Lourdes Has Its 66th Officially Recognized Miracle

Zenit News Agency ^ | December 24, 2002

[NYer]

The latest officially recognized miracle at Lourdes involves a Frenchman who was once paralyzed by multiple sclerosis, a newspaper reported.

Le Monde dedicated an entire page to the scientifically inexplicable cure of an illness that began affecting Jean-Pierre Bély in 1972. He was classified by the French health system as a total invalid by the time he went on pilgrimage to Lourdes in October 1987, at age 51.

Those who accompanied Bély did not think he would survive the trip. At the end of the pilgrimage he received the anointing of the sick in the shrine's esplanade. When he returned home, he was already able to walk. Today, virtually all traces of the illness have disappeared.

Patrick Fontanaud, an agnostic physician who looked after Bély, said there is no scientific explanation for what occurred. It was Lourdes' 66th officially recognized miracle since the 1858 apparitions of the Blessed Virgin.

The head of the Lourdes Medical Office, Dr. Patrick Theillier, told Le Monde that there are two other miraculous cures about to be recognized: a 25-year-old Frenchwoman and a 60-year-old Italian woman, both cured in 1995.

[NYer]

Jean-Pierre Bely

[NYer]

OFFICIAL WEB SITE OF LOURDES

[NYer]

she has beautiful long strawberry blond hair which started growing from that point on.

What a beautiful story of faith! It took the parent's faith for this miracle to occur. Was it ever reported to Lourdes? Surely they would want to share it with others who come seeking similar help. Medical records should document the fact that your cousin had alopecia up until a particular date, at which point her hair grew in.

It may seem trivial by comparison to MS but for other sufferers, especially girls, it is equally painful.

[Desdemona]

Oh, wow. That is so wonderful.

[Salvation]

Thanks for the ping!

[Salvation]

It's so wonderful to know someone personally who has been healed in some way. Alleluia!

[OLD REGGIE]

A simple web search will turn up hundreds of references concerning spontaneous remission of Multiple Sclerosis. Are they all miracles?

Is multiple sclerosis fatal?

The extent of neurological impairment in multiple sclerosis depends on the site and extent of the damage. Therefore, the nature and severity of specific symptoms vary greatly between individuals. The course of disease is difficult to predict and symptoms may relapse , progress or undergo spontaneous remission . Most people with multiple sclerosis can expect 95 percent of the normal life expectancy.

Multiple Sclerosis - Spontaneous Remission

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

The preacher from our old church had MS. When he was diagnosed he had reached the point of being unable to walk. The doctors put him on some meds. that didn't seem to help. His wife started seaching for alternate treatments and found that eating meat could make MS worse. They both went on a strict vegetarin diet, she also had him take things like ginko, and ginseng, That was 7 yrs ago. He is still walking, he is working as a painter, and until just recently had been in remission.He is still doing better then the doctors ever thought he would but he had 7 yrs. of almost symptom free time. He is still walking, but has to rest alot now especially when the weather is very hot. He is a house painter. He said that was easier then being a preacher:)

Becky

[stylin19a]

I had always been a skeptic about things like this until approx. 1989.

My father had been diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis. His joints were all swollen, his fingers were all cramped/claw looking and he was in constant pain.

He was taking gold shots and was required to take 25-30 aspirin a day. He had to take the aspirin while in a warm bath. He was hunched over in absolute pain.

He had a small bottle of St. Jude's oil (whatever that is, wherever it originally came from i don't know), that was his mother's.

He rubbed the oil on his joints in a last desperate attempt for some relief. He experienced instant relief. His fingers became ungnarled and he never had that pain again.

[NYer]

He was taking gold shots and was required to take 25-30 aspirin a day.

It's miracle enough that he didn't bleed to death.

Thank you for sharing your story. Yes, we are all unbelievers .. UNTIL .. it happens to someone we love. Then, we try to justify it or find rational explanations ... when that fails, we bury it in our hearts, thank God and that particular saint for their intervention, and keep it hushed up. Who would believe us, right?

This is truly a beautiful story and thank you for sharing it with others on this forum. I have done a search on St. Jude's oil but found only a few testimonials, such as yours. Hopefully some other members will know more about it.

[Aquinasfan]

Wow! Thanks for the post.

[Aquinasfan]

Some very public phenomena for which no scientific explanation exists:

The Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano

The Shroud of Turin

the blood of St. Januarius

[Aquinasfan]

My father had been diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis.

I can appreciate this miracle because I have a similar form of arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis). Yes, remissions occur, but the damage is never reversed. Never.

The damage worsens because the immune system's attack may not stop resulting in destruction of synovial tissue, cartilage, bone, tendons and ligaments that may lead to permanent deformity and disability.

Fortunately for me, many new medications have come on-line in the past five years and I am now doing great. I can even jog and play basketball and soccer. But my SI joint which is fused will never "unfuse."

MS is an auto-immune disorder like RA. Scientists are only now discovering ways to reverse demyelination with specific therapies. Spontaneous reversal of demyelination is unheard of, as far as I know.