THE MIRACLE THAT LEAD TO
ST. PETER CLAVER'S CANONIZAITON
WAS PERFORMED AT THE SHRINE OF
ST. JOSEPH IN ST. LOUIS, MO
In 1853, Ignatius Strecker, a native of Germany, arrived in St. Louis, Missouri, with his wife and nine children. He found employment in a local soap factory. Late in 1861, a sharp piece of iron bruised his chest, resulting in constant pain.
His family physician tried external applications, with no success; he opened the wound and found that the breastbone and several ribs were in a state of incipient
decomposition. Mr. Strecker developed a violent cough and fever as well as symptoms of tuberculosis. Breath-
ing became difficult; his appetite worsened. A leading specialist was called in, and he advised Mr. Strecker that he had only two weeks to live.
Father Francis Xavier Weninger, a Jesuit missionary, was conducting a mission at the family’s parish, St. Joseph Church.
Mrs. Strecker attended a service in which Father Weninger preached on Blessed Peter Claver, believed to have great intercessory powers with God. Mrs. Strecker implored her dying husband to seek the help of Peter Claver. The next day, March 6, 1864, Mr. Strecker arrived just as Father Weninger was blessing the congregation with a relic of Peter Claver.
The priest allowed him to kiss the relic. Immediately the sick man experienced a resurgence of strength.
Within a few days he returned to his job and in a few months he was restored to full health.
Mr. Strecker died on June 4, 1880. The City Board of Health certified that his death was due to typhoid fever, and in no way connected with his earlier illnesses.
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Two years later, the Most Reverend Michael O’Connor, a Jesuit priest, made thorough canonical investigation of the incident. In 1887, the miracle was declared authentic by Cardinal Bianchi in Rome and chosen as one of the two required miracles in the canonization process of Peter Claver, who became a Saint the following year. His feast day is celebrated on September 9. |
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