Alleged Saint Dies In Worcester

On Saturday, cardio-respiratory failure deprived Worcester, Massachusetts of a woman who had been on life support for nearly two decades and, some believe, a bedridden miracle worker. Audrey Marie Santo fell into a pool at age 3 (on the same day of the year and exact time of day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, according to her web site) and, after an excessive phenobarbital prescription and subsequent coma, awoke in a state of akinetic mutism—she could move fingers and eyes but not speak. During a pilgrimage to Međugorje, where six children had claimed to have been visited by the Virgin Mary, Audrey's mother witnessed what she believed to be direct communication between her daughter and Jesus's mother, after which Audrey promptly fell into cardiac arrest.

When religious objects and images in the Santo home began to drip mysterious oil (available upon request, with a self-addressed stamped envelope), they remodeled the house as a pilgrimage site, a shrine built around Audrey's windowed bedroom. Reading about her during the height of her career as a miracle worker, Bostonist couldn't help but think of the incorrupt bodies of deceased saints: Audrey was viewed through glass and said to smell of roses and produce miracles. Her family fed her communion wafers daily and, convinced she was conscious and able to comprehend the prayers of her visitors, read her heaps of letters from people around the world hoping for cures or other intercessions on their behalf.

None of Audrey Santo's miracles have been acknowledged as such by the Catholic Church. The Diocese of Worcester issued a statement in 1999 that gently discouraged visits and tactfully declared that "the most striking evidence of the presence of God in the Santo home is seen in the dedication of the family to Audrey." Hundreds attended her funeral service on Wednesday morning, but no mention was made of paranormal goings-on during the two hour Mass at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Photograph by flickr user steffen42 shows Međugorjean signage. Popes are welcome; weapons less so.