Lenten Campaign 2025
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In some truly joyful news for Holy Week, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes has officially declared its 72nd miracle: an Italian woman’s astonishing cure from a rare neuromuscular disease more than 15 years ago.
The announcement came Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at the grotto, when Fr. Michel Daubanes, rector of the shrine, revealed the decision immediately following the final prayers of the rosary.
A life transformed in 2009
The recipient, Antonietta Raco of the Diocese of Tursi‑Lagonegro, “suffered from primary lateral sclerosis” -- a type of motor neuron disease that causes weakness in the muscles. She made the pilgrimage hoping for relief. After bathing in the spring waters, she “began to move independently” and, in what doctors could not explain, “the effects of the infamous illness immediately and definitively disappeared,” according to the tweet that was shared by Catholic World Report.
As Raco's diocese explained, word of her recovery reached the International Medical Committee of Lourdes, which, after thorough review, declared “the medically unexplained character of ... the woman's recovery.”
Meanwhile, Bishop Vincenzo Carmine Orofino, of Raco's native Tursi-Lagonegro, provided for the establishment of a medical‑theological commission and the appointment of an episcopal delegate in order to make the necessary ecclesial discernment about the alleged miraculous healing.
The Italian newspaper La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno quoted Raco’s, physician describing the cure as “a scientifically inexplicable phenomenon.” Raco herself spoke of an almost ethereal uplift, sharing that she felt “an unusual feeling of well‑being” after immersing in the waters.
A beacon of hope
It's wonderful that this official recognition has been announced not only during Holy Week, but in this Jubilee Year of Hope. The story reminds the faithful of how God chooses to use such a holy sanctuary. In fact, since 1858, Lourdes has drawn millions seeking physical healing and spiritual consolation. Each officially recognized miracle — now 72 in total — reminds the faithful that grace can break through even the strongest barriers.
For many, these cures are more than medical oddities; they reaffirm hope, deepen prayer life, and inspire acts of charity. As Bishop Orofino proclaimed:
Thank God, who with this divine sign has once again manifested his presence among his people.”
