Blessed Frederic Janssoone "Miracle Worker" A premature baby + a relic of Blessed Frederic Janssoone = a "Miracle" birth in Pittsburgh!
In 1999, a Pittsburgh mother, in the fifth month of pregnancy, was taken to the hospital for complications.
The mother went into labor four months premature.
Doctors at the hospital started administering emergency procedures to delay delivery.
Concerned for her daughter and baby, the grandmother went to St. Anthony's Chapel and began praying.
The grandmother bathed in tears, sitting in the Chapel, was approached by a Franciscan Sister who is responsible for Chapel Administration.
The Franciscan Sister went into a back room to get a prayer card for the grandmother and met the Chapel Priest and recounted her story.
The Chapel Priest decided to allow a new relic, containing the hair of Blessed Frederic Janssoone (a Canadian Priest and Franciscan), be given to the grandmother.
Relics are revered for something called "beneficent contagion' and those with "eyes of faith" can invoke divine intervention.
The grandmother returned to the hospital and gave her daughter the relic of Blessed Janssoone and a booklet on his life.
The daughter was upset thinking that I may lose my baby and my mother's only concern is giving me a medal and booklet on the life of some Saint who she never knew.
Later that evening, the mother began to read the booklet and touched the relic to her womb.
The mother then recalls seeing a man with a beard at the foot of her bed and speaking to her saying that "everything is going to be all right".
As she was being wheeled into the delivery room, the mother recalls having her hand held by the same person in her vision.
The relic was carried into the delivery room by the mother.
The baby was born four months premature and at a birth weight of 1 pound, 10 ounces.
The baby's eyes, fingers and toes developed outside the womb and the infant was born healthy and never experienced any complications!
Doctors, family and friends all believe a miracle was granted from Heaven.
Many news and television agencies carried this international story.
If you visit the Chapel, it is quite possible that you may meet the grandmother, mother or baby...they return quite frequently to offer thanksgiving to our Lord, Jesus Christ and the intercession of Blessed Frederic Janssoone.
This miracle is currently under investigation by the Vatican and may be the 2nd miracle needed for Blessed Frederic's canonization!