Santiago Taboada
When Antonia Raco's healing last year was recognized as miraculous, the number of extraordinary healings at the Shrine of Lourdes rose to 72. But which cases have been the most remarkable? What is the typical profile of those who have been healed?
First, four out of every five miracles in Lourdes have occurred among women. The typical profile is a French woman suffering from tuberculosis.
However, as decades go by, medical conditions change, and fewer and fewer miracles are being declared. The most recent one was the healing of Antonia Raco. The doctor in charge of the Office for the Verification of Miracles spoke about it.
SANDRO DE FRANCISCIS
Office for the Verification of Miracles, Lourdes
Mrs. Antonia Raco, is a primary lateral sclerosis. uh which is of course a very severe disease because it's a neurodegenerative disease of the family like the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is the same sort of family which is very severe and brings to death uh this cure arrived totally suddenly in the morning she is with a very severe clinical picture that now the entire world know
So far this century, only two people have been cured without a medical explanation. This isn’t too far off from the four cases that were declared miracles last century.
On the other hand, when the apparitions at Lourdes began in 1858, seven miracles occurred, all of which were recognized in 1862. In other words, 10% of all the miracles at the Shrine occurred in a single year.
The miracles are becoming more widespread internationally, contributing to Lourdes' fame. Of the last ten people who were healed, seven were foreigners and three were French. Despite this, the overall figure shows that the vast majority of healings involve French nationals, accounting for more than 75 percent.
As for the typical conditions seen, 40% of the miracles have occurred among people suffering from tuberculosis. This makes sense, since the so-called “white plague” was ravaging Europe, which lasted without a cure until the mid-20th century.
However, there are some conditions that seem to be rarely associated with miracles. Neither the records from Lourdes or any other shrine document any cures for Down syndrome or autism.
SANDRO DE FRANCISCIS
Office for the Verification of Miracles, Lourdes
This is my observation today, and now the observation is that usually in the events that we consider miracles, that we give the tampone, the milagro, usually there's always the respect of the laws of nature.God, this is my feeling, I might be wrong one day because he can do what he wants, but God usually respects the laws that he himself gave to nature.
Lourdes has more medically verified healings recognized by the Church than any other shrine in the world, not necessarily because healings are more frequent there, but because it is and has been the only place with an established medical facility capable of documenting them and subjecting them to medical examination.
