A miracle recipient from Lourdes says, "It’s still unbelievable to me! "

Jeanne Frétel (1914-2005) was an unusual case of a miracle recipient. She was cured on October 8, 1948, at Lourdes. After eleven years in the hospital and thirteen operations, this child from a small village near Mont-Saint-Michel in Brittany (France) arrived at Lourdes aged 34, in a coma. She had been unconscious for three months and eight days, when a priest opened her mouth with a spoon to give her Holy Communion. When she was put on the train to Lourdes in 1948, her doctor even asked to have a coffin ordered, thinking she would probably not return.

Jeanne testified, "When I closed my mouth, I suddenly opened my eyes and asked where I was. As I had been in a coma until then, I didn't know I was in Lourdes. During communion, a priest noticed that black blood was coming out of my nose and mouth. People thought I was dying. When the priest came back to see me after communion, I asked to go to the grotto. I was taken there right away. At the grotto, I had the impression that someone was taking me under the arms to sit me down. I turned around, but no one was there. I wondered if I was crazy."

Jeanne Frétel lived for another 57 years after her recovery. She said: "A miracle is a very big burden, so difficult to bear (...). And when questioned, she added: "It's still unbelievable to me. I'm still wondering what happened to me. Why me rather than someone else? You know, healing just happens. It's simple and it's great. It's an undeserved, unasked-for healing."

Her miraculous healing was officially recognized by the Church on December 8, 1949; it was the 52nd officially recognized miracle at Lourdes.

The Mary of Nazareth team

Adapted from : Un miracle eucharistique à Lourdes 8 octobre 1948- Entretiens et témoignages by Jeanne Frétel, Editions F.-X. de Guibert