Healing of Lucia Sylvia Cirilo

Following a stillbirth, Cirilo developed a severe recto-vaginal fistula the hospital could not treat. Transfer to São Luís was recommended but her condition made the journey too dangerous. A nurse, Sister Bernardina de Manaus, prayed for Gianna's intercession. The next morning the fistula had closed completely without intervention.

Lucia Sylvia Cirilo was a Brazilian woman living in the state of Maranhão. On October 22, 1977, she gave birth to a stillborn child. In the days that followed, she developed severe abdominal pain. She was brought to the Saint Francis of Assisi Hospital in Grajaú, where physicians diagnosed a recto-vaginal fistula — an abnormal passage between the rectum and vagina that had developed as a complication of the traumatic birth. The condition required surgical repair, but the hospital in Grajaú did not have the equipment or specialists to perform it. The medical team told her she would need to be transferred to São Luís for treatment. Her condition was serious enough that she and her family believed she would not survive the journey.

A nurse at the hospital, Sister Bernardina de Manaus, was familiar with the cause of Gianna Beretta Molla, the Italian physician who had died in 1962 and whose beatification process had been opened. Sister Bernardina prayed for Gianna's intercession on behalf of Lucia Sylvia.

The following morning, Lucia Sylvia's pain was gone. An examination revealed that the fistula had closed completely. There had been no surgical intervention of any kind during the night. Her physicians could not account for what they found.

The case was submitted to the Vatican as part of Gianna's beatification cause. The Holy See's medical board reviewed the documentation and declared the healing medically inexplicable. It was accepted as the miracle supporting Gianna's beatification.

Gianna Beretta Molla was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994.