In this season of Christmas, we celebrate the greatest miracle of all, the Incarnation of the Second person of the Trinity in human flesh. It is not easy for people to accept the reality of a stupendous miracle of this sort. Historically, many people have become more open to faith in the Incarnation of Jesus by their experience of lesser miracles, such as unexplained healings.
The problem is that many stories of healings can be dismissed rather easily. The ChurchPop website a few years ago carried an article on atheism and miracles. The point being made was that atheists often find it relatively easy to reject Christian miracles. Cures of cancer or infections are generally hidden from view, making it difficult to confirm the presence of the supernatural. If, for example, a person goes to Lourdes with cancer and comes back cured, the atheist could reply, “Well, how do we know that the cancer didn’t go into remission spontaneously?”
A Class of Miracles that Cannot be Dismissed
The best type of miracle for convincing an atheist, according to the ChurchPop author, involves cures like the growing back of an amputated limb, for it would be impossible to explain away such a cure as an accident of nature. The author went on then to provide historical documentation for a case of the reappearance of an amputated leg following prayers for the intercession of Our Lady.
Even the most hard-headed and rational human being just has to accept that a miracle such as this points to the existence of the supernatural. But maybe miracles of this sort are extremely rare? If we look into the matter, though, there are actually no shortage of such historical cases in the armoury of the Catholic Church. We don’t have to limit our appeal to a single case of a regrown limb from a few centuries ago. Many of the healings that have been investigated by the Church for the canonisation of saints have involved the instantaneous regeneration of organs or skin, something that cannot be explained by natural means.
Elvira Moriano of Peru
One day, while at home, Elvira Moriano of Lima accidentally dropped an earthenware dish and it shattered into pieces. A shard of the pot struck her in the eye with such force that it pierced the cornea. All of the fluids emptied out of the eye, which became completely flaccid. Elvira was overcome with pain and began to cry out loudly. Neighbours arrived and a surgeon was called. When Elvira asked the surgeon if her eye would ever be restored, he replied that “Only God can restore the organs of the body”. News of the accident spread through the city and reached the monastery where St Martin de Porres had once lived and where Elvira’s son was a Dominican novice. The prior sent a relic of Saint Martin to Elvira. When the relic was held to her eye, the pain was alleviated and she fell into a deep sleep.
Next morning, when she awoke, her eye had regenerated back to normal and she was able to see again perfectly. This healing was witnessed by many people and was confirmed by her doctor in a sworn deposition. Eventually, it was one of the miracles used for the beatification of Martin de Porres in the 1830s.
Matheus Vianna of Brazil
Four-year-old Matheus Vianna was a very weak and malnourished child. He had a rare condition known as an annular pancreas in which the organ encircles the intestine, preventing proper digestion. He constantly vomited after eating. Only a transplant could save the child, but he was too weak for surgery. Doctors told his mother that he could not expect to live beyond the age of five. A local priest, Father Tenório, used to visit Assisi in Italy and developed a devotion to a young boy called Carlo Acutis who had died in 2006 after a short illness.
Carlo had great reverence for the Eucharist and his cause for beatification had been opened. Father Tenório received a piece of clothing that had belonged to Carlo from his mother. The feast day of Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil’s patroness is October 12th, which happened to be the date of Carlo’s death. Every year after the celebration of Our Lady’s feast, the priest would display the relic of the clothing of Carlo in his parish church. In 2013, four-year-old Matheus kissed the relic, and, according to his mother, he prayed for healing. Specifically, he prayed aloud that he would stop vomiting. Many people present witnessed this prayer.
When Matheus got home, he ate beef and French fries and did not vomit afterward. His mother later testified that this was the first time in his entire life that this happened. At the next ultrasound scan, the doctor confirmed that the morphology of the pancreas has completely changed and become normal. One doctor declared that it was now a textbook pancreas, an organ that was so perfect that it looked unreal. When Father Tenório saw Matheus’ tests, he reported the facts to the postulator of the beatification of Carlo Acutis.
The Vatican received the documents in March 2019. After stringent evaluation by a board of medical experts, the case was declared inexplicable by natural causes. The cure was used for the beatification of Carlo Acutis.
The Canonisation of Mother Cabrini
In 1880, Mother Frances Cabrini founded the Institute of Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The order ran a number of hospitals in the United States. In one of these hospitals, a nurse dropped a fifty percent silver nitrate solution into the eyes of a newborn child named Peter. The correct dosage should have been one percent and the result was disastrous. The child’s face was burned and became like charred wood, while the hollows of his eyes were completely filled with two grotesque swellings.
The medical professionals could do nothing for this child who was now totally blind and disfigured. In response, the nuns prayed all night to their foundress, seeking a miracle. The following morning, they found Peter had two perfect eyes, and his skin was healing without scarring. The miracle was used for the canonisation of Mother Cabrini. Peter attended the ceremony and eventually became a priest.
The Lappanesi Miracles of Gemma Galgani
Elisa Scarpelli was a ten-year-old child from Lappano, Italy. In 1932, Elisa developed cancerous ulcers spreading from her left jaw to the upper part of her neck. She was first taken to the family physician, Dr. Augustine Intrieri, who initially treated it with a linseed poultice, without effect. He then decided to attempt a surgical operation to remove the ulcers, which failed. Afterward, several other doctors tried various remedies, without any positive effect.
Gemma Galgani was an Italian mystic who died in 1903. On the day of Gemma Galgani’s beatification (May 14th, 1933), Elisa picked up a picture of Gemma. Full of faith and hope, she removed the bandages from her face, applying the picture directly to the cancerous ulcers. At the same time, she invoked Gemma for healing. The wounds were instantly healed. She looked into the mirror, astonished, and cried out “Mother!” Her mother, who was in another room, came in to see her daughter completely cured. Both mother and daughter were overcome by emotion.
In the same town of Lappano, Natale Scarpelli (who was unrelated to Elisa) was a farmer with a wife and child. In 1935, a painful festering ulcer appeared on his leg after an accident. This condition did not respond to professional medical treatment. Natale became bedridden. As the sole breadwinner, this was a very serious situation for the family. They began to pray to Gemma Galgani, using a relic which they possessed of the mystic.
At one point, the daughter took the relic of Blessed Gemma, making the sign of the cross over the ulcer. Mr. Scarpelli soon grew very tired and fell into a deep sleep, something he rarely did because of the severe pain in his leg. The following morning, the family awoke to discover that he had been miraculously cured. Fresh skin had regenerated and filled the large ulcerous cavity. All pain was gone and he was able to get out of bed and walk normally.
Medical professionals later testified that “this miracle is not only incomprehensible but it upsets all the physio-pathological laws of the medical field.” Both miracles were used for the canonisation of Gemma Galgani in 1940.
Miracle for St Bakhita
St John Paul II gave great impetus to the canonisation process of Sister Josephine Bakhita (who died in 1947) when he visited Sudan on one of his papal journeys. The miracle used for her beatification in 1992 involved the healing of a nun from Bakhita’s own congregation. The nun suffered from a complete disintegration of her knees, known as arthritic synovitis. For nine years she suffered terribly and was bedridden. In 1948, while waiting for surgery, she prayed a nine-day novena to Bakhita.
The night before her operation, she awoke with a clear voice saying to her, “Get up and walk!” The nun obeyed and started walking around normally, something she hadn’t done in years. The doctors performed an x-ray and found no trace of the disease. An operation was no longer necessary.
The miracle for Bakhita’s canonisation in 2000 also involved the instantaneous cure of a highly visible condition. Eva de Costa from Brazil was afflicted with diabetic ulcers in her legs. After praying fervently to Bakhita, the ulcers and pain disappeared instantly. The cure was investigated and confirmed to be naturally inexplicable by medical experts.
The Tumour of Consiglia De Martino
The miracle used for Padre Pio’s beatification process was the case of Consiglia De Martino, a married woman with three children from Salerno, Italy. In 1995, she developed a very rapidly-progressing growth in her neck. Following scans, the examining doctor determined that Consiglia’s thoracic duct had ruptured, forming a huge lump containing approximately two litres of lymphatic fluid. Consiglia was told that she would need to undergo a very difficult and risky operation on November 3rd of that year. She immediately began to implore the intercession of Padre Pio. She phoned Fra Modestino — a friar stationed in Padre Pio’s friary in the south of Italy. Fra Modestino prayed at the tomb of Padre Pio on November 1st and 2nd. On November 2nd, Consiglia’s pain diminished greatly, followed by a rapid reduction of the swelling in her neck.
The next day, Consiglia was examined by the doctors prior to the planned operation. The x-rays showed the complete cure of the rupture of the thoracic duct, the disappearance of the large liquid deposit in Consiglia’s neck, and the disappearance of other liquid deposits in her abdomen. The surgery was cancelled. Consiglia had been immediately and inexplicably cured of a dangerous condition—without medical intervention of any sort.
This is just a selection of cures that have all been rigorously verified by medical commissions. In many cases, these commissions have included doctors of various faiths and none. In places like Lourdes, of course, there are many other cures that are more difficult to substantiate. It is a sad truth that cases of spiritual healing, even those involving radical conversions of life, can easily be dismissed by atheists as natural or purely psychological developments. Cures such as those listed above, however, involving rapid, visible transformations from diseased tissue to healthy tissue, are not amenable to a natural explanation.
Reflection on supernatural healings can aid our faith in the Incarnation of Christ. Our faith does not depend on miracles, but for those who have difficulty believing, or do not believe at all, genuine miracles are a valid place to start. Jesus tells us so himself.
“But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 10,38).
Edward Benet blogs at www.immaculatemother.org/blog
28 thoughts on “Miracles to Convince Atheists”
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In my experience, the miracle that converts the atheist is the one that happens to him.
For anyone who doubts miracles, read about Saint Margarette Costello. She was blind, ugly, a hunchback, and had nothing earthly going for her. She was handoned twice by her parents. people around her wondered why she was so “happy”!
This is a good article and it is very easy for me to believe these miracles, since I volunteer at a shrine and have personally been involved in many miracles.
The negative responses bring to mind this quote…
‘For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.’
God bless you and God bless everyone who has seen this article!
Thanks Tony. After wading through the negative comments, it is a relief to read yours. God bless you and happy Christmas
Tony
That’s the saying I was thinking of. But it absolves one from having to prove anything at all, which is antithetical to the purpose of Edward’s post.
Ironically that was a quote at the beginning of the movie the song of Bernadette which I just watched again this past weekend. Everything happens for God’s purpose
If anything, this post just bolsters the atheist argument, because not one of the miracles discussed involved an amputated limb.
This article bolsters atheism?
A lady’s eye is completely destroyed in an accident. They pray over her. The eye is perfectly restored.
A boy has a completely deformed pancreas, a condition which has no cure. He prays. The pancreas instantaneously becomes a perfect organ, like the one they have in textbooks.
A child’s face and eyes are burned and destroyed by a strong silver nitrate solution. Only the hollows of his eyes remain. They pray over him. His eyes and skin are restored. He himself is so taken by the miracle that he becomes a priest.
A lady has a rupture thoracic duct which causes a swelling the size of a football on her neck. A priest prays for her. The next day scans reveal that the rupture has vanished as if it never existed and the swelling disappears.
Miracles like these only bolster atheism if the atheist doesn’t want to believe! Your view seems to be that unless a cure involves the regrowth of a missing limb, then it can be dismissed. But the EXPRESSLY described intention for writing this article was to show that we don’t need to insist on regrown limbs for irrefutable miracles. The many instantaneous restorations of eyes and skin and other organs are themselves a powerful testimony of the power of God among us if we turn to him.
You make a good point, if only from a journalistic standpoint. If you put a regrown limb in the intro, we darn well better see it in the body.
What the intro actually says is the following:
“We don’t have to limit our appeal to a regrown limb from a few centuries ago. Many of the healings that have been investigated by the Church have involved the instantaneous regeneration of organs or skin, something that cannot be explained by natural means.”
The article then goes on to document cases of regeneration of organs or skin.
Claims to these “miracles” help keep atheists atheists. And eventually they push the religious out of the fold. Unexplainable things are not miracles. There are plenty of things that are unexplainable with current knowledge.
In addition to unexplainable outcomes, there have been plenty of unscrupulous people that have faked miracles. The Vatican putting a stamp of approval on something means nothing to many Catholics let alone non-Catholics.
Every time I have looked into claims of a “miracle”, there have been massive holes and red flags. I used to believe in these when I was younger, but as I saw more I became bitter that I was lied to. I used to look into the miracle claims made on this site, but I don’t any more because it is a waste of time. The “miracle” always turns out to have holes or massive exaggerations wrapped into it. As Bob says, these should never be the basis of anyone’s faith because it is a sand foundation.
Hi Kyle.
You say “unexplainable things are not miracles”. This is a blanket statement that you use to dismiss the article, but like all blanket statements it is unfair and doesn’t stand much scrutiny. Of course not all unexplained things are miracles, but that doesn’t mean there are no miracles!
If someone has a pancreas that is deformed, and the medical professionals know by virtue of the laws of biology that such a condition CANNOT right itself instantaneously , and then the boy prays for divine intervention, and suddenly the pancreas becomes perfectly formed, then it is natural to ascribe the cure to divine intervention. That is a good and natural conclusion to come to. The sheer volume of such cases, not only among Catholics, but also other Christian denominations, gives us just reason for believing that God’s power is at work in these cases.
Then you make another blanket statement, even more unfair than the first: “In addition to unexplainable outcomes, there have been plenty of unscrupulous people that have faked miracles. The Vatican putting a stamp of approval on something means nothing to many Catholics let alone non-Catholics.”
Of course there have been faked miracles, but to insinuate that the Vatican is putting a stamp of approval on fake miracles is not only unfair, it is a blatant untruth. The REASON the Vatican has the most rigorous procedure in the world for the investigation of alleged miracles is PRECISELY to uncover and expose fake miracles and to ensure that only genuinely inexplicable cures are considered for cases of canonisation.
The fact is that the scientific and medical commissions formed by the Vatican for the investigation of miracles have no parallel in any other world religion for the scale of the operation, their rigour and professionalism. This has been acknowledged many times by professors, doctors and scientific experts that are not themselves Catholic. No one who knows anything about the medical commissions assembled by the Vatican would accuse them of being biased or lenient.
You say that “Every time I have looked into claims of a “miracle”, there have been massive holes and red flags”. All of the cases mentioned in the above article are well documented. Why don’t you point out some of the holes or red flags in these, rather than make unjust blanket statements that don’t stand scrutiny?
Kyle, from your sceptical comments here and to other posts of mine it is clear that you have a difficulty with miracles that you consider to be fake. But you are still a believer in God, right? What if He has worked these signs for our benefit? Is it right to just dismiss them as “fake” or “inexplicable cures”? Certainly, the fake cures should be exposed, but there are so many that are genuine.
The miracles described in the above post are scientifically attested. They are not fake, and they are only a tiny sample of the thousands of rigorously attested miracles in the archive of the congregation for saints in Rome. Medical professionals have made sworn depositions that these cures cannot be explained in terms of the laws of biology. Instead of dismissing them in a blanket way, you need to show how (for example) the restoration of that pancreas in 2013 has holes or red flags or exaggerations in it.
Of course, if people really want, they can continue saying that some cures are just “inexplicable”, but then they are being unfair on God. The sick person asked for God’s help. Help was given, and people harden their hearts and dismiss the cure as “inexplicable”. This is not a right or just conclusion.
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. (Psalm 95)
Hi Edward, thanks for the response. I do believe in God. I also believe that His creation is far more complex than we can understand in many ways. Cancer occasionally goes away without explanation in both people that pray as well as in people that don’t. We don’t always understand what causes cancer, and we also don’t understand what makes it behave in very unexpected ways in rare instances. There is no law that cancer never goes away…because it does in rare cases. A friend of mine had a cancer spontaneously quit growing before it was even found. We might understand these biological happenings eventually, but we don’t today. People have been calling things we don’t understand miracles for a long, long time and I don’t see these modern claims as anything different.
For me, it comes down to the fact that I don’t believe God gives people cancer and I don’t believe he takes it away. Cancer is an element of God’s creation. He is not giving us any signs through cancer. Additionally, as we’ve seen by recent posts on this site, doctors and their sworn statements aren’t always trustworthy. The demon sperm doctor is a great example of someone with a medical degree that is willing for whatever reason to spread false information.
Ultimately, if you want to call natural phenomenon that we don’t understand miracles, you can. I just don’t think it’s a great way to spread the faith, and it is definitely not something that is going to make atheists start believing.
Thank you for your last comment Kyle. I can accept that cancer sometimes does disappear spontaneously (in very rare cases). However, these cases documented above (and many, many others) are not of this sort. They involve rapid regeneration of tissue in ways that cannot be explained by medical science. All of these cures have three characteristics: they occurred rapidly after having recourse to prayer; medical experts testify that they cannot be explained by natural means; and they are enduring, in other words, the patient is monitored for months or sometimes for years to verify that the sick person does not revert to their previous sick state.
I agree that God does not give cancer, but he can take it away. He did not give paralysis to the man in the Gospel story, but he took it away. He did not give blindness to Bartimaeus, but he took it away. He did not give leprosy to the ten lepers, but he took it all away. Sickness and infirmity is part of the fallen human condition, and has become “natural” in the sense you describe. Our God has power over nature; he displayed this power in Gospel miracles and he wishes to display it still today to aid our faith. Some of us are weak and need it.
I am delighted to hear you are a believer Kyle. It is great that you can have a robust faith without having to contemplate miracles and wonders. God bless you in 2022. May you have a blessed year.
Hi Ed, thanks again for the discussion and I hope you have a blessed 2022 as well!
It’s sad that you have such little faith in God. My sister was having a hard time conceiving a child. She Went through several invitro fertilization attempts until one finally took. My sister then went to a shrine for padre pio while she was pregnant and had one of his blood stained gloves placed on her abdomen for protection over her child. She eventually needed a cesarean section which causes severe blood loss. Her surgeon was amazed that there was very little blood loss during the procedure. 22 years later he is a paramedic saving lives. Miracle, yes, believe it or not. It sounds like you want to believe in God but you won’t let yourself. Blessed are those who have not seen but still believed
Scott, the story you just cited actually has a rather large sin involved. In vitro fertilization is not a morally licit procedure by Catholic standards. If you consider this to be a miracle, it was a miracle granted as part of someone committing a rather serious sin.
And to your point, I would argue believing or not believing in miracles has nothing to do with faith in God. I have full faith in God. I know that He created everything, but I also know that we can’t come close to understanding the totality of his creation. You can call natural phenomenon miracles, but that doesn’t mean God specifically intervened. Back to the point of the article, you’re free to believe these are miracles. I just don’t think miracle claims like these will help bring people to God.
Thank you for this post. I especially like the link to Matheus Viana. You could have included too the miracle that led to the beatification of St Faustina.
May God be praised in all things!
Thanks Domingo. If you have time, could you put a short summary of that Sr Faustina miracle in a reply here?
Happy Christmas
Thank you for taking the trouble to comment, but why do you write things that have no basis in fact, and of which you clearly know nothing? Your comment is incorrect on all counts.
Statements to the Congregation for Saints ARE sworn.
Statement ARE rigorously cross-examined.
The people on the medical and scientific commissions ARE NOT churchmen.
If you want the facts on how a cause for canonisation is carried out, you can consult the Vatican’s website. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_07021983_norme_en.html
Here it makes very clear that statements that are not sworn HAVE NO VALUE. (number 23 on the Vatican website: “In their testimony, which is to be sworn to under oath, the witnesses must indicate the source of their knowledge of the things they assert; otherwise, their testimony is to be considered of no value.”)
Regarding cross examination, this is done at various times and in various ways. One of the figures responsible is known as the “Protector of the Faith”, and his task it is to question and verify all the material that is presented to him. Popularly, he is known as the “Devil’s Advocate”. His reputation is at stake and he takes his task very seriously. If he accepts something without sufficient proof, and that shortcoming later comes to light, his professional reputation would be seriously tarnished.
The medical commissions that investigate miracles for the Vatican are NOT made up of churchmen. They are formed by experts in the very medical area that is relevant to the particular cure. Many are non-believers. For the progression of someone’s cause, they do not need to conclude that the cure is a miracle. All that is needed is their confirmation that the cure cannot be explained by natural means.
I would like to see example of this process being carried out. For example, a transcript of cross-examinations, where you get the witnesses apart, a la Susannah and the Elders. These have got to be online somewhere.
Thanks for your civil reply and apologies if my language was a little strong earlier. The Vatican has an archive containing all of the documents describing the process of investigating the lives of holy people and the miracles associated with them since the late 1500s. These documents make up over 220 thick volumes. In addition I believe there are over 7000 dossiers that detail the lives and miracles associated with 3,500 people whose cases have been submitted for investigation. The lady in charge of the archive is called Simona Durante. Her contact details are: info@causesanti.va
I am sure that she might be able to email you some of the depositions of witnesses for a canonisation and the manner in which they were cross-examined.
Thank you!
For those who agree with the apostle St. Thomas, in order to elicit faith. a miracle must be one of immediate experience. The miracle which I witness, as the prompt to faith, is the internal integrity of the Faith, which is beyond human invention, and its consistency with common human knowledge. In contrast, I accept as miracles, those you list, based on my trust in the witnesses, not in the miracles. Because I did not witness these miracles, they cannot be the basis of my faith.
These “miracles” are attested to in unsworn statements by witnesses who were telling churchmen what they wanted to hear, or at least did not want to expose their friends or family as liars, and in the rare cases where the statements were sworn to, there was no cross-examination. At least that’s been my experience when I dig into particular events. Let me know if you find anything different.
A beautiful article; an atheist interested in truth can “investigate,” and the truth will reveal Christ.
Thank you Richard