Catholic World News News Feature

Vatican probes unusual miracle claim for Bridgettine founder July 20, 2007

The Vatican is investigating an unusual report of a possible miracle attributed to the founder of the Bridgettine sisters, Blessed Elisabetta Hesselblad.

In December 2001, an Indian Bridgettine, Sister Martine Kochuvelikakathe, was assaulted by three gang members outside Mexico City. When a gang member pulled out a gun to shoot Sister Martine, the Indian religious invoked the name of her order’s founder. The young thug pulled the trigger, but the pistol did not fire. Now the Vatican is addressing the question of whether the incident constitutes a miracle.

The Bridgettine sisters were refounded by Blessed Elisabetta, a Swede and Lutheran convert, and today have around 700 members in 50 houses on three continents, including in India, Israel, and Cuba.