The Catholic Weekly 12 July 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 6 NEWS 12, July, 2020 A GRANDFATHER who prayed over an estimated 200,000 people throughout his life and apparently expe- rienced the stigmata is a can- didate for canonisation af- ter the bishop of his diocese launched his cause. Irving “Francis” Houle was a Michigan father of five known for his holy life. He ap- peared to bear the stigmata, a physical manifestation of the wounds of Jesus Christ, and said he experienced the Pas- sion and visions of Jesus and Mary. Now, the US Diocese of Marquette is asking whether he was a saint. For Gale Houle, his wife of more than 60 years, he was also her husband. “Irving is my saint, and this is well deserved,” she said, speaking to the UP Catholic newspaper last year about the inquiry into his canonisation. “He was a husband and fa- ther and a grandfather. I love him with all my heart,” she continued, “But some days he just wasn’t there!” In November 2018, Bishop John Doerfler of Marquette opened the cause of canonisa- tion for Servant of God Irving C. Houle, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 83. In June 2019, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops voiced its support for Houle’s cause to move forward. Houle believed he first saw Jesus when he was a young child, but didn’t recognise him at the time. He suffered near-fatal injuries in a fall from a horse, and his doctor said he was too weak for surgery. A religious sister in the family encouraged prayers for him, and the next morn- ing new X-rays showed no evidence of severe injuries. Young Irving told his mother a man in white robes and up- raised hand had been stand- ing by his crib in the night, and a bishop told his parents this figure must have been Jesus, the National Catholic Regis- ter’s Joseph Pronechen said in a blog post. Houle graduated from high school in 1944. He served in the US Army for two years in Europe and the Middle East, then worked at a shoe store and a department store before becoming a cleaning supplies salesman. He then served as a plant manager for a machin- ery manufacturer. He and his family were pa- rishioners at St Joseph and St Patrick Church in Escabana, a city of more than 12,000 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In addition to his five children, he had seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. “He was a joker,” his wife Gail said. “Hewas a little tease; he was a lot of fun. The kids miss him terribly.” Irving Houle said he re- ceived his mission in visions from Jesus and Mary: to suffer the Passion every night to save sinners and to bring people back to confession and to the Eucharist. He began a healing min- istry, often in churches after Mass. He would pray and place his hands on people’s heads. His travels took him across Michigan and, one time, to Fatima. He never took payment for the healings. Though the healings were often spiritual, rather than physical in nature, some peo- ple reported immediate phys- ical cures as well. He prayed over one wheel- chair-bound woman, a can- cer patient given only four months to live. Five months later, she came to him, walking, reporting that she was free of cancer. An 8-year-old boy suffering leu- kaemia also reported healing after his prayers. Witnesses, including his wife Gail, said Houle first re- ceived the stigmata in 1993, at the age of 67. After Houle died in 2009, Marquette Bishop John Doer- fler opened an investigation into Houle’s potential saint- hood in 2018. “I didn’t notice any real changes in him before it hap- pened,” Gail said of what seemed to be the stigmata. On Holy Thursday of that year, he felt sick and went home to lay on the couch af- ADVERTORIAL Each winter, the Order of Malta’s knight, dames and volunteers spring into action to distribute 6,000 Coats for the Homeless across the country to as- sist the homeless population who are bracing themselves for the bitter win- ter conditions. This year, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented additional challenges for the homeless. In response the Order of Malta have expanded the Coats for the Homeless project to also include face- masks, anti-bacterial wipes and per- sonal items as part of the distribution to help protect the homeless and limit the transmission of Coronavirus. “With a number of homeless servic- es closed or offering limited services, the homeless need assistance more than ever this winter” explains John Murphy, National Hospitaller for the Order of Malta. “They [the homeless] are particularly vulnerable as they of- ten rely on public amenities and are therefore exposed to a lot more con- taminants in our community. They also tend to have more existing health issues than the general population and if they contract the virus there's a high probability it will impact them more severely.” The Order’s Coats for the Home- less are also designed to protect the wearer against the cold and wet. It was designed in close consultation with the homeless to ensure it meets their specific needs. It provides the warmth of a sleeping bag or swag without re- stricting movement and is free from uncomfortable buttons or zips, with just elastic and Velcro to offer a com- fortable night’s sleep and ease of wear during the day. With a number of everyday Austral- ians struggling following the economic fallout from the pandemic, John con- cedes that donations have been im- pacted this year. “In a usual year the demand for these Coats is overwhelming’ he ex- plains. “This year, the combination of expanding the project to include hy- giene items and the fall in donations means that we are having to seek new sources of funding”. John is urging Australians who are in a position to give to consider a do- nation to the project this year and give what they can. Gifts of $2 and more are tax deductible. If you would like to support the project, visit www.coatsforthehome- less.org to make a donation or send a cheque payable to ‘The Order of Malta’ to: Coats for the Homeless, PO Box 79, Caringbah, NSW1495. The Order of Malta (ABN 37 142 209 121) is a Public Benevolent institution and is endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as Deductible Gift Recipi- ent. Licence : SA - CCP3236, WA - 21310 Knights and dames increase assistance to homeless during Covid-19 pandemic The Order of Malta are responding to the increased needs of the homeless this winter despite a fall in donations. Dad’s cause opens Ordinary grandfather may have been a major mystic Over time, I saw his hands swell, like they’d do if you were hit with some- thing. His hands split open, and after that, he had open wounds sometimes as big as a quarter or half-dollar. He wore bandages ... for the rest of his life.” Deacon Terry Saunders HARRY POTTER author J.K. Rowling is once again facing criticism online for comments she made on Twitter about the dangerous side-effects of the transgenderismmovement. Rowling wrote an elev- en-part Twitter thread warn- ing that doctors are too quick to prescribe experimental treatments to Children they think suffer from gender dys- phoria. “Many health professionals are concerned that young peo- ple struggling with their men- tal health are being shunted towards hormones and sur- gery when this may not be in their best interests,” wrote Rowling. “The long-term health risks of cross-sex hormones have now been tracked over a lengthy period. These side-ef- fects are often minimised or denied by trans activists.” Author in hot water with trans lobby