Two women have been healed through the intercession of two future Polish Blesseds.
“Prayer has power, miracles happen, and believers do not need much explaining,” said Sister Nulla and Karolina Gawrych, two women healed respectively through the intercession of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and Mother Róża Czacka, during a conference organized on Thursday at the Archbishops’ House in Warsaw. The beatification of both candidates to the altars will be celebrated on Sunday, September 12, at noon. The ceremony will take place in the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw.
During the meeting, the medically inexplicable events that led to the conclusion of the beatification processes of the Servants of God Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and Mother Elżbieta Róża Czacka were discussed.
When Sr. Nulla entered her Congregation of the Sisters of the Disciples of the Cross in 1986, the prayer for the beatification of Cardinal Wyszynski was already present in her.
In February 1988, Sr. Nulla underwent extensive surgery for thyroid cancer. During the operation in Szczecin, where she was working at that time, the doctors removed the cancerous lesions and the metastasized lymph nodes. Unfortunately, the disease was still spreading, so in 1989 the sister was treated at the Oncological Centre in Gliwice. However, the therapy was ineffective, and a five-centimeter tumor developed in her throat, which made breathing very difficult. Taking medication and even sleeping was difficult.
“When the doctor informed me of the diagnosis, he said I had a maximum of three months to live. Operating is possible, but it is connected with a high risk of irreversible complications,” Sr. Nulla recalled. In the end, she did not consent to the operation because the situation threatened her life.
The founder of the young congregation, Sister Helena Christiana Mickiewicz mobilized her sisters and others to pray intensively for healing through the intercession of the Servant of God Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski. The prayer was conducted nine times a one day and lasted continuously for several weeks.
During the night of March 14-15, 1989, which was very painful for Sr. Nulla (intense hemorrhaging), a breakthrough occurred, the tumor started to recede. The operation did not take place. Sister Nulla left the hospital on March 21st. She did her novitiate as required by law, made her vows, and has been working in the congregation since then.
“The doctors told me many times that they only had accepted me in the unit because I was young so that I would not break down mentally because what the treatment they were giving me could not help me. I have seen miracles happen, and believers don’t need much explaining,” she added.
In November 2018, a medical board appointed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints declared the event medically inexplicable. This later became the basis for the promulgation of the decree of a miracle in Cardinal Wyszynski’s cause.
Karolina Gawrych also talked about her cure through the intercession of Mother Róża Elżbieta Czacka. The miracle was connected with a serious accident of the girl, who was 7 years old at the time. The accident took place on 29 August 2010. The beam holding the swing broke and crashed down on her head. The injuries to the child’s head were so severe that doctors expected that if she did not die, she would remain in a vegetative state or have severe damage, including to her vision and hearing.
The entire congregation of the Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross prayed for the girl through the intercession of Mother Czacka. As early as September 13th, there was a breakthrough, and the girl quickly began to regain all her faculties. Two months after the accident she left the hospital on her own two feet.
Today Karolina is completely healthy. She devotes herself to volunteering and in October she will begin studying psychology at the University of Warmia and Mazury, in Olsztyn. She also takes care of her younger siblings. “I try to talk to them about what happened, to explain to them why I am still here, why I live normally – so that they may know the power of prayer. I try to visit the sisters in Laski as often as possible. I visit the grave of Mother Czacka, I thank her for her intercession, I go for walks in nature there, I can calm down and think about my plans and activities,” said Karolina.
On October 27, 2020, Pope Francis authorized the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, to promulgate a decree regarding the miracle attributed to the intercession of Elżbieta Róża Czacka. The recognized miracle opened the way to the Mother’s beatification.
Polish Catholic News Agency (KAI) / FNS
