Deacon Jack Sullivan (catholic-ew.org.uk)

The Boston Globe has published an account in today’s issue about the healing of a Marshfield, Mass., permanent deacon that’s been attributed to the intercession of the late Cardinal John Henry Newman.

Go here to read about how Deacon Jack Sullivan’s prayers to Cardinal Newman in 2001, asking him to intercede for the healing of an excruciatingly painful spinal condition, were answered immediately. The apparent miracle has been scrutinized by the Vatican in the context of the cause for the canonization of Cardinal Newman.

“For Sullivan, who said he has remained pain-free since his prayers were answered and who has lately been busy fertilizing his rose garden and celebrating 40 years of marriage to his wife, Carol, the Vatican finding confirms what he has long believed,” the Globe recounts.

“In an interview at his home, the good-natured, rosy-cheeked Sullivan said his most striking memory of that summer day in [2001] is the wave of well-being that swept over him as he prayed.

“‘The most important thing was the sense of exuberance I felt, exuberance and confidence that all would be well, all would be rosy, and a tremendous happiness,’ he said yesterday, sitting in a comfortable brown armchair with views of towering pine trees. ‘I got up and walked all over the place, twisting my cane like Charlie Chaplin.’”