated on November 23. In that inquest, investigators publicly opened the tomb of Sr. Teresa and found that her hand was an exact match to the mark on the door. To this day, the door is preserved at the Franciscan Tertiary Convent as proof of purgatory.
