Lourdes, Calanda, and other recognized healings: the people, their medical histories, physicians' testimony, and the Church's judgment.
A person suffers for years, treatment reaches its limits, and a pilgrimage or prayer is followed by an unexpected healing. Those affected get up, walk again, resume their daily lives, and testify to what has happened to them. The following dossiers begin by telling these individual life stories.
Physicians compare the established diagnosis with the condition after recovery. They examine the severity of the illness, previous treatment, and the speed, completeness, and permanence of the healing. Clear prior findings and a sudden, lasting restoration give a case particular weight.
The Lourdes Medical Bureau, the international medical committee, and the experts involved in ecclesiastical proceedings contribute their findings to a comprehensive examination. The competent bishop or the Church also assesses the connection with prayer and intercession and recognizes the event as a miracle. Each dossier identifies the specific decision.
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Dossiers: 13
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Forty-one-year-old Anna Santaniello came to Lourdes on a stretcher in 1952 because of severe rheumatic heart disease. After bathing on August 19, she could walk independently again and regained her capacity for exertion. Physicians examined the change. The Church's recognition came on September 21, 2005, through Archbishop Gerardo Pierro of Salerno.
Antonia Raco came to Lourdes in 2009 with severe neurological limitations. During her visit to the baths, her mobility returned; subsequent examinations confirmed that her symptoms had disappeared. Her earlier diagnosis of primary lateral sclerosis was reviewed repeatedly. After many years of observation and a favorable medical opinion, Bishop Vincenzo Carmine Orofino recognized the healing as the 72nd miracle of Lourdes on April 16, 2025.
After a fall, Catherine Latapie could use her right hand only to a limited extent. In the early morning of March 1, 1858, the pregnant mother from Loubajac went to the grotto at Lourdes. When she dipped her hand into the spring water, mobility returned. Later that same day, she gave birth to a child at home. Her healing was among the first seven cases recognized by Bishop Laurence in 1862.
Danila Castelli suffered for years from severe, recurring hypertensive crises. Several operations did not end her symptoms. After bathing in Lourdes on May 4, 1989, she experienced a lasting recovery. Its course was examined over more than two decades; the CMIL assessed it as medically unexplained in 2011. Bishop Giovanni Giudici of Pavia recognized the healing as a miracle in 2013.
The examination of a healing begins with the specific medical history: what was diagnosed, what treatment took place, and what changed permanently? In Lourdes, the Medical Bureau and the international medical committee examine these questions; the responsible bishop decides on the Church's recognition. Nonbelieving physicians also participate in the medical examination. Beatifications and canonizations have their own Roman procedural rules.
Jack Sullivan's severe spinal condition threatened his training for the diaconate. After a temporary improvement in 2000, his symptoms returned; he underwent surgery in August 2001. On August 15, he again prayed in the hospital for John Henry Newman's intercession, became free of pain, and walked along the corridor. He was able to continue his training. In 2009, the Church recognized this particular course of recovery for Newman's beatification.
Jean-Pierre Bély was 51 years old and severely disabled by advanced multiple sclerosis when he came to Lourdes for the Rosary Pilgrimage in 1987. There he received the sacraments and regained his mobility. The recovery remained complete and lasting. After many years of medical examinations, Bishop Claude Dagens confirmed the authentic nature of the healing in 1999 and honored it as a gift of God and a sign of Christ.
Jeanne Frétel came to Lourdes seriously ill in October 1948. She could barely retain food and could no longer walk. After receiving Communion on October 8, she tolerated milk and later full meals; her severely swollen abdomen returned to normal, and she walked independently again. Cardinal Clément Roques of Rennes recognized the healing as a miracle on November 20, 1950. Frétel later helped sick pilgrims herself.
After severe wounds in the First World War, John “Jack” Traynor had lost the use of his right arm and suffered from epileptic seizures and limited mobility in his legs. On July 25, 1923, he was healed during the first Liverpool pilgrimage to Lourdes. Later, he carried sick pilgrims himself. The Church's recognition followed in 2024 after historical medical documents had been brought together again and examined.
Matheus Vianna had suffered vomiting and malnutrition since early childhood. Examinations had revealed a narrowing of the duodenum associated with ring-shaped pancreatic tissue. At a celebration with a relic of Carlo Acutis on October 12, 2013, he asked that he no longer have to vomit. Afterward, he could retain food and develop normally. Later examinations no longer showed the previously diagnosed malformation. The case was recognized in 2020 for Acutis's beatification.
Melissa Villalobos suffered severe bleeding in May 2013 during pregnancy with her fifth child. When she asked for Newman's intercession at home on May 15, the bleeding stopped. An examination later that same day confirmed her recovery. She was able to continue the pregnancy and gave birth to her healthy daughter Gemma on December 27. The event was recognized in 2019 for the canonization of John Henry Newman.
According to the historical trial tradition, Miguel Juan Pellicer received back his previously amputated right leg in Calanda on March 29, 1640. He had lost it in 1637 after a cart accident and had traveled with a wooden leg and crutch. The event was recorded by a notary a few days later and subsequently investigated by the Church. The witnesses included the surgeons involved in the amputation. Archbishop Pedro Apaolaza recognized the miracle on April 27, 1641.
On July 11, 2008, after a pilgrimage to Lourdes, Sister Bernadette Moriau removed her corset and leg brace and could walk freely again. Behind her lay decades of back and nerve pain, four operations, and increasingly severe limitations. Her regained mobility endured. Following medical examinations and the judgment of the international medical committee, Bishop Jacques Benoit-Gonnin recognized the healing as a miracle on February 11, 2018.
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