‘A voice told me not to be afraid’: The story of Lourdes’ 72nd recognized miracle

CNA—Antonia Raco, a 67-year-old Italian woman long affected by an incurable neurodegenerative illness, was officially introduced to the press on July 25 in Lourdes, where her healing was recognized as the 72nd miracle attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary since the apparitions of 1858.

Diagnosed in 2006 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — a progressive and fatal condition — Raco experienced a recovery that defied medical explanation.

First announced by the Sanctuary of Lourdes on April 16, the recognition marked the culmination of 16 years of medical, canonical, and pastoral inquiry. Raco, a mother and active parishioner from Basilicata in southern Italy, had been living with the disease for several years when she traveled to Lourdes in 2009.

These criteria—namely, the stringent medical, canonical and pastoral inquiries—which continue to guide the Church’s discernment today, were first established by Cardinal Prospero Lambertini, later Pope Benedict XIV.

Debate within the International Medical Committee of Lourdes (CMIL) was initially inconclusive when the case was first presented in 2019. But a new international consensus on the diagnosis of ALS, published in 2020, provided the framework for reassessment. In 2023, Silani reevaluated Raco in Milan and confirmed the definitive cure.

Finally, in November 2024, a secret vote was held among 21 members of the International Medical Committee of Lourdes: 17 voted in favor of an unexplained, complete, and lasting cure — meeting the two-thirds majority required by Church criteria.

Following the positive medical vote, the case was referred to the current bishop of Raco’s home diocese, Vincenzo Carmine Orofino, who formally recognized the miracle on April 16 of this year (2025).

Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes, who participated in the scientific process without voting, praised the rigor and transparency of the medical discussions. “What impressed me most,” he said, “was the freedom of the experts. They are not there to defend a cause but to seek the truth.”

A sign, a “living testimony”… not doctrine

He also reminded the participants that miracles never impose faith. “Even the Resurrection did not force anyone to believe,” he said. “A miracle is a sign — a gift to be received in the light of faith.”

Closing the press briefing, the rector of the sanctuary, Father Michel Daubanes, expressed deep emotion and gratitude as he recalled the honor of announcing the miracle during the 6 p.m. rosary on Holy Thursday, April 17, just minutes before it was proclaimed at the cathedral of Tursi-Lagonegro.

“We often say: ‘If I saw a miracle, I would believe.’ But the truth is: If I believe, I can see miracles,” he reflected. “This healing is not just a story from the past. It is a living testimony that continues to bear fruit.”