Sunday, March 01, 2009

Bro. Andre passes his medical exam...

Update regarding Blessed Bro. Andre's cause for sainthood. Praised be God now and always.

Today, the Medical Commission responsible for studying a case of healing attributable to the intercession of Bro. André has given its positive judgment. According to the unanimous opinion of its members, the healing is scientifically unexplainable. This represents a crucial step for the advancement of the cause. The cause can now proceed to the theological commission, the second of the three commissions that will study it. One of the roles of the theological commission is to make sure that the healing is due to the sole intercession of Bro. André. If the judgement of this commission is also positive, the case will then proceed to a third commission made up of archbishops and cardinals whose role, among other things, is to evaluate the benefit of extending this devotion to the universal Church. Following the recommendations of the three commissions, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will make the final decision. Several months may pass before a final announcement is made.

Mario Lachapelle, CSC Vice-Postulator

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"the healing is scientifically unexplainable."

Bro. Andre died on January 6, 1937

Using today's technology to evaluate "miracles" performed almost a century ago....interesting

Fr. Michael Wurtz, CSC said...

Not quite.

Bro. Andre was declared "blessed" by Pope John Paul II in 1982. The process for canonization requires miracles that have occurred only after the person has been declared blessed. Therefore, the many unexplainable cures that occurred during Bro. Andre's lifetime are not eligible.

The miracle that was brought before the Vatican's medical commission most recently occurred around 15 to 20 years ago when a young boy suffered severe head trauma. Doctors gave him little to know hope for improvement of severe impairments.

The family prayed to Blsd. Bro. Andre and the boy is now a very healthy normal teenager/young adult. Medical scientists have concluded that no scientific rationale can be given for this specific event. It has therefore been deemed miraculous.

And thus, we give thanks to God for the gift of this grace brought to us by the intercession of Blsd. Bro. Andre, whose own devotion to St. Joseph is a lasting memory to us all for the need of saintly intercession in a world that is often marked by agony, hardship, and cynicism.

Karlo M. Leonor said...

Deo gratias!

Anonymous said...

"Medical scientists have concluded that no scientific rationale can be given for this specific event. It has therefore been deemed miraculous."

Ehhhhhhhh.....scary

Where does it end? I hope not to come off disrespectful, I'm sure he was a great person. However, this just adds to the list of god answers to questions I've collected over the years.

where did we come from?
why are we here?
where do we go when we die?
why was the boy cured?

god.