THE Catholic Church has set up commission to investigate claims that a Mayo housewife had stigmata on her feet.
Ms Christina Gallagher, who runs a "House of Prayer" in Achill, claims to have had wounds resembling those of the crucifixion on her feet, to have spoken in Longues and seen visions of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
The commission, comprising two men and a woman, established by the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Michael Neary, includes a parish priest, a canon lawyer and a curate.
They will investigate the claims "as quickly as possible", according to a spokesman for the Catholic Press Office who added that the claims were being treated seriously. The names of those on the commission are not being released.
The wounds appeared in March of last year and again on Good Friday, according to a report in yesterday's Evening News. Ms Gallagher, a mother of two, is also said to have had visions of the scourging of Jesus Christ, of Satan and Purgatory.
Yesterday the local parish priest in Achill told The Irish Times he was worried about the claims and the centre which Ms Gallagher runs in the parish.
"I do not believe her claims. I do not know anyone independent of the House of Prayer who has seen the stigmata," Father John Fallon said.
"I am a bit worried about the House of Prayer because of the messages coming from it. They are all doom and gloom, predicting imminent disasters generally," he said.
The centre attracts many visitors at the weekend, he said, but few young people. "I'm relieved about that," he added.
Ms Gallagher refuses to give interviews to the media. An assistant at the House of Prayer in Achill said that she had bad experiences with the press in the past.