Church investigating 'miracle' by British Cardinal

The Boston Archdiocese is investigating claims by a disabled deacon that he recovered from severe spinal cord injuries after praying to a long-dead British cardinal who is a candidate for sainthood.

Cardinal John Henry Newman was a prominent Anglican preacher who shocked Victorian England when he converted to Roman Catholicism in the mid-19th century. He died in 1890 and was nominated for sainthood in 1958.

In 1991, Pope John Paul II declared Newman to be Venerable, a step below beatification.

But evidence he had performed the miracle required for sainthood was lacking.

In the case of the deacon from Boston, his advocates believe they have found Newman’s miracle.

The 60-year-old deacon had earlier undergone an unsuccessful operation, but after prayers to Newman he “fully recovered his health and mobility,” said the Rev. Paul Chavasse, a priest in Birmingham, England, who advocates recognising Newman as a saint.

“At last we have a miracle cure,” said Chavasse, who declined to name the deacon.

Chavasse said he first heard the deacon’s story a couple of years ago.

Details of the cure were discussed last week at the unveiling in Rome of the book Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Newman, a collection of writings edited by the late journalist Peter Jennings.

The secret tribunal in Boston investigating the claim is expected to finish its work in February.

The evidence will then be forwarded to the Vatican.

A spokesman for the Boston Archdiocese said today that church rules precluded him from talking about the investigation.