Mystery over 'miracle' that healed LA priest: 'I thought something was on fire'
A seemingly routine basketball injury turned into what Vatican officials are calling a genuine miracle, paving the way for the Catholic Church's newest saint.
It all started with a mysterious burning sensation in a quiet seminary chapel.
Father Juan Gutierrez, now 38, was just another basketball-playing seminarian when he was severely injured during a game in 2017.
An MRI revealed he had a torn Achilles tendon that threatened to derail his path to priesthood with costly surgery and months of recovery.
But what happened next has left doctors shocked and the Catholic Church convinced they have witnessed a modern-day miracle.
'I was praying, and I started to feel a sensation of heat around the area of my injury.' Father Gutierrez revealed at a press conference at St. John the Baptist Parish in Lake Baldwin, California.
'I honestly thought that maybe something was catching on fire, underneath the pews.'
'That event touched me deeply,' Gutierrez added, recalling how he was moved to tears when he remembered that heat can be associated with healing from God.
And later, the tear that had shown up clear as day on his MRI appeared to have mysteriously vanished. He no longer needed a brace or surgery.
A seemingly routine basketball injury turned into what Vatican officials are calling a genuine miracle, paving the way for the Catholic Church's newest saint
His healing was a miracle. His doctors could not explain it,' said Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez.
'Of course, miracle is a word that gets overused in our culture; that is not well understood.
'But the Scriptures tell us that Jesus worked miracles on earth. … And we believe that Jesus continues to work miracles from heaven.'
'And we believe that Jesus hears not just our prayers but also the prayers that the saints make for us,' he added.
'Now we have a new saint who is watching over us from heaven.'
The incident is now being credited to Pier Giorgio Frassati, a charismatic Italian who died of polio in 1925 at just 24 years old, the Catholic News Agency reported.
Father Gutierrez had been praying to him for help through a special nine-day prayer known as a novena.
'The saints can help us to pray for our needs and that there is somebody listening to our prayers,' Gutierrez said. 'God is always listening to our prayers.'
The priest investigating the miracle, Monsignor Robert Sarno, happened to be teaching at the same seminary where Gutierrez's experience occurred - and it was his learning of the story that ultimately led to Frassati’s canonization.
Father Juan Gutierrez, now 38, was just another basketball-playing seminarian when he was severely injured during a game in 2017
An MRI revealed he had a torn Achilles tendon that threatened to derail his path to priesthood with costly surgery and months of recovery. But what happened next has left doctors shocked and the Catholic Church convinced they've witnessed a modern-day miracle
'When I heard it, I immediately suspected that there might have been some substance to this case,' Sarno said.
'What we are called to do is to imitate the holiness of Pier Giorgio and pray for his intercession, especially for young people who are so confused today and so looking for answers, to life and to faith,' he added.
Gutierrez said: 'I will be the first one to recognize that God could have chosen a more charismatic, easygoing, and less trouble-stirring person. Trust me, I know, and my colleagues will be able to tell you how true that is.
'But as the Scripture tells us, it wasn't us who chose the Lord. It was him who chooses us. And he has chosen us to bear fruit.'
'There have been moments that left me thinking, how did I end up here? And what was I thinking when I got on this ride?' he added. 'But at the end of the day, I am left with a heart filled with gratitude and with awe at what God does in our lives.'
'And I'm also left humbled by the fact that in Pier Giorgio, God has given me not only an intercessor but also a friend.'
Sarno said: 'There's a lot of similarities between Pier Giorgio Frassati and Juan, whether he knows it or not.'
The incident is now being credited to Pier Giorgio Frassati (pictured), a charismatic Italian who died of polio in 1925 at just 24 years old, the Catholic News Agency reported
Father Gutierrez had been praying to him for help through a special nine-day prayer known as a novena
'Both of them were very athletic, very young, and involved in sports. And for this reason, Pier Giorgio Frassati was declared as one of the patrons of World Youth Day,' he added.
Regarding the canonization process, Father Gutierrez said: 'It's crazy. But it's a wonderful blessing.'
'Giorgio wanted to spread the faith in God, and this will allow for more people to hear his message that invites us to take our Catholic Christian faith seriously and to be willing to take it outside of the doors of the Church to influence the life of society,' he added.
'Because that's where the love of God, Jesus, and what he brought us is so desperately needed.'
