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Audrey Santo

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Audrey Marie Santo (19 December 1983 - 14 April 2007), often referred to as Little Audrey, was an American girl from Worcester, Massachusetts, who, at the age of three, experienced a near-drowning accident that left her in a persistent vegetative state. Unable to speak or move, Audrey became the centre of a religious phenomenon as her family and others reported a series of extraordinary occurrences in her presence. News of these events spread, drawing thousands of pilgrims to the Santo home, many believing Audrey to be a "victim soul" who suffered for the sins of others and interceded with God on their behalf. Media coverage brought international attention to Audrey's case, fuelling both fervent belief and skeptical scrutiny.

The Catholic Church, while acknowledging the family's dedication to Audrey's care, initiated an investigation into the reported phenomena. The investigation found no evidence of fraud but maintained that praying to Audrey was contrary to Catholic teaching. Bishop Reilly of the Diocese of Worcester, seeking to contain the burgeoning phenomenon and protect the family's privacy, placed restrictions on public access to Audrey, while permitting continued private veneration by the clergy. Though the Church has yet to pronounce on the veracity of the claims surrounding her, a foundation dedicated to Audrey's beatification and canonization continues to operate, gathering testimonies of healings attributed to her intercession.

Accident

Audrey Santo was the youngest of four children born to Linda and Steve Santo. On August 9, 1987, three-year-old Audrey was playing outside in the driveway with her four-year-old brother Stephen. When Stephen came inside alone, Linda and her twelve-year-old son, Matthew, went to look for Audrey and found her face down in the backyard swimming pool. Matthew dove in and pulled Audrey from the pool, and she was rushed to the hospital.[1]

Audrey remained in a coma for about three weeks, in intensive care at UMass Medical Center in Worcester.[2] After four months at UMass Medical Center, Audrey was discharged to her family home on South Flagg Street in Worcester, where she remained under her family's care until her death in 2007.[3][4]

Health

Once she returned home, Audrey required 24-hour nursing care, provided by her family and a team of nurses provided by the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. She breathed through a ventilator and was on a feeding tube for sustenance, purportedly taking only communion wafers by mouth.[1]

Audrey's family reported that she was in a state called akinetic mutism—unable to speak and with limited movement, but fully alert and awake.[4] However, Edward Kaye, the pediatric neurologist who treated her for eight years following the accident, told The Washington Post that "the cell death is about as bad as you can get and still be alive. Her EEGs are profoundly abnormal. She has brain stem activity, but very, very little above the brain stem."[1] A coma specialist, Ed Cooper, brought in by Linda Santo to help Audrey communicate with her hands, told CBS's 48 Hours in 1999, "If she can become consistent with movements of her hands, down for 'yes,' up for 'no,' or vice versa, it would be meaningful. Right now it's inconsistent."[5]

Victim soul

About a year after the accident, Linda took Audrey to Međugorje, which is a popular pilgrimage site in the then Yugoslavia, where the Virgin Mary is purported to have appeared periodically to six local Catholics since 1981, and Linda believed it could result in Audrey being healed.[6][3]

While in Međugorje, Audrey did not experience a physical healing, but reportedly showed signs of animation when visionary Ivan Dragicevic relayed a message to her from the Virgin Mary.[4] Linda states that Audrey communicated directly with the Virgin Mary and agreed to become a victim soul.[3] Though not an officially recognized term in the Catholic Church, a "victim soul" is generally understood as a pious individual, often chronically ill or disabled, who willingly takes on the suffering of others as a form of spiritual sacrifice, interceding with God on their behalf.[7][8]

Miracle claims

After the family returned from Međugorje, numerous miracles were purported to have occurred in Audrey's bedroom and within the house.[according to whom?] The claimed miracles in Audrey's home included icons weeping blood or oil, a bleeding statue of Jesus, blood appearing spontaneously in a tabernacle and on consecrated communion wafers, oil dripping down the walls of the garage, and the Virgin Mary appearing in cloud formations overhead. Linda Santo and a nurse have also allege that Audrey sometimes bore the stigmata, although this has never been documented with a photograph.[6]

Paula Kane writes that Audrey's popularity has much to do with media reports "stemming from a 1996 televised documentary film about her on EWTN, a Christian broadcasting network in Alabama, which spawned a deluge of requests to the Santo family from people wanting to make a pilgrimage to see their daughter."[9]

As word spread about Audrey, hundreds of visitors began coming to pray for healing near Audrey's bedside. Eventually, the family set up visiting hours and built a window in Audrey's bedroom wall through which visitors could view her. The window was later removed by order of the bishop.[10] Audrey was also on several occasions taken to a nearby college stadium or a large church, for a mass at which she could be viewed by the public.[1][6]

Oil

Starting with one painting, and spreading to include many paintings and icons within the home, oil was said to exude from many objects near Audrey, and to spontaneously fill containers. No one ever claimed to have seen the moment of onset of such an event, only the already-oiled item. The oil was collected in cups and given to visitors on cotton balls.[10]

A test commissioned by The Washington Post from Microbac Laboratories of Pittsburgh found that sample contained 80 percent corn or soybean oil, and 20 percent chicken fat.[1] Another test done by 20/20 found a sample of the oil to be 75% olive oil, and other tests found different or inconclusive results. Linda Santo agreed in response to a reporter's questioning that it was impossible to prove someone did not apply the oil to the statues, but insisted that she had not done so herself.[10]

Blood

During several masses at which Audrey was present, what seemed to be human blood appeared on consecrated communion wafers, or "hosts," although as with the oil no one claims they saw the moment the blood appeared. A substance that appeared to be blood also appeared in a chalice at the Santo home, and a statue of Mary appeared to cry blood.[10]

There have been no published accounts of tests on the blood. The Washington Post story says that Audrey's pediatrician, John Harding, intended to examine the blood-smeared communion wafer under a microscope but felt that would be blasphemous and decided to use a magnifying glass instead. No findings from this examination are mentioned.[1] In the same story, Linda Santo is quoted as saying, "'If there weren't four bleeding hosts,' she asks, 'if there was just a child in a bed, would anyone pay attention to this?'"[1]

Healing

Some people have claimed that visiting Audrey, praying for her intercession, or having others pray or visit on their behalf has resulted in miraculous healing, including Joey Parolisi of Methuen, Massachusetts who claims his mother's prayer at Audrey's bedside healed his injury, although his physician stated that Joey had always had a 75% chance of recovering. A Rhode Island mother also claims that an intercessory prayer to Audrey saved her choking daughter.[11] A woman with metastatic breast cancer, Andrea Pearson, attributed her improvement to Audrey, although her oncologist attributed the improvement to a medication she had just started taking. Pearson's cancer later spread to the brain.[5]

Audrey once had a rash similar to a rash usually experienced by those undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, although Audrey never underwent such therapy. Those around her believed this was evidence that, as a "victim soul", she had taken on the suffering of some visitor with cancer.[1]

Death and funeral

Audrey died on April 14, 2007, from cardio-respiratory failure. Family, friends and clergy were at her side. The vigil was held April 17, 2007 and the funeral mass on April 18, 2007, both at St. Paul's Cathedral in Worcester, Massachusetts. The public was allowed to attend these two events, but the burial was private.[12]

Catholic Church's position

Following years of reported miracles and growing public attention, Bishop Daniel Patrick Reilly of the Diocese of Worcester appointed a commission to investigate the phenomena surrounding Audrey. The investigation, completed in 1998, concluded that there was no evidence of fraud, but did not confirm any of the miraculous claims. The commission recommended further study into the composition of the oils and the possibility of Audrey's awareness and ability to communicate.[8][3]

Bishop Reilly issued a statement outlining the Church's position. While praising the Santo family's dedication to Audrey's care, he stressed that praying to Audrey was not acceptable in Catholic teaching and urged continued prayers for her and her family. The statement also discouraged pilgrimages to the Santo home, citing concerns for the family's well-being and the potential for compromising Audrey's care.[8][3]

The reported phenomena surrounding Audrey, while investigated, have not met the Catholic Church's criteria for official recognition.[6] The Church's position remains one of cautious observation, balancing a respect for the Santo family and the faith generated by Audrey's story with the need to uphold doctrinal boundaries and avoid any endorsement of potentially unorthodox beliefs or practices.[8]

Case for sainthood

A nonprofit foundation is pursuing the process of sainthood for Audrey.[13] The Bishop of Worcester, Robert J. McManus, gave official recognition to the foundation, allowing them to present their application to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome, while remaining neutral himself as to whether Audrey should be a saint.[14]

Beatification and canonization require at least two fully documented and authenticated miracles. The board of directors of the Audrey Santo Foundation asked in a web update on August 12, 2013, that "if anyone has specific knowledge of any such miracles, they must come forward [so] that the proper protocol is followed."[15]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Weingarten 1998.
  2. ^ Croteau 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d e Barry 1997.
  4. ^ a b c Knap 2021.
  5. ^ a b Moriarty 1999.
  6. ^ a b c d Clark 2002.
  7. ^ Kane 2002, p. 82.
  8. ^ a b c d Reilly 2003.
  9. ^ Kane 2002, p. 80.
  10. ^ a b c d Nickell 1999.
  11. ^ Believers 2000.
  12. ^ Obit 2007.
  13. ^ Push 2012.
  14. ^ Kandra 2008.
  15. ^ Letter 2013.

Bibliography

  • "Audrey Marie Santo". Britton Funeral Homes.
  • Barry, Ellen (1997-12-25). "The Strange Case of Audrey Santo". Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  • "Believers pray for 'miracle' coma girl". ABC News. August 7, 2000. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  • Clark, Edie (2002). "Audrey's Story". edieclark.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  • Croteau, Scott J. (16 April 2007). "Beloved Audrey Marie Santo, 23, dies". Telegram and Gazette. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  • Kandra, Deacon Greg (2008-10-14). "'Little Audrey' Considered for Sainthood?". Catholic Online. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  • Kane, Paula (2002). "'She offered herself up': The Victim Soul and Victim Spirituality in Catholicism". Church History. 71 (1): 80–119. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  • Knap, Patty (29 June 2021). "Miracles Continue to Surround Audrey Santo". Catholic Stand. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  • "Letter from Board of Directors". Little Audrey Santo Foundation. 2013-08-12. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  • "Little Audrey's Story". Little Audrey Santo Foundation. n.d. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  • Moriarty, Erin (July 7, 1999). "The Miracle of the Dripping Oil". CBS News. 48 Hours. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  • Nickell, Joe (1999). "Miracles or Deception: The Pathetic Case of Audrey Santo".
  • Orsi, Robert A. (2005). Between Heaven and Earth: The Religious Worlds People Make and the Scholars Who Study Them. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691049033.
  • "Push For 'Little Audrey's' Sainthood Begins". 2012-04-12. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  • Reilly, Daniel P. (2003). "Diocese Issues Interim Findings on Miraculous Claims". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  • Weingarten, Gene (1998-07-19). "Tears for Audrey". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
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