Photo above: Little Audrey Santo
At least this is what thousands
of people who flock in to see her every month at her suburban home at
Massachusetts, USA believe. They have heard about statues bleeding real blood
or weeping oil in the house where this girl lives. This had sparked a lot of
interest who come to know about it and believe upon the possibility of a
spiritual presence. Some are here in search of a miracle cure from terminal
illness such as Cancer. Some get their
beliefs reinforced after being in the presence of this girl. Is this a miracle
or a mere coincidence?
Photo above: Family album before the accident occurred
How she landed into a
Coma
On August 9, 1987 Audrey
Santo in a near drowning incident was found with her face down at the backyard
swimming pool and was immediately rushed to the hospital. She had never
regained consciousness ever since that incident. She was diagnosed as suffering
from “akinetic mutism” (without or lacking ability to move and speech). Her
body functions sufficiently just to keep her alive though she does not respond
to any external stimuli. Her brain is irreversibly damaged. As she was not
expected to live for more than a few weeks, the doctors recommended that she be
sent to a nursing home. But she survived much longer than that.
Her mother’s search
for a cure
A year later, her
mother, Linda Santos took her to a Christian pilgrimage site at Medjugorje, a
popular pilgrimage site that was reported to have Virgin Mary’s apparition
since 1981. She was hoping to find a miracle cure for her daughter. There, she
met with Ivan Dragicevic, a visionary who took them in to the apparition room
and conveyed that he had a message to be delivered to the girl. He spoke in
Croatian language and the mother could not understand a word he spoke. This
event became the onset for a series of incidences later that brought Audrey’s
fame as a miracle healer where thousands flock in to see her with hope for
answers.
Miracles in the house
Photo above: Statue seeping oil
Nurses have reported a
strong scent of rose in Audrey’s room even though there were no roses present,
statues in her room began to seep oil and the legs of Jesus oozed blood,
stigmata was also reported though no photos were captured of this event.
People who claim to
been blessed
Peggy Badger, 45, of Nashua, N.H., a
caregiver for special-needs teenagers, credits Audrey with helping alleviate
the facial pain she had suffered from multiple sclerosis.
Photo above: Audrey brought in to a stadium in a stretcher by volunteers.
Photos above: Stadium filled with people awaiting for Audrey. As the popularity grew, so did the number of supporters and well wishers.
The Doyle Family - When my Grandmother died
in 2003 a Priest was about to Pray at her wake and my mother handed him the
Rosary Beads you gave her as a gift. The Priest did not know at that time
anything about this History of these special Rosary Beads. When the Priest
began to pray he noticed something about the Rosary Beads. After he completed
the Prayers he asked my mother where you did get these Rosary Beads and she
told him about Little Audrey and he knew who Little Audrey was and told my
mother while he was praying the Rosary Beads become hot and he had oil on his
hands from the Rosary Beads.
What others say
John Madonna, the commission's chairman,
said, "We did our examination behind the pictures and under the statues
and so forth and found that there was no way that these objects were being fed
the oil."
The Bishop of
Worcester, Daniel P Reilly cautioned against usage of words like “victim soul”
except for Christ who himself became the victim of our sins and transgressions
on the cross. Paranormal occurrences should not be mistaken as miracles of God.
One should not pray to a person such as “Prayer to Audrey” as this is not
acceptable in a Catholic teaching.
Joe Nickell,
paranormal investigator says there is no actual proof available in photos or
film that is worth anything ever recorded to testify against the miracle
claims. She might have developed some skin sores or a blister that was mistaken
for stigmata.
Father Emmanuel Mc
Carthy, Priest Worcester Diocese says, “Quite frankly I have no standing by
which to judge, what these events are whence they come or what they means. All
I know is that it had attracted people to the place especially to Audrey.”
Whether or not
Audrey’s case is authentic or fake, it had drawn many people to strengthen
their faiths. Some swear that a miracle had taken place in their lives upon
visiting Audrey. A foundation named Audrey Santo Foundation has been set up and
is pursuing Sainthood for Audrey. As two miracles are required for the process,
It has a website requesting people to come forward to relate how Audrey’s
miracles has touched on their lives. Audrey succumbed to cardio-respiratory failure and peacefully passed on to the other side on April 14, 2007.
May her soul rest in peace and if only dead people could talk, we wish to hear what Audrey would like to say herself.
CONTRIBUTION
1. Docufilm TV
2. ABC News
