Pope Leo XIV has recognized the healing of a premature baby in 2007 as a miracle attributable to the intercession of Venerable Valera Parra, further advancing Parra along the route to being canonized a saint.
According to a June 20 Promulgation of Decrees, Pope Leo authorized the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to recognize the healing of infant Tyquan Hall through Ven. Parra’s intercession as miraculous.
Hall was born prematurely in Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island in Pawtucket in 2007. The small, pale baby barely had a pulse. He was suffering from oxygen deprivation and was not expected to survive, according to the Diocese of Almeria.
Dr. Juan Sanchez, Hall’s attending physician and native of Spain, desperately prayed for Ven. Parra’s intercession, according to news outlet WJAR. Just a few minutes later, the child’s heartbeat stabilized without medical intervention.
Doctors could not explain the baby’s sudden recovery, but they expected the child to suffer from severe neurological damage. However, Hall recovered completely, hitting his developmental milestones, including learning to speak and walk normally.
“We are thrilled that this recognition will move the cause of beatification and canonization forward for Venerable Servant of God Salvador Valera Parra,” said Father Timothy Reilly of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, according to WJAR.
Born in 1816, Ven. Parra grew up in a devout Catholic family and was attracted to the priesthood from an early age. After becoming a diocesan priest, he spent most of his life ministering to the people of his home region of Almería in Southern Spain. Ven. Parra is sometimes called the “Spanish Cure d’Ars,” in reference to St. John Vianney, the French priest known for his simplicity of life, holiness, and devotion to his flock.
Following his ordination, the Diocese of Almeria states that “he stood out for his ardent zeal, profound humility, charming simplicity, admirable generosity, and boundless charity. He exercised his ministry in the parishes of Alhama de Murcia and Cartagena until he returned to his hometown as parish priest in 1868.”
Ven. Parra is perhaps best remembered for his response to a deadly cholera outbreak. In the midst of the epidemic, he put himself in constant danger to ensure the faithful had access to the sacraments, telling them to seek comfort in Christ and his Blessed Mother.
Pope Francis declared Parra Venerable March 17, 2021, recognizing his life of heroic virtue. Now that Pope Leo has recognized a miracle that occurred in the United States thanks to Ven. Parra’s intercession, the first American Pope may have the chance to beatify him.
“The cool thing is, the more you think about the miracle itself, Father Valera lives in the 19th century. He never came to the U.S.,” Fr. Reilly said, according to WJAR. “And yet, because the doctor called out and called upon his name for help in the situation back in ‘07 on behalf of that little baby, he decided to intervene and ask God for a miracle.”
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