Brasilia, Brazil, May 25, 2011 / 15:47 pm
A Brazilian lawyer is claiming that another miracle has taken place through the intercession of Blessed Dulce Lopes Pontes.
Attorney Ana Lucia Aguiar said the alleged miracle took place through the intercession of the woman who could become Brazil’s first native born female saint. ANSA news agency reported the claim on May 22.
Aguiar was charged with presenting to the Vatican the report on the miracle that led to Sr. Dulce’s beatification. According to the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo, there is new evidence that points to a possible second miracle.
“The second miracle, the miracle of sanctification, will also come from Sergipe,” she said, referring to the place where Bl. Dulce worked and where the first miracle occurred. However, she did not reveal any more details about the report and said it must remain confidential until the Vatican authorizes an announcement.
Life of Maria Rita Lopes Pontes
Maria Rita Lopes Pontes was born May 26, 1914 and in San Salvador de Bahia and later joined the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God.
Sr. Dulce devoted her life to the needy, founding hospitals and a social support network she managed until her death on March 13, 1992, at the age of 77. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988 for her charitable works. Then in October 1991 she was visited on her deathbed by John Paul II during his second visit to Brazil.
Her network of hospitals and clinics for the poor in Bahia continue to serve more than five million people each year.
Sr. Dulce was beatified on May 22, before some 70,000 people by Cardinal Gerarldo Majella Agnelo, who represented Pope Benedict XVI.