Forensic scientist Mitchell Holland of Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) has spent much of his career using DNA to solve identity mysteries, from royal family members to unknown soldiers and victims of mass disasters. However, there is one case that particularly stands out in his memory. In the early 2010s, Holland was called upon to help identify a nun being considered for sainthood by the Pope. Finding and preserving her remains was crucial for her sainthood. To aid in this process, an international team of forensic scientists came together, marking one of the first times DNA evidence played a key role in this sacred process.
Sister Marija Krucifiksa Kozulić was a Croatian nun who dedicated her life to caring for and educating disadvantaged, abandoned, and orphaned children. She was part of the community of the Society of Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the 1890s, she established the Catholic order of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rijeka, Croatia. She remained a tireless advocate for those in need, until her passing in 1922 from a stroke.
Her legacy of compassion and service did not go unnoticed: When Pope John Paul II visited Rijeka in 2003, the process of sainthood was initiated. Sister Dobroslava Mlakić, a member of the Society of Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, spearheaded efforts to advance this cause. The first step was beatification, a papal declaration that a person is “Blessed,” after a confirmed miracle.
“In order to be considered for sainthood, you have to have two documented miracles that you’re associated with,” said Holland. For example, if someone gravely ill prayed to Sister Marija and experienced instantaneous healing, it must be scientifically verified. Once all the documentation is submitted, the miracles are investigated by a Vatican committee in Rome. The details of the miracles are not shared until the process is officially concluded. “And you also have to identify the remains of the individual,” added Holland.
However, identifying the location of Sister Marija’s grave was no easy task. Sister Dobroslava painstakingly pieced together historical evidence and the necessary permissions to locate the grave. At last, Sister Marija’s purported remains were exhumed in 2011 and DNA testing commenced.
Holland and his American colleagues joined forces with the Croatian team. Together, this identification effort was led by geneticist and forensic scientist Dragan Primorac and his colleagues from the University of Split, including forensic anthropologist Željana Bašić. According to historical records, Sister Marija and her biological sister Tereza had been buried in a tomb belonging to the Society of Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus—alongside some 35 others in tin and wooden coffins.
The remains in the coffins were identified through archaeological and forensic anthropological analysis by the Croatian team, but Sisters Marija and Tereza were not accounted for in the coffins. However, additional skeletal remains, likely reorganized to make space, had been placed in plastic bags, accelerating their degradation in the tomb’s humid environment. The researchers believed Sister Marija might be among these bags containing multiple remains.
“The remains were co-mingled,” remarked Holland, which made the project much more complicated. “They took cuttings of the bone and sent them to us, here at Penn State.”
By Laura Tran, PhD
Article can be accessed on: The Scientist