LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (CNS) — For what
could be the first time in the 176-year history of the Diocese of Little Rock, a diocesan tribunal
submitted formal documentation to the Vatican on an alleged healing miracle of
a former Arkansas college student.
Ven. Henriette Delille
March 11, 1813: Born Nov. 21, 1842: Founded the Sisters of the Holy Family Oct. 15, 1852: Professed Vows Nov. 16, 1862: Died 1988: Named Servant of God March 27, 2010: Declared Venerable
“We served as a fact-finding
gathering source for the Holy See,” said Fr. Greg Luyet, judicial vicar of the
diocese, who oversaw canonical procedures for this aspect of the sainthood
cause.
The documentation prepared for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome is one possible step for the beatification cause for Mother Henriette Delille, who founded the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans. Her sainthood cause was opened in 1988 and was approved unanimously by the U.S. bishops in 1997. She was declared venerable in 2010.
If her canonization cause
continues, she could be the first black saint from the U.S.
Mother Delille was born in New
Orleans in 1812. She died in 1862.
The story of a possible miracle
attributed to Mother Delille’s intercession, stems from Christine McGee who was
a 19-year-old college student when the alleged healing happened in Little Rock,
said Sr. Doris Goudeaux, co-director of the Henriette Delille Commission
Office.
In December 2007, McGee was
hospitalized for an aneurism. Sr. Doris said her mother was told that her
daughter “was very sick, and they should try to get to the hospital as soon as
they could … it looked like she was going to die.”
The girl’s mother, who had a
devotion to Mother Delille, started to pray to her from the time she first
learned of her daughter’s sickness. “She prayed to Henriette the whole time.
Even though it seemed like things weren’t going to work, she held on to that
belief,” Sr. Doris said.
Venerable Henriette Delille, who founded the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans in 1842, is seen in this restored photo taken around 1850. The Diocese of Little Rock, Ark., submitted formal documentation from a fact-finding mission regarding an alleged miracle, a healing through the intercession of Mother Henriette of a 19-year-old Arkansas college student in 2008. (CNS, courtesy Sisters of the Holy Family)
The doctors said McGee was “still
unresponsive in a coma” even when things started to look better, Sr. Doris
said. While things did get worse before they were better, McGee was released
from the hospital a month after she was admitted. She went through physical
therapy and last year she obtained her master’s degree from Loyola University
in New Orleans.
The Holy Family Sisters were first
informed about the alleged miracle in 2014 by McGee’s mother. The story was
published in the order’s newsletter and Vatican officials saw it. The order
then started the official investigation process.
Andrea Ambrosi, postulator of
Mother Delille’s cause, received word from the Holy Family Sisters regarding
the alleged miracle. The Diocese of Little Rock then received a formal request
to embark on a fact-finding mission since the alleged miracle occurred in
Arkansas.
The diocese opened the fact-finding
case in 2015 about the alleged miracle and finished their work in 2018.
Sr. Doris said she had limits on
what details she could share regarding the case, but she said the Congregation
for the Causes of Saints issued “a decree of juridical validity,” signed Dec.
7, 2018, confirming the Diocese of Little Rock met the standards for collecting
the required facts within their documentation.
Citing norms issued by the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints to maintain secrecy of the process —
including the questions asked and those who participated to protect the
integrity of the process — Fr. Luyet said he was not able to discuss anything
about the alleged miracle or individuals involved.
— By Aprille Hanson, Catholic News Service. Hanson is associate editor of ARKANSAS CATHOLIC, newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock.