chance she stopped to pray in the church of the brothers. There she caught sight of a booklet containing the life and miracles of Saint Francis,^a and she looked through it carefully. When she learned the truth of its contents, she tearfully took it and spread it over the diseased area. "As the things written about you on this page are true, Saint Francis," she said, "may I now be freed of my affliction through your holy merits!" She continued her weeping and praying for awhile, then removed her bandages. She was so completely healed that not even a trace of a scar could be detected.

¹⁹⁴A similar thing happened in the area of Romania^b where a father stormed Saint Francis with his humble prayers for his son, who was sick with a serious ulcer. "Saint of God," he prayed, "if all those marvelous things said of you around the world are true, let me experience to the praise of God the kindness of your mercy in my son." Suddenly the bandage was torn away from above, and in the sight of all, pus spurted from the wound, and the boy's flesh appeared intact, so that no sign of his former illness remained.

¹⁹⁵While blessed Francis was still living in the flesh, a brother suffered from a terrible affliction, because of which he would often fall. He would often have an attack in which all of his limbs were bent into a circle. Sometimes he would be all stretched out and rigid, with his feet level with his head, and then would be lifted up as high as a man stands, then suddenly bounce back to the ground, where he would roll around foaming ^{Mk 9:20} at the mouth. The holy father took pity on him, prayed, and with the sign of the cross healed him, and he was never again troubled by that illness.

¹⁹⁶After the blessed father's death, another brother had a painful ulcer in his side, so serious that all hope of a cure had been given up. When the brother asked permission of his minister to visit the tomb of blessed Francis, the minister would not give permission, for fear he would incur greater danger from the hardships of the journey. The brother was saddened by this, but blessed Francis one night stood by him and said, "My son, do not be sad any more. Take off the fur you are wearing, and remove that dressing from your wound. Obey your Rule, and you will soon be healed." Early the next morning he rose and did as the saint commanded, and was immediately healed.

¹⁹⁷A man was seriously wounded in the head by a metal arrow. He could get no relief from doctors, because the arrow had gone through his eye socket and was embedded in his head. He turned

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