On 27 April in 2014, Pope Francis officially canonized our beloved Pope Saint John Paul II. The Church venerates people, such as Pope John Paul who live lives of heroic virtue, in order to inspire the faithful to live likewise. In order for a person to receive the title of “saint,” the Church requires two proven miracles performed with their intercession. As you can expect from the author of the Theology of the Body, both of the miracles connected to John Paul II’s canonization centered around bodily healing.
Sr. Marie Pierre:
A religious sister by the name of Marie Pierre received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in 2001. Pope John Paul had the same disease at the time, and he would succumb to it in 2005. Sr. Pierre struggled with day-to-day activities due to her illness, and hated to see the Holy Father suffer from similar afflictions.
Sr. Marie Pierre
Two months after his passing, Sr. Pierre prayed for the aid of Pope John Paul. Surely if anyone understood her struggles, the late pontiff did. When she finished her prayer, she felt a desire to write. Despite her disease often impairing her ability to write, she found herself able to keep her fingers moving as though completely healthy. By the following morning, her symptoms had abated.
In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI affirmed the miraculous nature of Sr. Pierre’s healing with the intercession of Pope John Paul.
Floribeth Mora Diaz:
In the same year that the Vatican acknowledged Sr. Pierre’s miracle, a woman named Floribeth Mora Diaz suffered a debilitating brain aneurysm. So debilitating, in fact, that her doctors declared she had only a month to live. She returned home to remain on bedrest until her expected death.
Floribeth Mora Diaz
While in bed, Diaz wanted to watch the beatification of Pope John Paul on TV, which took place on 1 May 2011. She fell asleep after the ceremony ended, but awoke when she heard the voice of Pope John Paul say to her, “Get up! Don’t be afraid!”
Diaz got out of bed and reported to her husband that she felt fine! The doctors could not explain how she had recovered. They declared that no scientific explanation could account for her healing. The Vatican flew Diaz to Rome to run their own medical tests and came to the same conclusion, declaring it the second miracle needed for Pope John Paul’s canonization.
Fittingly for the author of the Theology of the Body, both miracles healed a person’s body. Not only the lives, but also the deaths and spiritual intercessions of God’s holy saints inspire us to live faithful lives. God constantly works through the Church to remind us of His love for us. He sent us Pope John Paul to remind us that our bodies matter, and He sent Pope John Paul specifically to Sr. Pierre and Floribeth Diaz to heal their bodies in miraculous ways.
Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.
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