The Savannah morning news., 1902-07-29
MIRACULOUS CURES.
Strange Scenes During the Novena
of st. Anne.
From the New York World.

of st. Anne.
From the New York World
Good st. Anne, our good mother:
and the hofor of Jesus in the Blessed
| Sacrament"
Thousands of times this little prayer
has gone up at the Church of ST. Jean
Baptiste, Seventy-sixth street, during
| the past nine days. Yesterday it went
up again hundreds of times more, for
it was the feast day of st. Anne, moth
er of the Blessed Virgin.
Those who love little children have
wept many times duYing the days that
have passed. The poor little ones
| blind, deaf, paralyzed, limping with
hip disease or stumbling along with
one foot far shorter than the other;
some babies bound to boards and 9TH
| ers gibbering away because the light
of reason had never flashed into their
poor little brains-it was a continual
procession of them every day.
Record of The Novena.
81 never dreamed there was so much
| suffering in the world" said one of the
priests yesterday, who has only re-
Gently come to the church from lit
tie country town where babies are
DOTIl nOTIDdlly because their IDOlnGIS
and fathers have never known the
misery of the tenements and the lack
of wholesome food.
The feast day marks the end of the
| Novena to ST. Anne. During these
nine days the relic of the Saint, a bit
of the bone.of her forearm. two inches
| long, has been exposed for the vener-
alton of the faithful. 1t is set in
plate of brass, protected by a disk of
| glass. Those who wanted could kiss
the sacred relic and those who suffered
could have it applied to whatever part
of their bodies was afflicted.
1t has taken squad of police to
keep the little church from being
swamped. 1t scarcely holds 1000, yet
at times 5000 souls have sought ad-
mission at the same time. Each aisle
holds a bluecoat. He allows so many
up and halt the others. Every fifteen
minutes the worshippers change. All
day long the procession comes. Up.
stairs they worship at the altar; down.
stairs they venerate the relic.
Over and over again good Father
Roy, the priest in charge of the relic,
intones his prayers. The voices of the
| people follow him in confused muir
muir. Up and down along the altar rail
he passes, presenting the relic in its
little glass case to the line of kneeling
faithful.
Pray for me-" he bids the afflicted
one say, and then Good ST. Anne.Y
rises again from the kneeling hundreds
in the pews.
One of the most pitiful sights of the
week was little fellow strapped to a
board. He was perhaps three years old
and some cruel disease of the spine
had seized him for it's own. 1t looked
as if all his life had been concentrated
IN the great violet eyes that looked so
Tonderingly at the priest who bent
over him. His tiny form was wasted
his pretty face was wan with suffer-
irg.
Good St. Anne" whispered the
priest, bending over the boy, pray for
me-"
Cure Me" Lisped the Child.
Good ST. Anne, pray for me and
cure me-" lisped the child, while the
priest rubbed him all over with the
relic There was hardly dry eye then
in the little sanctuary
Some day." sobbed the mother, "I
hope to bring this cruel board and put
it here with these other things.
Il hope So" said the father gently.
About them were two great stands
filled with crutches, braces bandages
ana all the devices of surgery to helm
the crippled. Every one had been nut
there by one who had been cured, and
ny oI. anne alone.
The mothers bring their children,
their faces brave with hope Some
are in plaster Jackets others are
bound in steel, The babies faces are
apathetic, but the mother-love shines
IN the faces of those who bring them
The police know the cripples who
come daily and there is a private en-
trance for them, so that they can
avoid the long and tiresome wait in
he do n,,A
OF vendors have been coming money
by selling rosaries, buttons with the
picture of st. Anne, photographs of
the church and dozens of other souv-
enirs.
Within the church there are two
rooms for the sale of pious objects for
the faithful. In one room a sweet
faced nun sells little images, devotion
al books crucifixes and pictures. In
another sits a sister who has charge
of the membership of the Associates of
st. Anne.
Dead Man Became Members.
To become member entities one to
many indulgences. Mempership may be
bought for the dead. Each associate
participates in the good works and the
prayers of the other members. Those
who belong must wear the medal of
st. Anne or keep it in some convent
ent place at home.
The week has seen many cures. Lit
tie Marian Oates, a child of six, who
lives at No. 172 East Eighty-second
street, for half her little life has been
hobbiing around with a brace, Grip
pied with hip disease. Her little face
spiritualzed by pain, was followed by
many plying eyes as she came day
after day to pray that the saint might
cure her and to kiss the relic. Finally
the time came.
Take it off, mamma whispered
the child pointin~ to the clumsy steel
brace that supported her.
In sight of all the worshipers the
mother unstrapped the iron and little
Marian walked out of the church un-
aided. The kneeling faithful burst
out in praise of st. Anne.
Augustus Martin, a crippled pauper
had no money to go home and spent