A powerful Catholic biography of miracles, healing, and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Known as the "Miracle Man of Notre Dame," Br. Columba (John) O'Neill, CSC (1848-1923), rose from humble beginnings to national recognition as people across the country attributed miraculous healings to his prayers.
The Miracle Man of Notre Dame--the first major biography of Servant of God Br. Columba--tells the inspiring true story of a man whose deep faith and quiet life of service became a witness to the power of prayer, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and God's healing grace.
Born to Irish immigrants in Pennsylvania, Columba could not follow his father into the coal mines because of his clubbed feet. Instead, he became an itinerant cobbler, traveling across the country before discerning a vocation with the Congregation of Holy Cross at Notre Dame.
It was there that his life changed forever.
Through a profound devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Columba developed a deep trust in Christ's love--and a quiet ministry of intercessory prayer that would lead many to report miracles and physical healing.
Working in the campus cobbler shop, Columba quietly prayed for those who asked for his help. When a customer reported that Columba's prayers had cured his daughter's convulsions, word quickly spread. Soon others claimed healing through his prayers, and requests began arriving from across the country. In the final fifteen years of his life, Columba received thousands of letters asking for his prayers; many wrote back to say that they had been cured of ailments ranging from chronic sores to cancer and tuberculosis.
In this inspiring Catholic biography, you'll discover
- the life and spiritual journey of a humble man devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus;
- the remarkable stories of miracles and healings attributed to his prayers;
- the hidden power of intercessory prayer in everyday life;
- a compelling witness to faith, humility, and trust in God's love; and
- insight into the growing cause for canonization of a modern holy American man.
Drawing on the spirituality of the Sacred Heart, Columba taught that Christ's heart revealed the fullness of his boundless love and invited believers to trust it completely.
As Pope Francis later wrote in Dilexit Nos, when we welcome Christ's love in trust, "we become capable of loving others as Christ did, in humility and closeness to all."
A century after his death, Br. Columba's life of humility, prayer, and service continues to inspire. His cause for canonization is now open, and his story is a powerful witness to faith in the Sacred Heart of Jesus--and to the quiet holiness of a man remembered as the Miracle Man of Notre Dame.
Fr. Richard E. Gribble Jr., CSC, is superior of Our Lady of Fatima House in Notre Dame, Indiana. He spent twenty-seven years as a professor of religious studies and theology at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts.
Gribble attended the US Naval Academy and earned several degrees, including a doctorate in church history from the Catholic University of America. A prolific writer, he has published both scholarly and creative books and articles. His work has appeared in The Catholic Historical Review, American Catholic Studies, Journal of Church and State, Liguorian, St. Anthony Messenger, The Priest, U.S. Catholic Historian, Journal of the West, and Homiletic & Pastoral Review.
He resides in Notre Dame, Indiana.
