A letter from the Postulator General to the Congregation

Rome, December 20, 2006

Dear Confreres:

In anticipation of the promulgation of the Decree on the Miracle through the intercession of our Founder, which is achieved through publishing this document in Acta Apostolicae Sedis,  I would like to give you extended information, regarding the instance that was recognized as a miracle. This information may be passed on to all venerators of Fr. Papczyński and to people taking an interest in his cause and his beatification. Even though you may happen to know the personal data of the people involved, for their sake, please avoid mentioning their names or the names of places where the incident occurred. If you deem it appropriate, feel free to use this information in relation with the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord, which is a noteworthy feast of life.

The following are some details of this extraordinary story, which – after very careful consideration – the Holy See recognized as a miracle.  A young married woman became pregnant.  The very first weeks of the pregnancy already predicted the danger of losing the child. The expectant mother found herself in a hospital. A successful treatment followed and her health improved. The sonogram performed on the last day of her hospital stay showed the fetus’s heartbeat and size.

However, the joy wasn’t long-lived.  The next day, the threatening symptoms of a miscarriage appeared. The next sonogram confirmed the sad diagnosis. Since the heart had stopped, and the fetus’s size diminished, the doctor pronounced the child dead. He advised the mother to abandon pregnancy-supporting medicine. Another test conducted the day after, confirmed his diagnosis. The doctor expected a natural miscarriage to take place shortly. In a few days’ time, the woman had a follow-up appointment.

She came to see the same doctor three days later. Another sonogram was performed to see if a natural miscarriage had taken place. If that had not been the case, the doctor would have to surgically remove the dead fetus.  To his and the expectant mother’s amazement, the doctor discovered a heart beat.  In view of the previous, twice confirmed, diagnosis, this seemed to be impossible. The doctor decided to run tests using a different apparatus. Its results undeniably confirmed that the fetus was alive.  In less than seven months after this, the family welcomed a new baby, who was born healthy and is developing normally.

This grace, as it was discovered afterward, was implored through the intercession of Fr. Stanislaus.  The cousin of the happy mother, who also happens to be her godfather, after learning about his goddaughter’s serious condition and her subsequent hospitalization, immediately began to pray a Novena through the intercession of our Founder, for the intention of saving the life of the unborn child. The above-described events took place during the course of the Novena. Other family members joined in with this nine-day long prayer. The successful conclusion of this dramatic episode is due – without any doubt – to the intercession of our Founder.

The godfather has been a zealous venerator of our Founder for a long time. Years ago, when making a walking pilgrimage to Częstochowa, he stopped at our Founder’s tomb in Marianki, where the pilgrims had a scheduled rest. There he learned about our Founder and the graces that the faithful have received through imploring his intercession before God. He quickly became convinced of its authenticity. Among many graces that he implored through the intercession of our Founder, the most important is probably one regarding someone addicted to alcohol.  This person was able to get rid of this addiction almost at once.  Thus, it is not surprising, that he pleaded with the Lord, through Fr. Stanislaus’s intercession, for the life of his goddaughter’s unborn child.

We, as a Congregation, give thanks to God, along with the entire family that received this miracle, for the grace of bringing a dead fetus in its mother’s womb back to life. At the same time, we ask our Founder to provide further intercession for all unborn children.

Fr. Wojciech Skóra, MIC
Postulator General