What Are the Miracles That Made Therese a Saint?
Pope Pius XI declared Therese’s sainthood on May 17, 1925, after four authenticated miracles of healing. Testimonies of physicians, the church and the individuals who were healed combined to provide the proof necessary to bestow sainthood. Canonization typically takes quite a long time as the four required miracles must occur and be proven, but vetting St. Therese’s last two miracles took only two years following approval of the first two miracles.
The first miracle involved healing the stomach ulcers of Sister Louise of St. Germain. The second miracle cured Charles Anne of advanced pulmonary tuberculosis, of which the 23-year-old seminarian was dying. He said that he prayed to Therese on the night he felt he was dying. The attending physician testified that new lungs replaced the diseased lungs. He said that the new lungs were functioning normally. Therese’s beatification resulted from these first two miracle cures.
By St. Therese’s intercession, two more cures were declared supernatural, sealing her canonization. Gabrielle Trimusi, from Parma, Italy, experienced healing of the arthritis of her knee and the tubercular lesions on her vertebrae.
In Schaerbeck, Belgium, Maria Pellemans’ diagnosis from Dr. Vandensteene included pulmonary and intestinal tuberculosis, the same illnesses that St. Therese also experienced. Dr. Vandensteene examined Maria after she visited Therese’s grave.
Dr. Vandensteene testified that he found that Pellemans “literally transformed.” He remarked that her ability to eat was restored. Although he documented great pain before, he reportedly found no tenderness in her abdomen after the miracle. Included as evidence, reports from two other physicians confirmed the diagnosis prior to the healing.
