C. Everett Koop: The Padre Pio Connection

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm by Kathy Schiffer

C. Everett Koop: The Padre Pio Connection 2016-09-30T15:58:18-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

You probably heard that C. Everett Koop, who served as Surgeon General under President Ronald Reagan, died on February 25 at the age of 96.

Dr. Koop, who was Surgeon General from 1981 through 1989, was the most visible and the most influential person ever to hold that office. During his tenure Dr. Koop raised our national awareness regarding the health dangers of cigarette smoking, and established an aggressive government policy toward AIDS. He fought to strengthen the rights of handicapped children, campaigning to protect newborns with defects, which led to Congress passing the Baby Doe Amendment.

He was personally opposed to abortion—although he declined to report that the procedure posed a serious health hazard to the women who obtained legal abortions. In Whatever Happened to the Human Race, which he co-authored with Francis A. Schaeffer, Koop analyzed the widespread implications and frightening loss of human rights brought on by today’s practices of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia.

MEDICAL CAREER

In his medical practice, C. Everett Koop was a pediatric surgeon who achieved international recognition for successfully separating conjoined twins and for advancing the field of pediatric surgery with new lifesaving procedures.

Of particular interest is the case of critically ill Veramarie Calandra, fifth child of Harry and Vera Calandra, who operated a small grocery store in Norristown, Pa. Veramarie was born in 1966, and suffered from a congenital kidney disease. Dr. Koop performed several surgeries on the infant’s severe urinary tract defects at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, finally removing her bladder and warning her parents that she could not live that way, and that the child was certain to die.

INTERVENTION OF PADRE PIO

Mrs. Calandra had read of the miracles of Padre Pio, and in 1968—just a few weeks before the friar’s death—she was moved to travel with her seriously ill toddler to his monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. Padre Pio received Vera Calandra and two of her children, including Veramarie. He blessed them and placed his sore, wounded hands upon the children’s foreheads.

Upon the Calandras’ return home, doctors at Children’s Hospital again examined the young Veramarie and discovered, to their amazement, that a small rudimentary bladder was growing to replace the one which Dr. Koop had removed. It was truly, they believed, a miracle. Since Padre Pio was still alive at the time of the miracle, it cannot be counted as one of the miracles necessary for canonization; but the family is grateful nonetheless, and believes that it was Padre Pio’s prayer which restored Veramaria to full health.

Veramarie did recover to live a normal life. Her mother Vera, after promising God that she would spread the word about the pious friar if her daughter were to live, established the National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto, Pennsylvania.

According to the Centre’s website, the National Centre for Padre Pio has been recognized by the Holy See for its spiritual work. Mr. and Mrs. Calandra had many audiences with Pope John Paul II, and were invited to attend many masses in his private chapel. In 1987, Mrs. Calandra received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award, an honor bestowed by the Pope for outstanding work with the Catholic Church. On May 2, 1999, during the Beatification Ceremony of Padre Pio in Rome, Italy, Mrs. Calandra was given the great privilege of representing the United States of America and was asked to read the first reading of the Solemn Mass.

Previous Post

February 25, 2013

Vatican Announces World Meeting of Families—In Philadelphia!

Next Post

February 27, 2013 Pope Benedict’s Final General Audience Draws 150,000

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

Select your answer to see how you score.

The centurion Mourners at Lazarus' tomb Mary Magdalene Peter