I want to catalog some of the stories surrounding this relic which has become such a touchstone of grace in our life and the lives of others.
This one is very recent:
Deacon Frank just passed away two days ago. He was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer over a year ago. He was already a cancer survivor in his 80s. He repeatedly told us his time with Fr.McGivney gave him more strength and comfort than we'd ever know.
I want to catalog some of the stories surrounding this relic which has become such a touchstone of grace in our life and the lives of others.
Baby Hayes was born with a rare auto-inflamatory disease that severely compromised his immune system. Every time he came into contact with a normal childhood illness it put him in a life threatening situation (he was hospitalized 3 times before the age of 1). He caught strep throat on his first birthday last year and he went into cardiac arrest. After 7 minutes Doctors were able to restart his heart but his body had developed many many blood clots throughout all his limbs in addition to sepsis. All four limbs were purple and turning black. The family was told they didn't think they could save him, but if they could it would be by amputating all 4 of his limbs. His uncle borrowed the relic from us, drove down overnight to _______ where they live, and met a priest at the hospital to bless Hayes with the relic of Michael McGivney. (Hayes parents had mixed feelings about this they were very scared to have other people around that could expose Hayes to more germs/illness and kill him. They had told family not to visit yet). The priest blessed Hayes with the relic and he immediately began improving. Ultimately it was God's will Hayes would lose one leg from the knee down and a few fingers, but it was far far more than any of the doctors had hoped for. That over a year ago, Hayes is now 2 and walking with a leg replacement (I can't think of what they're called my brain is asleep lol). That incident was the last time he was hospitalized.
I want to catalog some of the stories surrounding this relic which has become such a touchstone of grace in our life and the lives of others.
The relic's custodian told me this story too. They don't all have a storybook happy ending, at least in this world. I'm going to be real honest, I couldn't make it through the family's Caring Bridge entries. I'm quite certain that it is a grace filled story of redemptive suffering, but I'm not far enough removed from our own to be able to handle reading it.
She wrote:
Baby Regina was blessed with the relic while still in utero last year. She was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and a genetic diagnosis of Trisomy 18 as well. She was not expected to live very long after birth, if she made it that far. She was born four months after the first blessing and blessed with the relic a second time shortly thereafter. Although she had many struggles, she exceeded doctor's expectations and didn't just live for hours or days, she was able to come home from the hospital with her family and spent 4 beautiful months with them before she passed and was a testimony to God's grace everyday she lived.
Last fall, Regina's family wrote:
Regina is in the loving arms of God!
Regina peacefully entered into eternal life last night at 1245 am in the loving arms of her mother and surrounded by her siblings. We thank God for four glorious, joy filled months with our Regina! Everyone that met her left with a smile. We will miss her tremendously but look forward to being with her again in eternity.
We are very grateful to everyone for your prayers and support. We will post on Caringbridge the funeral arrangements when we know them.
Regina Marigold, Pray For Us!
I want to catalog some of the stories surrounding this relic which has become such a touchstone of grace in our life and the lives of others.
On June 15, 2022, the relic's custodian told us about a little boy named Patrick who was in desperate need of prayers. He was 4 years old and undergoing some intense internal bleeding that required emergency surgery. The last words of his poor mother to him as they wheeled him to the OR were, "if you need to, go with Jesus". We still had the relic at that time after Zelie's blessing. She wrote:
Patrick is out of surgery but they can't find the source of the bleed. They've told his parents to make a list of family members who need to see him. At this point they're praying for a miracle. Jason, I hate to ask, but when you get a chance we'd like to offer for Patrick to be blessed with Father McGivney's relic too. Besides Zelie he was the other special intention we had brought to Blessed McGivney's tomb on our pilgrimage.
Today (7/18/2024) she wrote to me with an update:
Patrick - 4yrs old- Patrick was diagnosed with leukemia the same week Joe came home from the hospital (week of Feb 8 2022). He went through 2 rounds of chemo but it did so much damage they needed to stop, it destroyed his small and large intestines. Joe and I made a Thanksgiving Pilgrimage to the Michael McGivney shrine in Connecticut in May and brought the prayers of others with us (***most especially Zelie and Patrick** we prayed particular hard for these two cases). That weekend of our visit to the tomb of M.M., Patrick suddenly and unexpectedly went into remission. His cancer was gone and doctors couldn't explain it. However, over the course of the next two months after treatment, he kept bleeding internally and doctors kept having to find the bleeds and fix them. One day they couldn't find the source of the Internal bleeding and they told the family they needed to gather their family to say their goodbyes to Patrick. There was nothing more they could do. You all overnighted the relic to them, he was blessed the next day and the internal bleeding miraculously stopped. He made such a sudden drastic recovery afterwards doctors were at a loss of how to care for him. Not a single doctor on his care team at children's hospital in Philadelphia thought he was going to leave that hospital alive with the condition his body had deteriorated to after the chemo. Two weeks after his sudden improvement doctors felt the need to sit the family down and apologize for not having a care plan for his future and what markers would need to be met for his discharge to be possible, because they didn't think it was going to be possible so they were still working to figure out what that would look like. They kept expecting him to get bad again but it wasn't happening. They requested further testing to make sure the cancer wasn't hiding somewhere else in his body and when those all came back negative they wanted to run them again and look harder. Then those came back negative too. After a lot of rehab and relearning how to walk and be tube fed, Patrick has been home from the hospital for over a year and a half, is back at school making friends and thriving as a cancer free 6yr old.
I'd written the following the day I sent the relic on June 16, 2022:
Fr. McGivney will be there tomorrow. It was unexpectedly hard saying goodbye, kind of snuck up on me.
She responded:
I know! I did the same when the vice postulator came to get it from us. He's a part of your family now.
I want to catalog some of the stories surrounding this relic which has become such a touchstone of grace in our life and the lives of others.
I wrote this on January 14, 2022:
I
have an urgent prayer request, for which in your goodness, I'm asking
your prayers. A good friend of mine called yesterday asking for prayers
for his niece’s husband, Joe. He went into the hospital a few
days ago
after having contracted COVID because his lips turned blue. His wife, Megan, wasn't allowed in, but long
story short he's in really bad shape. He has acute respiratory failure and if
he makes it through, will eventually need a lung transplant. He's 36 years old and was fighting fit when
he got the disease. He's a good man. They have 6 small children, and that
family needs a true miracle. His wife
says they are asking Fr. Michael McGivney to obtain one, if it be God's will that Joe survives. This is the prayer
they'll be using if you could spread the word as best you can…
God, our Father, protector of the
poor and defender of the widow and orphan, you called your priest, Father
Michael J. McGivney, to be an apostle of Christian family life and to lead the
young to the generous service of their neighbor. Through the example of his
life and virtue may we follow your Son, Jesus Christ, more closely, fulfilling
his commandment of charity and building up his Body which is the Church.
Let the inspiration of your servant
prompt us to greater confidence in your love so that we may continue his work
of caring for the needy and the outcast. We humbly ask that you glorify your
venerable servant Father Michael J. McGivney on earth according to the design
of your holy will. Through his intercession, grant the favor I now present for
the full and complete healing of Joseph’s body so he may return home to his
family. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
-Jason Ferguson
She wrote this on February 9, 2022:
It's hard to believe that it's 2024 and well into Lent. Looking back on things, life has changed so dramatically. Families and friends have grown and fallen apart and only the good Lord knows what shall come of them. We have had so, so much life between now and the last time I wrote. Good, bad and ugly. Blessed be the good God, now and forever. May all my enemies be loved and blessed in this life and the next.
We are a single income family of 11, and that single income isn't really much to write home about, so I knew I was going to have to get creative if I was going to make it happen. As it turned out there were a few things going for me that were helpful.
First was the price of airfare. I've tracked AUS to FCO for years, and was always amazed that there were plenty of time during the year when things were quite reasonable. I never would have imagined that Holy Week might have been one of them, but it was. I left on Palm Sunday (April 10) from Austin-Bergstrom (AUS) and flew to Atlanta where I had a significant layover, before a direct flight to Rome-Fiumicino Airport (FCO). I arrived at 11am local time on Monday. My return flight was the same route, except it was delayed by the US federal policy of requiring a negative covid test within 24 hours before re-entry to the country. Best advice would be, don't try and fly out of Italy the day after Easter. Italians are fierce observers of Pasquetta, Easter Monday, on which virtually all business stops, including covid testing. Delta hooked me up though. In all of my travels, it was the Italians (natives and officials) who were friendly and accommodating and the Americans (tourists and officials) who were jerks. The airport was no exception to this rule. At any rate, my total cost for round trip airfare from Austin to Rome and back again was $724.97. 
Lodging comes next. I arranged my lodging in Rome through a website called Monastery Stays (https://www.monasterystays.com/). It was easy to search and provided options for any budget in every part of the city, and beyond. I opted for a pilgrims' hotel run by Brazilian Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Heart in the center of the old city. It was off a quiet side street in easy walking distance to most of the sites I was interested in, had a private room with bathroom and included breakfast. The sisters' chapel was also available for use too. Total cost was $155 for three nights in Rome. The other four nights I was in Italy I stayed in guest quarters (read: an under construction wine cellar) with 8 others in the Benedictine monastery of Norcia. The monks asked nothing in exchange for lodging, as it is part of the Rule. I made a donation to the monastery though and have continued supporting them each month since then. Total lodging costs for 7 nights in Italy was $455.
Food. This was at once the easiest and most difficult issue of the entire trip. It was easy, because it was Holy Week and a more severe fast was that was traditionally practiced by all Catholics during the week, in spite of what the modern rules seem to indicate. It was difficult, because of all the gifts of Italians to the world, food is one of the finest. I had already been doing a single meal a day for Lent, and so kept this routine on my pilgrimage as well. In Rome, I ate at the same Sardinian restaurant recommended by the sisters just down the way from my room. It was wonderful. I ate well after full days of exploring the City. A full four course meal with wine set me back about $20 - $30 dollars a night. I also sampled coffee offerings throughout Rome during the day, each one costing about $2.50. So all in, my three days in Rome set me back about $100 for food. Food was provided at the monastery for guests, and again nothing was asked for, however they also only eat one meal a day, in observation of the Rule of St. Benedict. On Holy Thursday, we feasted with cheese, salads, bread, oil, fish, pasta and wine in celebration of the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist. Norcia is the capital of sausages, prosciutto, and other cured pork deliciousness. In fact, places that sell these kinds of things elsewhere
in the country are called "norcinerias". I, naturally, had to buy some of the good stuff, in Norcia proper. On Good Friday, and bunkmate and I hiked down to the town and bought meat stuffs for the Easter celebration after the Vigil Mass on Saturday. My selections plus a nice bottle of local red set me back about $50. On Easter Sunday, I was invited by some families who frequent the monastery to a 7 course meal at a restaurant in the mountains that set me back about $25. So my total food bill for 7 days in Italy was about $175.
Transportation. My first experience with public transportation in Rome was the speed train from the airport to the station at Roma Termini a few blocks from my room. Public transport in Rome proper is cheap and plentiful. I took trains and buses all over the place, and don't think I ever spent more than about $3 a day. My trip from Rome to Norcia to the monastery consisted of a $15 round trip ticket from Rome to Spoleto and back again. In Spoleto, I caught a ride to Norcia 
with a driver sent by the monastery, but I easily could have taken a bus to Norcia and walked to the monastery like many of the other pilgrims did. I rode the bus and subway around the city, and I think fare was like $5 per day. I also walked a lot. The city is very walkable and it was pleasant to see the sights at the pace of foot, also it's free. Each morning I walked to Mass and then to the places I wanted to see. Nothing beat walking down a park trail in the brisk morning air with the Colosseum as your backdrop watching the city wake up. I did take a taxi once too, but it took me to the wrong place and wasn't worth the money in my opinion. I think all total, including the $20 taxi, I spent around $50 for transport for a week in Italy. Not too bad, and knowing now, what I didn't know then, I think I could half that and see more still.
Venues, souvenirs and other knickknacks. This one was a big lesson learned. I tried to carefully plan my itinerary prior to arrival in country and buy tickets ahead of time. Big mistake. Not only was it impossible to meet deadlines for the places I wanted to visit, due to not knowing my way around, it was also almost impossible to figure out how to actually get my tickets. Italy does this weird thing where you buy a ticket in one place, pick it up in another, have it validated in a third and then show it to someone in a fourth. Almost impossible to figure out. I wasted a lot of time, trying to get my "tickets" at a place on the first day, missing all of my scheduled tours, and being generally frustrated with the bureaucracy of it all. I quickly learned that the easier thing to do in most cases was just show up, buy a ticket and walk inside. Simple I know, but Rome is full of "tour" businesses that cater to Americans who don't know any better and think that you won't get in anywhere if you don't have reservations. That's absolutely true in some situations, like for the
Scavi tour or underground Colosseum tour, but in most cases you could just show up, buy a ticket and walk in, often bypassing the ridiculously long lines of people queued up for a specific tour group. I walked to the front of the line at the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel just by telling the staff I needed to buy a ticket. The took me to the front to a ticket kiosk and I walked right in. As far as souvenirs go, I traveled with a single backpack, and no checked luggage. I bought post cards in a few places and I and picked up rocks or other plentiful items from various places I visited like a piece of paving stone along the Appian way where St. Peter met Christ as he tried to flee the persecution of Nero, or the dirt from inside the catacombal grave of Pope St. Fabian who was martyred by the emperor Decian in 250, or marble shards from the ground beside he Temple of Castor and Pollux, or seeds from iconic pines growing over the Catacombs of St. Callixtus or a rock from the wall of a 7th century hermit's chapel high up in the Sibillini mountains or pressed flowers from my walks in the mountains. Also, I touched my rosaries to just about every relic I encountered. Some of these things may be frowned upon by others, but it's what I did, and I was happy with it. Bringing back a piece of the places I went was far more meaningful that a $20 piece of plastic crap probably made in China anyways. Also it was cheaper. I think all total I spent around $10 on souvenirs and probably about $40 on admission to various sites including the Sistine Chapel and Papal Museums, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Catacombs 
of St. Callixtus, the Sancta Sanctorum chapel and the Mamertine Prison. I visited many many churches, along the way too. I mostly took self guided tours and made good use of my college notes as well. One thing I would do differently is hire a private tour guide, like @MountainButorac for a day or half day outing and let him take care of all the admissions to the various places. I wasn't in Rome but for a few days, so there were obviously many, many places I just didn't have time to see, like St. Peter's....I know, I know. Next time. I was there on a pilgrimage of supplication. I prayed a lot and asked all the saints I encountered for their intercession on Zelie's behalf. I played the tourist in many ways from time to time, but I think I was pretty good about sticking to the plan. Total for admissions, tours and souvenirs, about $50.
So that's about it for my trip. It was a shoestring budget kind of affair....at least as much as it could have been. Italy had still been in the midst of throwing off its covid shackles, so there are some things that if I had to do, I would have done that would have driven the price down even more, like sleeping on the streets in Rome. I was prepared for that if need be for some reason, but I'm glad I didn't have to.
All total, my seven days in Italy broke down like this:
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