With deep emotion and a spirit of gratitude, a delegation of nearly sixty faithful from the Diocese of Santa María de Los Ángeles participated in the canonization Mass of Vicenta María Poloni, celebrated on Sunday, October 19, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City. The ceremony was presided over by Pope Leo XIV and officially recognized the healing miracle that occurred over a decade ago in the town of Quilleco, Biobío Province, Chile.
A Miracle with Provincial Roots
The canonization of Vicenta María Poloni, founder of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona, is closely linked to Chile due to the miracle attributed to her intercession. This event took place in the Las Águilas sector, in the commune of Quilleco, within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Santa María de Los Ángeles. The protagonist of the event, Audelia Parra, 82, inexplicably survived an internal hemorrhage that occurred during a high-risk surgical intervention. At that critical moment, her grandson, then seminarian and now priest Álvaro Martínez, fervently prayed for the intercession of Blessed Poloni, resulting in a recovery described as «immediate and complete.» After several years of investigation, including medical and theological analyses, the miracle received final approval from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The Honor of the Offering
The Chilean delegation that traveled to Rome consisted of about 70 faithful, including Audelia Parra and her grandson, Father Álvaro Martínez Leal, vicar of Nacimiento. Both had the honor of presenting the offerings directly to the papal altar during the Holy Mass. Father Martínez described Sunday, October 19, as «a true encounter with heaven.» «The moment of canonization was indescribable. Our hearts were more than swollen; we could not contain our joy, especially seeing my grandmother pass before the altar with the offering of incense, right where the relics of the seven new saints were. It was an instant of grace, a sign of God’s love that reminds us that the Gospel continues to be life and hope for all,» he said.
The Presence of Witnessing Doctors
The Chilean pilgrimage in Rome was notable not only for the presence of the Parra family but also for those who certified the medical inexplicability of the miracle: the doctors who attended the case. Father Martínez highlighted the importance of the presence of health professionals who accompanied his grandmother’s healing process and gathered in Rome. «Here in Rome, Doctor Rodrigo Urrea, along with his family, and Doctor Diana Contreras joined us; they were witnesses to my grandmother’s healing process. It is beautiful to see how science and faith embrace in the same story that the Church today recognizes as a sign of God’s love,» he noted.
Voices of Gratitude and Living Faith
The Chilean pilgrims reflected deep emotion and recognized the experience as an immense gift from God. One of Audelia Parra’s daughters expressed the family’s gratitude upon seeing her mother participate in the ceremony, eleven years after the miracle: «As a family, we want to thank all the pilgrims who accompanied us with their prayers from Chile. Today, eleven years after the miracle, to have our mother alive and to see her offer an offering before the Pope is something inexplicable. We can only thank God and Saint Vicenta for this immense gift. We are living days of heaven here in Rome.» Other attendees of the pilgrimage, such as Gina and Juan Carlos from Nacimiento, described the experience as «wonderful.» Cecilia Pinto Guzmán, also from Nacimiento, highlighted the profound mysticism of the journey: «This pilgrimage has been an immense gift. Everything is mystical, everything is emotion. I leave filled with the Holy Spirit.»
Original source: www.latribuna.cl (published on October 21, 2025)
Photo: Bryan Jesus De Los Santos Breton on Unsplash
