A Diagnosis Without Medical Hope
Antonia Raco, a 67-year-old Italian woman, was diagnosed in 2006 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease. Over the years, her condition deteriorated, limiting her mobility and vital functions, until in 2009 she made a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Lourdes in France, the site of the Marian apparitions of 1858.
The Experience in the Lourdes Pools
During her visit, already in a wheelchair and with difficulties breathing and swallowing, Raco was taken to the sanctuary’s pools. There, as she recounted in a press conference, she heard a female voice that told her three times: «Do not be afraid.» At the moment of immersion, she felt a sharp pain in her legs, «as if they had been torn off.» Although she returned home in a wheelchair, shortly after, in her living room, she heard the voice again urging her to call her husband.
The Healing and the Path to Recognition
Upon calling her husband, Antonia Raco stood up by herself for the first time in years, experiencing a complete and instantaneous healing. The process of validating this event as a miracle required 16 years of medical and canonical investigations. Neurological experts, including Professor Vincenzo Silani, confirmed both the original diagnosis of ALS and the medical inexplicability of the recovery, as there is no cure for this disease.
Scientific Rigor and Ecclesial Discernment
The International Medical Committee of Lourdes (CMIL), composed of 21 experts, submitted the case to a secret vote in November 2024. Seventeen members voted in favor of recognizing the healing as «inexplicable, complete, and lasting,» surpassing the two-thirds majority required by ecclesiastical criteria. These criteria, initially established by Cardinal Prospero Lambertini (future Pope Benedict XIV), require that a healing be sudden, complete, permanent, medically inexplicable, and not attributable to treatment.
A Sign for Faith
Following the positive medical opinion, the bishop of Raco’s diocese of origin, Vincenzo Carmine Orofino, officially recognized the miracle on April 16, 2025. In the press presentation, religious authorities emphasized that miracles do not impose faith but are offered as signs. The bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, Jean-Marc Micas, highlighted the rigor and freedom of the medical experts during the process, while the rector of the sanctuary, Father Michel Daubanes, reflected: «If I believe, I can see miracles.»
Original source: www.thecatholictelegraph.com (published on July 28, 2025)
Photo: Valentin on Unsplash
