The first British Catholic healed in Lourdes.
February 11 - Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
Dear brothers and sisters, on February 11, we celebrate the Immaculate Virgin Mary who appeared in Lourdes. To further nourish our devotion to our Heavenly Mother and celebrate the power of her intercession, we would like to recall the 71st miracle recognized by Holy Mother Church on December 8, 2024.
Alessandro de Franciscis, head of the Office of Medical Records, commented on the event: "A sign of God's goodness in a world torn apart by war."
It was 1923. John Traynor, a British citizen from the metropolitan borough of Liverpool, a veteran of the First World War who had been paralyzed by his wounds and continually tormented by violent epileptic seizures, decided, against the advice of his relatives and friends, to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes accompanied by three of his fellow doctors.
He was driven by the faith that his mother, an Irish woman who died prematurely when he was still a child, had instilled in him from an early age. His bathing in the sanctuary pools took place on the afternoon of July 25th. But it was after the Eucharistic procession that something extraordinary happened: during the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament, a tumultuous force invaded his body. His legs suddenly began to move, his arm raised to trace the sign of the cross in the air.
The news of his miraculous healing transcended borders and has reached us today as a "sign" of a God who frees humanity from sin and its consequences and is committed to preparing for his children "a time without time" filled with love, happiness, and life in the peace of his eternal Kingdom.