The Two Miracles of Saint Charles de Foucauld
Saint Charles de Foucauld was born in Strasbourg on September 15, 1858. He lost his parents at the age of six and was raised by his grandfather, who was very loving. When the latter died, Charles was 20 years old. He then began to lead a life of debauchery, before joining the army and leaving for Algeria. He eventually resigned. Saint Charles then went to Morocco where he traveled 3000 km in one year.
He eventually returned to his family in Paris, aged 28. He rediscovered his faith, met very pious people who radiated the love of Christ. He felt called. In 1890, Saint Charles entered the Trappist order and became a monk. He took the name Brother Charles of Jesus. But he quickly realized he aspired to more than that. He wanted to live like Jesus. He obtained permission to leave the Trappists and follow in the footsteps of Christ. Saint Charles de Foucauld went to Nazareth, becoming a domestic servant for the Poor Clares. He would later ask to become a priest. He was ordained and left in 1901 for the Moroccan Sahara desert, to be close to the lost sheep, in order to live out the Gospel. He remained there until his assassination on December 1, 1916, in Tamanrasset.
Saint Charles de Foucauld was beatified on November 13, 2005, by Pope Benedict XVI, thanks to the miracle of the healing of an Italian woman with bone cancer. He was then canonized by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022, after the recognition (on May 27, 2020) of the miracle of the "rescue from danger" of a carpenter from Saumur.
Discover some beautiful prayers written by Saint Charles de Foucauld, notably the very well-known "My Father, I abandon myself to you".
Miracle of the Healing of an Italian Woman
In 1984, Giovanna Citeri Pulici, an Italian woman from the Milan region, was miraculously healed of bone cancer. She was then in her sixties and her life was at risk. So, her husband prayed fervently to Charles de Foucauld. He even asked two nuns and the priest of his parish to join him in prayer. Giovanna recovered from her cancer.
When her husband learned, at the end of 2000, that a beatification process for the future saint Charles had begun, but that a miracle needed to be established, he came forward. The diocesan investigation began in autumn 2002 and ended in spring 2003. It was only in July 2004 that the medical commission in Rome gave its approval to the miracle, after a lengthy study. The theological commission would support this decision on October 27 of the same year. The miracle was established, Charles de Foucauld was beatified the following year, in 2005.
Miracle of the Rescue of the Saumur Carpenter
On November 30, 2016, at the Saint-Louis high school in Saumur, two workers from a company specializing in heritage restoration (the company Asselin) were repairing the chapel's timber frame. At one point, the carpenter, Charles, stepped onto the vault. It immediately gave way under his weight. Charles fell 15 meters, at 60 km/h, a fall that lasted 1.8 seconds. From that height and at that speed, he should have died instantly upon impact with the ground. It was almost inevitable. But the carpenter did not fall directly onto the chapel floor. He landed on a pew, which literally exploded on impact. After the impact, Charles managed to get up and noticed that one of the pew's uprights, about 50 cm long, had pierced his thorax, just below the heart. He then went to get help, simply saying "We need to call emergency services". He managed to call the fire department himself and explain his situation. A helicopter was sent but the piece of wood piercing Charles was too long; he couldn't even get through doors. He then left in an ambulance, sedated.
When his boss, a Catholic named François Asselin, learned of the drama, he immediately launched a massive prayer chain to Charles de Foucauld. The blessed was already particularly prayed to by this family, and, more generally, by many believers, in this centenary year of his death. Charles de Foucauld had been invoked for many months for a miracle to occur so he could be recognized as a saint. The faithful redoubled their fervor in prayer.
François Asselin went to his employee's bedside three days after the accident. He was relieved to find that the young 21-year-old apprentice carpenter was perfectly unharmed. This seemed impossible. But the fact remained that the surgeon who had operated on Charles upon his arrival at the emergency room, and who had to remove his spleen to extract the large piece of wood, had observed no other lesions, injuries, or major fractures. Except for one broken rib, the skeleton was perfectly intact. It is "scientifically inexplicable" the medical experts would conclude.
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints was quickly informed. Bishop Bernard Ardura, the bishop following the "cause" of Charles de Foucauld at the Vatican, reviewed the case and went to Saumur. He deemed the presumption of miracle sufficiently serious. The bishop then began a meticulous investigation under the auspices of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In February 2020 the investigation was completed. It was now up to the pope to review the matter. He alone could authorize the publication of a decree recognizing that the event in Saumur was "a miracle granted by God through the intercession of the Blessed Charles de Foucauld", explained Bishop Ardura. On May 27, 2020, the papal decision was announced: Charles de Foucauld will be canonized.
Beautiful Prayers by Charles de Foucauld
Prayer to Feel God's Presence in Our Lives
“My God, deign to give me the continual feeling of your presence; of your presence in me and around me and at the same time that fearful love one feels in the presence of what one loves passionately and which makes one stand before the beloved person without being able to take one's eyes off them, with a great desire and a will to do everything that pleases them, everything that is good for them, and a great fear of doing, saying, or thinking something that displeases them or hurts them. Amen.”
Prayer to Ask the Lord for Forgiveness
“My God, pardon, pardon, pardon for my lukewarmness, pardon for my cowardice, pardon for my dissipation, pardon for my pride, pardon for my attachment to my own will, pardon for my weakness and inconstancy, pardon for the disorder of my thoughts, pardon for remembering so little, sometimes, that I am in your presence. Pardon for all my faults, for all the faults of my life and especially for those I have committed since the beginning of my conversion! Thank you for all your graces, my God. Thank you, thank you, thank you! My God, help me, help the one you have filled with so many gifts so that he may fully do what you expect of him... My God, convert me! Convert me, my God, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. You who can turn stones into children of Abraham, you who can do everything in me, convert me, Lord. Give me the good spirit, the wisdom you promised to give to those who ask for it. Convert me, and make me glorify you as much as possible until my last breath and for eternity. I ask this of you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
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