Dear AMIL Members and Dear Readers
This issue of our Bulletin opens with the magnificent news of the recognition of the 71st Miracle of Lourdes. John Traynor, severely wounded at war, was cured of epilepsy, paralysis of the right arm and paraplegia on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1923. The healing was collegially recognised by the Bureau des Constatations Médicales, chaired by my predecessor Dr Auguste Vallet, in 1926 . It is the first miraculous cure recognised by an English-speaking diocese. On behalf of all of you, I thank the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Lourdes for this great gift, I thank my colleague Kieran Moriarty for his patience and perseverance in his research, I thank the generous devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes of the millions of pilgrims from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland who have passed by the Grotto, and I thank Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, OP for deciding to solemnly recognise this miracle in his magisterial office as Father and Pastor of the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
Archbishop McMahon concludes his Decree, dated 8 December 2024, with these words “In view of the weight of the medical evidence, John Traynor’s testimony of faith and his devotion to Our Lady, it is with great joy that I declare that John Traynor’s recovery from multiple and serious medical conditions must be recognised as a miracle worked by the power of God through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. I hope that in February 2025, during the Jubilee Year, an appropriate celebration will be held in the Metropolitan Cathedral to mark this significant moment in the history of our archdiocese, helping us all to respond to the Jubilee call to be ‘pilgrims of hope”.
This statement suggests to me the value of the Hope we will celebrate in this Jubilee 2025, and it signals to me - through the Bishop’s discernment - that the horrors of war and its tragic burden of suffering are not inescapable.
Peace is the remedy!
In this issue you will find an anthology of the different emotions we have experienced over the past year at the Bureau.
Ashley Rowland, (Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University, Chucago) tells us how much the students realised they could give to the sick in terms of spiritual care (Nursing Students Provide Spiritual Care at Lourdes). Young Elliot Hartley, a promising journalist, tells of his experience in Lourdes (A Young Person’s Guide to Lourdes). I met my friend Rita Coruzzi again in Lourdes. She is now a famous writer who contributed a piece for us on how much her return to Lourdes meant for her (The Miracle of Acceptation).
I thank Dr Stephen Tran who wanted to write for us about the relationship between the cures of Lourdes and the sharing of medical data. And in a very special way, I thank Father Giuseppe Serighelli, Passionist and Chaplain of the Sanctuary. He has been meeting doctors and members of AMIL in the Chapel of Saints Cosmas and Damian on Tuesdays and Saturdays, for the second year running, helping us to reflect on the Gospel for the following Sunday. Here we publish his reflection for the Solemnity of the Assumption. The Bulletin also features contributions from two dear friends and medical colleagues: Dr Hamilton Grantham, Secretary of the British Lourdes Medical Association, and Dr Ursula Sottong who continues to update us on the subject of dementia.
Closing, as always, with the traditional Carnet.
And I hope to see many of you next 11 February!
Sandro de Franciscis ■
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