Please allow me to share this miracle which I believe happened instantly (in 1986) but never reported it for reasons stated below though I privately told the story countless times since it happened. Perhaps it wasn't the time because this month everything seemed to providentially fall into place and I feel like a weight has been lifted of my shoulders to finally give Padre Pio the credit due. I'm posting the letter to the Director of Communications at the National Centre for Padre Pio, Barto, PA with whom I spoke and encouraged me to report the miracle on Oct. 14th, 2025.
To Whom it may concern,
On Oct. 14th of this year I went to the National Centre for Padre Pio to venerate his visiting relics and in the hope of speaking to one of the visiting Italian priests about my instant miracle which occurred in early February 1986. As I told my story, I explained that by the time I confirmed the miracle, my hospital, Sacred Heart Hospital in Norristown, PA had closed and my 3 elderly doctors retired and the records were sealed which is the reason I did not report it. I was encouraged to do so. I will try to explain the miracle to the best of my ability as English is my second language and the experience so difficult to describe in words.
In 1981 I was diagnosed with a fibroid in the lower posterior part of the uterus. Between 1984 and 1985 I had 2 miscarriages by the 4th month into the pregnancy. When my husband left the U.S Navy in early 1986 to move to Norristown, PA, I was expecting again and was given no hope of having the baby by my doctors because the fibroid had grown around 5 centimeters diameter and they believed was the cause of the miscarriages.
In February 1986, I was 4 months pregnant again and expecting to lose the baby anytime. I was going to daily Mass in Phoenixville, PA where I met Catherine Detri, an Italian 76 Yrs. old friend of Mrs. Vera Calandra. When I expressed my concerns, she told me that after Mass the next day she would take me to the house of Mrs. Calandra where she had the glove of Padre Pio.
The following day, we did that. When I went there, I went for a miracle. It never occurred to me it may not happen. I had read his books and attended a Video Presentation in Michigan with my family years early and had great devotion to P. Pio.
Mrs. Calandra was expecting us and took me directly into a room that had bookcases, not well lit. It had a kneeler and a picture of P. Pio. She left for a moment and returned with the bare glove of P. Pio which she placed in my hands and closed the door behind her.
I faced the picture but before kneeling, I placed the glove on my womb over my clothing and with all I had, I begged: “Padre Pio, please, help me have this baby!”. At that instant, I felt something coming down, showering me from head to toes. It was (for lack of a better word) like a force which seemed to penetrate my whole being. At that point, I felt paralyzed, all I could do was wonder what it was that I was feeling and while it was happening, tears were flowing out of my eyes involuntarily. I have no idea if that lasted 30 seconds, one minute, two minutes…but I never asked. When it stopped, I left the glove on the kneeler and left the room. When Mrs. Detri and Mrs. Calandra saw me come out, they asked me: “What happened?”. I could not even talk, the only thing I said was: “I don’t know, but I know I will have this baby”. When I got to the car, I noticed my face had red patches as if I had been crying.
The rest of the pregnancy was normal, I had my 6th C-Section on July 3rd, 1986. I had asked my doctors to check if I still had the fibroid in my uterus during the surgery but everyone forgot about it when my anesthesia failed and I was in pain. We had requested an Epidural and we didn’t know that the elderly anesthesiologist only did General Anesthesia and it was his first Epidural. They rushed to get the baby out so they could do the General Anesthesia and put me to sleep.
We moved to York, PA a few months later and I was expecting again. I told my obstetrician that I had a fibroid in the uterus. She took me upstairs for an ultrasound and she couldn’t find anything and told me “are you sure?”, she must have thought I was crazy but I wanted to be certain. She sent for my medical records and reported to me that the Sacred Heart Hospital had closed and my 3 doctors had retired and medical records sealed. I insisted that she checked my uterus during the (7th) C-Section which she did and thinking I was crazy she told me: “I looked all over and I showed David (my husband), there is nothing there!”.
I had one more child, my 8th C-section and had another normal pregnancy. After the surgery, while I was in the recovery room, my uterus gave up and they took me back for an emergency hysterectomy but I owed my last 3 children to Padre Pio. Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints!
Claudia Drew
Topic: My Padre Pio 1986 Miracle Finally Reported (Read 51589 times)