Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States who also holds Peruvian citizenship, recently declared that a miracle had taken place in Rhode Island. He said it happened thanks to the help of a 19th-century Spanish priest. The Vatican said a baby born in 2007 recovered in a way doctors couldn’t explain after a prayer to Father Salvador Valera Parra.
Signed on June 20, the official decree claimed that a doctor's prayer to Father Parra inexplicably healed a baby born in 2007.
According to a report from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, a child identified only as 'Tyquan' was born prematurely at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket and was not expected to survive. "Little Tyquan continued his growth as a normal child by leading a regular life and playing sports," the dicastery said in a translation from the original Italian.
The baby was reportedly suffering from a lack of oxygen and other symptoms that showed no signs of improvement. “The fact that the baby had stopped breathing, hadn’t breathed for 65 minutes, and they kept working on him—that came to mind as I reflected on it,” said Rev. Timothy Reilly. “Everything points to the circumstances being unexplainable. Something beyond us is responsible for his recovery.”
Rev. Reilly, chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, described the pope’s recognition of the miracle as “wonderful news.”
The doctor who treated him, a Spaniard devoted to Valera Parra, prayed for his intercession. Without any medical assistance, the baby's heart began to beat spontaneously. spontaneously. “The miracle at the old Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket in 2007 is a reminder of the power of prayer and the intercession of holy men and women. God is truly near,” the Diocese of Providence said in a statement.
Church leaders had been reviewing the request to declare it a miracle for years. “We’re glad this recognition helps move forward the cause for beatification and canonization of the Venerable Servant of God Salvador Valera Parra,” the Diocese added.
The Road to Sainthood
The miracle approved by the pope moves Valera Parra one step closer to sainthood. The process has three main stages. First, the person is declared a Venerable Servant of God. Next comes beatification. The final step is canonization, when the person is officially recognized as a saint.
For someone to be beatified, a miracle must be recognized as having happened through their intercession, as in this case. To be canonized as a saint, a second miracle must occur through their intercession after they have been declared Blessed.