Miracle at World Youth Day: Blind teen’s sight restored

If we think the Lord is in the business of only performing Eucharist miracles, then we must rethink our perception of Christ and His work on earth today. Amid all the negativities being thrown at World Youth Day (some of it deserving of criticism), God was moving among those in attendance. One blind teenager says she was miraculously healed during her pilgrimage to the event.

Jimena, 16-year-old pilgrim to World Youth Day from Madrid, told Catholic News Agency she was miraculously healed following reception of Holy Communion during the Mass at World Youth Day. Jimena told CNA, “I opened my eyes, and I could see perfectly.” According to reports, Jimena suffered with blindness for almost three years before the miracle due to myopia. Often referred to as “nearsighted”, the condition was severe enough for Jimena that it left her 95 percent blind. The teenager credits the Blessed Mother for her restored sight.

She was traveling to World Youth Day with a group from Opus Dei and was accompanied by the prayers and novenas from her friends and loved ones. Prior to leaving for her pilgrimage, she organized a novena to Our Lady of the Snows. She said it was on the feast day of Our Lady of Snows, August 5, that her sight was restored. She said she woke up on August 5 with her vision still the same as it had been for 2.5 years. She was unable to see and was getting emotional because she felt she was not going to be healed. It was, however, after receiving the Lord in the Eucharist that she said that her prayers were answered and her sight was restored.

“We were at WYD and after receiving Communion I began to cry a lot, because it was the last day of the novena and I wanted to be cured and I had very much asked God please [cure me],” she told CNA. “It was overwhelming; very many thanks must be given for the miracle, because I saw the altar, the tabernacle, my girlfriends were there, and I could see them perfectly.”

Cardinal Juan Jose’ Omella, archbishop of Barcelona and president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, said the event was considered a miracle for now, but would need to go through the proper process to be verified and validated as a miracle. “The doctors will have to assess it, what it was like, if it existed, if it could be cured or not. But for now, for the girl that has been a major event. Let’s say a miracle. She didn’t see and now she sees. Now the doctors will be able to say the rest, but she has gone home seeing. Well, she sees, blessed be God,” he told CNA.

There are many passages in Sacred Scripture where Jesus heals those who are blind. He has always been in the healing and restoration process and continues to perform many of those miracles today. There is a lot of condemnation surrounding World Youth Day and because of the negativity, there are things such as this young lady’s claim of a miracle that is being ignored. It is the works of God that we should be talking about from this event. Satan wants us to get distracted on the negative. There should certainly be some conversation about things that were improper and disrespectful. However, we should not neglect praising the Lord for the works He did during this event, and we should certainly never think God is limited by our critiques or disapprovals. We can choose to look for God or we can choose to fix our eyes on where we believe God cannot be found. Glory to God for the healings He has performed among the over 1 million attendees to World Youth Day. This is one story. This is one teenager. How many more experienced healings, perhaps not physical, but spiritual and emotional?