“Prayer works … and God is always listening to our prayers,” says a Los Angeles priest who, as a seminarian, experienced a miraculous healing that led to the forthcoming canonisation of a much beloved Italian youth. Source: Catholic Review.
Fr Juan Manuel Gutierrez, associate pastor at St John the Baptist Church in Baldwin Park, California, spoke at press conference on Monday at his parish to share his experiences of being healed from a serious sports injury after seeking the intercession of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
The inexplicable recovery was judged by the Vatican to satisfy the final requirement in Frassati’s canonisation cause.
On November 25, Pope Francis formally recognised the miraculous healing of then-seminarian Gutierrez, whose name was kept confidential during the canonisation process. He had previously announced that Frassati, along with Italian teen Blessed Carlo Acutis, would be canonised in 2025.
Pier Giorgio Frassati – born in Turin in 1901 to an influential family – began receiving daily Communion at a young age, while serving the poor through the St Vincent de Paul Society and evangelising his friends.
A lay Dominican, Frassati also participated in demonstrations to defend his faith against the Communist and Fascist parties in Italy. His passion for outdoor activities such as mountaineering has made him a patron of athletes.
He died in 1925 at age 24, having contracted polio, which doctors speculated he may have contracted from serving the sick.
The miracle itself was an appropriate one for the cause of Frassati, an avid outdoorsman whose hobbies included skiing and mountaineering – with his motto for the latter pursuit being “verso l’alto,” Italian for “to the heights.”
Then-seminarian Gutierrez had torn his Achilles tendon, which connects the calf and heel muscles, while playing basketball with fellow seminarians in 2017.
A doctor confirmed the diagnosis and recommended surgery, a prescription the seminarian dreaded due to the expense and the delay it would cause in his formation.
He was inspired to begin a novena for aid in coping with the injury. He sought Frassati’s intercession, promising to make known any favours received.
Although he hadn’t specifically requested a miraculous healing, the seminarian found himself experiencing a gentle warmth in his injured leg. He no longer needed a brace, and days later, an incredulous doctor confirmed that the injury had inexplicably disappeared.
FULL STORY
Miracle in Los Angeles: Priest recounts Frassati’s intercession in healing (By Carol Glatz, CNS via Catholic Review)
