Cardinal John Henry Newman will be canonized at the Vatican on Oct. 13, thanks to an extraordinary event.
It is the miracle that saved this mother from a desperate situation in Chicago.
It all started after her placenta became partially detached from her uterus during her fifth pregnancy. Her doctor recommended strict bed-rest.
MELISSA VILLALOBOS
Lawyer and mother
“I was told to observe strict bed-rest, I was told to do no exercise, no heavy lifting, to not walk unless it was absolutely necessary. I couldn't do laundry or housework or cooking. So I was basically told to stay in bed as much as possible, which was an impossible order because I had four children at the time who were six, five, three and one.”
One day when her husband was on a work trip, Melissa woke up with an unpleasant surprise: she was covered in blood. After preparing breakfast for her four kids, she went to her bedroom to see if resting would stop the hemorrhage.
MELISSA VILLALOBOS
Lawyer, mother
“By the time I got to the bathroom, I fell on the floor. I was losing a lot of blood at that time. I realized while laying on the floor in the bathroom that I needed to call for medical help.”
In that desperate situation, with her phone out of reach and with no energy to get up or even to shout for help, she turned to divine intercession.
MELISSA VILLALOBOS
Lawyer, mother
“Nobody was coming up and I couldn't get off the bathroom floor. I was losing a ton of blood. That's when I said please Cardinal Newman. Make the bleeding stop. Just then, immediately, as soon as I finished the words, the bleeding came to a sudden stop. It actually never returned. So I stood up, and I said, 'Cardinal Newman, did you just make the bleeding stop'? I know he did. Then I smelled this intense burst of roses that filled the bathroom air.”
From that moment on, Melissa was able to care for her kids without any problems. She went to the doctor later that day and confirmed that she was healed.
At least two specialists studied the case in Chicago and other doctors analyzed it in Rome. There is no scientific explanation for the healing.
GERALD M. CASEY
Doctor of Medicine, Chicago
“We also deposed her treating physician. All of those physicians felt very strongly that there could be no explanation medically for this instantaneous and spontaneous cessation of bleeding that occurred upon the intonation of only the words: ‘Cardinal Newman, please stop my bleeding.’ The fact that that could occur at that moment and time, we felt could not be established by any medical intervention, etc.”
The baby girl she carried in her womb in 2013 was born without any problems. Today Gemma happily rides her bike through the streets of Chicago. The astounding thing is that despite that complicated pregnancy, Melissa has had two more kids. The youngest is now 8 months old.
The whole family will go to the Vatican for the canonization of the saint who has helped them so much.
