Free Republic

LONDON (CNS) -- A surgeon who testified about the miraculous healing of a baby at a British hospital said he remains mystified by the child's recovery, the miracle that cleared the way for the canonization of Malta's first saint. Dr. Anil Dhawan, professor of pediatric hepatology at King's College Hospital, London, told Catholic News Service May 22 there was "no scientific explanation" for the full recovery of the Maltese boy who had undergone "devastating" liver failure. The Catholic Church has concluded that the baby was cured through the intercession of Father George Preca, a 20th-century priest who will be canonized...

If reports are true, John Paul II drew his inspiration for adding five "Mysteries of Light" to the Rosary from an obscure holy man who lived on the island of Malta and died in 1962 at the age of 82. His name was Blessed George Preca, founder of a small group called the Society of Christian Doctrine, and his legacy is now permanently etched into the Rosary, which has now undergone the greatest addition in centuries. According to reports, it was in 1957 that Preca -- a priest long devoted to the Rosary and apparitions like that of the...