On Oct. 5, 1995, the Feast Day of St. Faustina (who was then a blessed), Fr. Ron Pytel and some friends gathered for prayer at Holy Rosary Church, which is also the Baltimore archdiocesan Shrine of The Divine Mercy. After a time of prayer for the healing of his heart through Sr. Faustina’s intercession, Fr. Ron venerated a relic of St. Faustina and collapsed. He felt paralyzed, but was completely at peace. A subsequent visit to his cardiologist showed that his heart had been healed.
Although he was healed through St. Faustina’s intercession, Fr. Ron is quick to point out that Jesus healed him. “I know in my heart that Faustina put in a word with Jesus, and His Heart touched mine. It’s as simple as that,” he explained.
After almost three years of examining Fr. Ron and his medical records, doctors and theologians from the Congregation for the Cause of Saints concluded an exhaustive investigation of the healing. And on Dec. 20, 1999, Pope John Paul II ordered publication of the fact of the healing as a miracle through Sr. Faustina’s intercession, leading to her canonization on Mercy Sunday, April 30, in St. Peter’s Square.
