By Toni Jane Pallatto - St. Theresa School (Little Flower)
Photographer: TONI PALLATTO | FC
Rachel Baumgartner Lozano is pictured here with Marianist Father Larry Doersching, president of Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory, and junior student James Kardys. Father Doersching has been praying for the beatification of Blessed Joseph William Chaminade, his order's founder, since he was in high school. The miracle Lozano ascribes to his intercession, if confirmed by Rome, might be the last step in that canonization process.
HOLLYWOOD � The excitement and anticipation was high as the students from Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory gathered to welcome Rachel Baumgartner Lozano. They were there to hear her story of triumph over a deadly cancer, thanks to the intercession of Blessed Joseph Chaminade, founder of the Marianist community that sponsors their school.
�I feel very peaceful and connected to Blessed Chaminade through prayer,� said Lozano in her talk earlier this month. �With so many people praying to Blessed Chaminade, asking for his intercession, I truly believe it is a miracle.�
Lozano�s battle with cancer began when she was a sophomore in high school at St. Joseph�s Academy in Frontenac, Mo., where she was a member of the women�s basketball and field hockey teams.
�In December of 1998, I was told I had a rare and progressive Askin�s tumor at the top of my spinal cord,� said Lozano. �I had to have emergency surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. I missed a lot of school, but I recovered.�
In September 2000, Lozano was one of two teens from her parish, Our Lady of the Pillar in St. Louis, Mo., invited to attend the beatification of Blessed Chaminade in Rome. Her pastor, Marianist Father James M. Tobin, accompanied the group. Lozano said she knew of Blessed Chaminade from growing up in a Marianist parish, and she felt an instant connection.
The French priest, who lived during the time of the French revolution, had gone into exile in Zaragoza, Spain, for three years and while there formed a strong devotion to Mary at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar. One miracle already had been attributed to him: the curing of an Argentine woman�s lung cancer in 1991. That miracle led to his beatification, the last step before canonization.
Soon after Lozano returned home from Rome, the cancer came back, this time in her bone marrow. �I started praying more intently, deepening my connection with Chaminade,� she said.
Intense chemotherapy combined with a stem-cell transplant using cells from her own body was recommended. The procedure almost killed her. �I spent six weeks in isolation, rebuilding my immune system and learning to walk and eat again,� Lozano recalled. �It was very difficult, but I kept on praying.�
Back on her feet again, she went away to college to study architecture. When she returned home for Thanksgiving 2002, she was told there was a new tumor in the area of the heart and spine, the size of a small Nerf football. The disheartening news from the doctors was that no one had ever survived a recurrence of Askin�s tumor after a stem-cell transplant. The diagnosis was that she had three to four months to live.
�My doctor was a very devout man, and he encouraged me to believe in miracles and pray prayers of intercession, which I and my family and friends did,� Lozano said.
Prayers continued for Lozano and she continued living weeks, months and years. Scans showed that her tumor was not growing as expected. She stayed active and kept on living each day as if it were her last.
In May, 2004, Lozano put herself in the hands of Dr. Mark Blucher, a well-known surgeon who had just arrived at St. John�s Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, Mo. He operated to remove the tumor, and to the shock of all, it was just scar tissue. The cancer had died.
�Why do you think Chaminade chose you?� asked one of the students in a general question and answer session after Lozano�s talk.
�I don�t know but I am eternally grateful,� she responded. �I am the only known survivor of this type of cancer, and no one can explain why I am alive. It is truly a miracle of Chaminade.�
�I feel very peaceful and connected to Blessed Chaminade through prayer,� said Lozano in her talk earlier this month. �With so many people praying to Blessed Chaminade, asking for his intercession, I truly believe it is a miracle.�
Lozano�s battle with cancer began when she was a sophomore in high school at St. Joseph�s Academy in Frontenac, Mo., where she was a member of the women�s basketball and field hockey teams.
�In December of 1998, I was told I had a rare and progressive Askin�s tumor at the top of my spinal cord,� said Lozano. �I had to have emergency surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. I missed a lot of school, but I recovered.�
In September 2000, Lozano was one of two teens from her parish, Our Lady of the Pillar in St. Louis, Mo., invited to attend the beatification of Blessed Chaminade in Rome. Her pastor, Marianist Father James M. Tobin, accompanied the group. Lozano said she knew of Blessed Chaminade from growing up in a Marianist parish, and she felt an instant connection.
Photographer: Blessed Joseph William Chaminade
Soon after Lozano returned home from Rome, the cancer came back, this time in her bone marrow. �I started praying more intently, deepening my connection with Chaminade,� she said.
Intense chemotherapy combined with a stem-cell transplant using cells from her own body was recommended. The procedure almost killed her. �I spent six weeks in isolation, rebuilding my immune system and learning to walk and eat again,� Lozano recalled. �It was very difficult, but I kept on praying.�
Back on her feet again, she went away to college to study architecture. When she returned home for Thanksgiving 2002, she was told there was a new tumor in the area of the heart and spine, the size of a small Nerf football. The disheartening news from the doctors was that no one had ever survived a recurrence of Askin�s tumor after a stem-cell transplant. The diagnosis was that she had three to four months to live.
�My doctor was a very devout man, and he encouraged me to believe in miracles and pray prayers of intercession, which I and my family and friends did,� Lozano said.
Prayers continued for Lozano and she continued living weeks, months and years. Scans showed that her tumor was not growing as expected. She stayed active and kept on living each day as if it were her last.
In May, 2004, Lozano put herself in the hands of Dr. Mark Blucher, a well-known surgeon who had just arrived at St. John�s Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, Mo. He operated to remove the tumor, and to the shock of all, it was just scar tissue. The cancer had died.
�Why do you think Chaminade chose you?� asked one of the students in a general question and answer session after Lozano�s talk.
�I don�t know but I am eternally grateful,� she responded. �I am the only known survivor of this type of cancer, and no one can explain why I am alive. It is truly a miracle of Chaminade.�
The path to sainthood
- The Catholic Church has three steps to sainthood:
- Venerable: Title given to a deceased person recognized formally by the pope as having lived a life of heroic virtue.
- Blessed: To be beatified and called �blessed,� one miracle must be determined to have occurred through the candidate�s intercession, in addition to recognition of heroic virtue.
- Canonization: the final step in proclaiming someone a saint. It requires a second miracle after beatification.
- For a more in-depth explanation, go to the Catholic Encyclopedia or this document by the U.S. bishops.
Because the reported miracle took place within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the Marianist community asked Archbishop Robert J. Carlson to open an investigation. A six-member tribunal was formed that included canon lawyers and medical experts with no connection to Lozano�s treatments. In July 2010, the investigation was closed and over 3,000 documents were sent to the Congregation of Saints at the Vatican for their review. The Marianist community is awaiting final word that this, too, is a miracle, which would pave the way for Blessed Chaminade�s canonization.
�I am greatly affected by this presentation and example of Rachel Lozano,� said James Kardys, a junior at Chaminade-Madonna. �My faith in God has increased and I am elated and filled with hope.�
�This is truly a blessing and a miracle,� said Marianist Father Larry Doersching, president of Chaminade-Madonna. �I was asked to pray for the canonization of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade when I was at a Marianist high school in Milwaukee in 1959. To see something like this that I have hoped and longed for over the years come this close, it is overwhelming. And to have the miracle of Rachel here today, inspiring and opening the eyes of our students to undying faith and the power of prayer, makes this an amazing experience.�
�I am greatly affected by this presentation and example of Rachel Lozano,� said James Kardys, a junior at Chaminade-Madonna. �My faith in God has increased and I am elated and filled with hope.�
�This is truly a blessing and a miracle,� said Marianist Father Larry Doersching, president of Chaminade-Madonna. �I was asked to pray for the canonization of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade when I was at a Marianist high school in Milwaukee in 1959. To see something like this that I have hoped and longed for over the years come this close, it is overwhelming. And to have the miracle of Rachel here today, inspiring and opening the eyes of our students to undying faith and the power of prayer, makes this an amazing experience.�
