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Deacon Jack Sullivan's moving account of his healing through Cardinal Newman's intercession. The Deacon was watching Fr. C.J. McCloskey on EWTN.

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA (UK Catholic Herald) - John "Jack" Sullivan, 70, is acting clerk magistrate of Plymouth District Court in Massachusetts, generally not the kind of place where one expects to encounter miracles. In any case, Jack is a happily married husband, father, and soon-to-be grandfather who lives in Marshfield, a medium-sized town in Plymouth County.

He went to Suffolk Law School in Boston in the 1960s, but since 2002 he has also been a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Boston, currently serving at St Thecla's parish in Pembroke, near Marshfield. Describing himself as "very ordinary", though "somewhat good-looking - at least my wife thought I was", he considers himself "very lucky both professionally" and family-wise.

In 2000 and again in 2001, however, some extraordinary things happened to him which make him even more fortunate: Pope Benedict XVI decreed on July 3 that he had been cured of his crippling back pain through the intercession of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman and that the cure had no medical or scientific explanation.

The cure therefore qualifies as a miracle, which means that Cardinal Newman, the great 19th-century convert and Catholic theologian whom many consider the Father of Vatican II, will be beatified next year. Miracles happen - even to Boston lawyers.

Jack Sullivan spoke last month at Arnold Hall Conference Centre in Pembroke to a gathering of diocesan priests from around the country affiliated with Opus Dei's Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. He was invited by Fr C John McCloskey III, a Newman scholar who in 2000 hosted a series of programmes for EWTN on Cardinal Newman.

At the end of one of his programmes, interviewing Fr Ian Ker, the renowned Newman biographer from Oxford, Fr McCloskey put a message on the television screen that read: "If you receive any favours from Cardinal Newman, please contact the Birmingham Oratory in England." This is where Newman had lived and died and where the postulator of his Cause of beatification, Fr Paul Chavasse, resides.

Jack Sullivan happened to be watching this programme. He said that if there had been no notice at the programme's end, he probably would not have prayed to Cardinal Newman, whom he previously knew very little about.

The programme came at a crucial time for Jack, who was eager to be ordained a permanent deacon even though the way forward then seemed impossible. He had just finished his second year of a four-year course of studies for the diaconate when he woke up on June 6 2000 with a tremendous pain in the back of his legs so that he could hardly walk. At Jordan Hospital in Plymouth a CAT scan showed five vertebrae squeezing his spinal cord and creating a bulge, which meant that he could lose his lower body function at any time and be paralysed. He could only walk doubled over. Referred to a specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital he was told it was the worst back problem the doctor had seen in 17 years.

Surgery was indicated, which would take at least six months to recuperate from. He was told to forget about resuming his studies for the diaconate. He prayed: "Please, Cardinal Newman, intercede with God so that I might go back to classes and be ordained." He stressed that he did not pray for a miracle, just that he could resume his studies. The following morning, he felt no pain, had full mobility and could walk without difficulty, with strength in his legs. He then met another specialist, this time at New England Baptist Hospital, who told him that it was no longer necessary to undergo surgery and that he could resume his classes.

Jack finished his third year without difficulty, but the day after his last class in 2001 the debilitating pain resumed so that he was effectively confined to a wheelchair. Surgery was performed in August of 2001. Complications ensued, as the surgeon discovered that the protective membrane surrounding his spine had ruptured, and the fluids had leaked out. The prognosis was not good, and recovery was expected to last eight months to a year. He needed to be carried back to his bed in the hospital.

Five days after the surgery he prayed again to Cardinal Newman to be able to walk and resume his studies. He then felt great heat and a tingling sensation all over accompanied by a tremendous sense of peace. Though he had no sensation of time, the nurse told him this lasted for about 10 minutes. He stood up straight, was able to walk without a walker or cane, without any difficulty or pain. When he was discharged from the hospital they gave him a huge jar of percocet, a potent painkiller. He didn't take the drug because he didn't need it. Where pills couldn't reach, prayer did.

He called his doctor, Robert Banco of New England Baptist, who said he could resume his studies. It was only in October 2001, after his post-operative meeting with Dr Banco, that ...