Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore, will preside over the opening session in the Diocesan Inquiry into an alleged healing through the intercession of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss. R. during the 12:10 Mass at the Baltimore Basilica on Tuesday, May 19. If the healing is deemed miraculous by the Vatican’s Congregation of the Causes of the Saints, it may lead to the canonization of Blessed Seelos.
Among those present at the Mass will be Ms. Mary Ellen Heibel, a parishioner of St. Mary Catholic Church, Annapolis, who attributes her healing of metastasized esophageal cancer to Father Seelos’ intercession.
Father Seelos was ordained a priest in Baltimore in 1844 and served at St. Alphonsus (Baltimore), Ss. Peter and Paul (Cumberland), and St. Mary (Annapolis).
After contracting yellow fever while ministering to the sick in New Orleans, LA, he died on October 4, 1867. Father Seelos was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 9, 2000.
For more information about Father Seelos, visit www.seelos.org.