Stigmata is a controversial film directed by Rupert Wainwright that premiered on September 10, 1999. It follows the conflict between Frankie, an atheist Pittsburgh hairdresser played by Patricia Arquette who exhibits true stigmata and Father Andrew Kiernan (played by Gabriel Byrne), a former scientist and ordained Jesuit priest who, as part of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, investigates miracles for the Vatican. Kiernan soon discovers that the stigmata stems from the spirit of Father Paul Alemieda; a deeply religious priest who was ex-communicated from the Catholic Church for his discovery of a lost Gospel undermining the very foundations of Catholicism. The movie is loosely based on the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas; a document which the Vatican and most other Christians have declared as being the product of a heretical Gnostic group.
This video contains grisly scenes not suitable for people very sensitive.