Mystery Surrounds
Supposed Miracles Attributed to Teen

WORCESTER, Mass. Tatiana Argote stopped here on her way to a Boston hospital where surgeons would try, for the fourth time, to permanently remove a stubborn tumor from the 9-year-old girl's stomach. Marie Guerrazzi, 71, arrived with a list of petitions, ranging from her godson's cleft palate to a relative's struggles with young sons.

On a recent cold and blustery afternoon, they and a steady stream of others came to a small beige ranch house on a modest street here in search of a miracle. What they found remains nothing more--or less--than a mystery in the eyes of the Catholic Church, but one that church officials have deemed worthy of investigation.

At the core of the investigation and the pilgrims' passion are numerous claims of healing and paranormal manifestations attributed to the intercession or presence of teenager Audrey Santo, who lies mute, motionless and off-limits to most visitors in a rear bedroom of the house.

Since January, most pilgrims have been restricted to the family's one-car garage, which has been converted into a chapel. It is open to the public three days a week for four hours daily. Hundreds of pictures, statues and other religious gifts from visitors crowd the cream-colored walls and spill onto the margins of the blue carpet.

Almost everything bears oily stains or a sheen of what looks like vegetable oil. Some objects tend to gush more oil than others; one porcelain statue of Christ has a paper cup under the chin to catch the flow.

The Diocese of Worcester recently released the report of a 14-month investigation into the case, finding no evidence of fraud or other chicanery, and said it will proceed to a second, more technical phase of inquiry, according to Raymond Delisle, communications director for the diocese.

The Catholic Church maintains no official clearinghouse for keeping track of purported miraculous events. Despite a recent series of miraculous claims--ranging from a weeping Madonna statue in a suburban New Jersey back yard to the appearance of an image of the Virgin Mary on the glass wall of a building in Clearwater, Fla.--authorities estimate that a handful of investigations are under way around the country. The Santo investigation is one of the rare ones that has advanced to a second phase.

Audrey, a dark-haired 15-year-old, has been in a paralyzed and incommunicative condition, described as akinetic mutism, since August 1987, when she nearly drowned in a swimming pool accident. Although doctors recommended that the child be institutionalized, the family brought her home. Since then, with 24-hour nursing and the occasional use of a ventilator, the girl has physically grown and matured normally, according to her mother, Linda Santo, 50, a devout Catholic and mother of four. The girl's father, Stephen Santo, works in the warehouse of an appliance company.

The tragic turn in life for the Santo family took a bizarre twist, Linda Santo said, in 1991, when oil began oozing from a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the house. Next, she said, blood appeared on an image of St. Rita of Cascia. "Then, one image after another started," said Linda Santo, recalling the unpredictable appearance of blood and oil on various religious objects, which still persists. People began coming to see Audrey. "It just grew and grew. It was word of mouth, just like in Jesus' time. He didn't have a fax," Linda Santo said, chuckling.

The numbers of visitors rose as curiosity, and hope, grew stronger with reports that four Eucharistic hosts, consecrated at masses held at the Santo home, suddenly became stained with what appeared to be blood. There were reports that Audrey at times bore signs of stigmata, wounds on the hands and feet mirroring those believed to have been inflicted on Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. And there began to be claims of healings by people who had their petitions read to Audrey.

Last summer, 10,000 people from around the country showed up for an outdoor mass on the 11th anniversary of Audrey's injury, held at the College of the Holy Cross. Audrey attended the mass in a small, specially constructed shed with a large window through which she could be seen, creating a "spectacle" that troubled some, including the local bishop. But people desperately wanted to see the girl and, by the end of 1998, there were 5,000 on a waiting list for appointments to visit her, said Linda Santo. Appointments have been replaced by the public chapel hours.

Such enthusiasm can hold potential danger, according to Rev. Frederick Jelly, a theologian at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland, who has participated in a number of investigations of miraculous claims. "I do believe that our people are starving for some signs of the presence of God," he said. "I do think people get what I call miracle mania. And I'm afraid that, when they get that, they see too many things, and they're building their faith on sand."

It was the increasing notoriety surrounding Audrey that prompted Worcester Bishop Daniel Reilly to commission the independent panel of theologians, psychologists and medical doctors to conduct an investigation into the case. The family is fully cooperating. "We'd like to know, too," Linda Santo said.

"The reason for doing an investigation is never to become a proponent of whatever is being claimed. Our goal isn't to put up a billboard saying, `One more mile to Audrey's house,' " Delisle said. "We start from a point of skepticism. That is set."

Most claims that reach the point of being investigated get knocked down early, once a bright light is cast on what often turns out to have a natural explanation or to be simple fraud. That did not happen in Audrey's case. The commission could find no evidence that anyone, in or outside of the Santo family, was causing the oil and blood to appear. Nor was there any evidence that anyone was profiting, either financially or through notoriety, from Audrey's situation.

The family accepts no money for Audrey nor for fulfilling requests for cotton balls soaked with the oil that appears in the house. A group called the Apostolate of a Silent Soul Inc. does sell videotapes and other materials related to Audrey, but the commission found the costs of the merchandise to be nominal and the proceeds used to cover costs of corresponding with those who have written to Audrey and the publication of a periodic newsletter about her. The group works out of the Santos' basement.

As for the mysterious appearance of oil and blood, the commission can't yet explain it. "There is the need to have controlled tests performed involving some of the religious articles and lab analysis of resulting oils or other secretions, since no two reports from past tests have come back with the same results," the report. Oil and blood long have figured in the tradition of Christian mystics, said Rev. Harvey Egan, professor of systematic and mystical theology at Boston College, who said the oil probably refers to the sacramental chrism or oil, applied during Catholic baptism.

The commission also needs to ascertain whether Audrey Santo can comprehend what is being said to her, which is essential to her ability to intercede for a petitioner. "She is very responsive and reactive," said Linda Santo, but, at present, there is no medical corroboration for that belief. As a result, the commission will conduct more physical tests. The investigation will probably go on for at least another year, Delisle said. Even when it is over, Delisle warned, "We'll never be proving a miracle."

Indeed, the church is so cautious about such matters that it never--even in such celebrated cases as the healings attributed to the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France--affirms anything as a miracle. Instead, Egan said, "When the church speaks about miracles, or visions of Our Lady, it's always in the negative: You can believe it if you want to, but it's not central to the faith. It's not harmful."

[Source: Chicago Tribune / IL / by Lisa Anderson - March 23 1999]