Audrey Marie Santo was born in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts on December 19, 1983. On August 9, 1987, when she was three years old, she fell into the family swimming pool and nearly drowned. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was stabilized and then taken to UMass. Medical Center where she was accidentally over-medicated with 750 mg. of the drug Phenobarbital. The overdose caused her to lapse into a coma-like state called Akinetic Mutism, which meant that she had very limited body movement. Medical professionals told the family that they needed to place her in an institution where she could live out the remaining days of her life. Her mother's faith-filled response to them was simply: "I shall place her in my arms." They predicted that she would not live more than two weeks — Thus began a labor of love which lasted for twenty years.
"Little Audrey", as she was called by her family, came home from the hospital in November 1987, four months after her accident. Her family immediately set about working around the clock with relatives and medical staff keeping close watch that all of Audrey's needs were met and that she receive only the very best of care. There was such a tremendous outpouring of love from all those around Little Audrey that it was no wonder that God chose to dispense His special blessings upon her family and anyone else who came in contact with her. What merely began as a labor of love for a helpless little girl had now grown into an apostolate that would spread throughout the whole world.
Most Rev. Bernard Joseph Flanagan, bishop emeritus of the diocese of Worcester, MA, (1959-1983), a close friend of the Santo family, celebrated the Holy Mass in their home. It was from his hands that Little Audrey received her First Holy Communion. When we recall that Audrey was unable to swallow because of her condition and was being fed via feeding tubes, it is remarkable that on the day of her First Holy Communion and every day after that, she was able to receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist without any difficulty.
Upon learning from the family that it would be nearly impossible for Little Audrey to attend Mass in a church, Bishop Flanagan granted the Santo family permission to have the Blessed Sacrament reside in a tabernacle in the little girl's bedroom, enabling her to receive Jesus in the Eucharist every day. With the Blessed Sacrament now in her room, Little Audrey had the great blessing of being in the continuous presence of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.
Miracles soon began to happen; statues of the Virgin Mary began to weep tears of blood, oil began to exude from statues and holy images, and many people were even healed of their illnesses. It has been recorded that a small, sick baby, having been simply laid on the bed next to Audrey, was instantly cured.
Letters began pouring into the Santo home asking for prayers from Little Audrey. Volunteers would read these letters to Audrey, one by one, and many of those petitions were granted. Even Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), became one of Little Audrey's close friends. Mother Angelica would call on the telephone and talk to Audrey for sometimes up to an hour. Though Audrey could not physically respond, Mother Angelica assured Audrey's mother that her petitions were answered.
Fr. Rene Laurentin, the foremost Mariologist of his time, came to investigate the happenings in the Santo Home. He declared that "Little Audrey speaks volumes with her heart, and that her heart reaches out to the world from her bedroom."
On seven different occasions, while the Holy Mass was being celebrated in Audrey's home, many people witnessed the Host in the celebrant's hands beginning to bleed. It was during one of Bishop Flanagan's Masses in Audrey's home that the first Eucharistic Miracle of the bleeding Host took place.
But, of all these phenomena, by far the most wonderful of all was that hearts were changed and conversions began taking place, and continue to this day. Little Audrey had clearly become one of God's special instruments, and her mission seemed to be two-fold: to bring souls to Jesus and to be a statement of life in a culture of death.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical, Charity in Truth, states that: "Charity is love received and given. It is 'grace' (cháris). Its source is the wellspring of the Father's love for the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Love comes down to us from the Son. It is creative love, through which we have our being; it is redemptive love, through which we are recreated. Love is revealed and made present by Christ (cf. Jn 13:1) and 'poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit' " (Rom 5:5).
"As the objects of God's love, men and women become subjects of charity. They are called to make themselves instruments of grace, so as to pour forth God's charity and to weave networks of charity... Only through an encounter with God are we able to see in the other something more than just another creature, to recognize the divine image in the other, thus truly coming to discover him or her and to mature in a love that "becomes concern and care for the other."
In the life of Little Audrey, we have the perfect model for this teaching. We see a community coming together, recognizing the "jewel" that they have in this little person, and treating her with the dignity that she deserves as a child of God, thus enabling her to develop to her full potential in the family of God despite her handicap. At the same time, we see Little Audrey, in an extraordinary way through a very special grace from God, reciprocating all this love by giving it back to all those around her according to each person's individual needs.
According to the world's standards, Audrey's life was of very little worth or even of no value at all. She could not work, she could not speak, and she could not even eat without the aid of feeding tubes. She needed constant care and could even be considered a "burden" to her family and to society. But God has made use of "the weak to confound the strong" (Cor.1:28), and "He has exalted the lowly" (Luke 1:52). Pope Paul VI in his encyclical letter, Populorum Progressio, reminds us that: "…in the design of God, every man is called upon to develop and fulfill himself, for every life is a vocation." Little Audrey's vocation was truly that of a witness in this life, that we are all precious in God's eyes, and that every human being has a particular place and purpose in society. What she was unable to provide physically to society, God made up for in a most extraordinary way, manifesting how great His love is for all of mankind.
Little Audrey died on April 14, 2007, at the age of 23 years and 8 months. On September 11, 2008, Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, Bishop of the Diocese of Worcester, MA, recognized the Foundation for the Promotion of the cause of the beatification and canonization of "Little Audrey" Marie Santo. We may now plead to her to intercede for us in Heaven before the throne of God, that He deliver our beautiful country of America from the "culture of death", and that all may live their lives with the dignity that they deserve as children of God, having been created in His image and likeness.
One particular phenomenon is that miraculous oil exudes and fills a ciborium (cup) that is placed on Little Audrey's bed. This oil continues to fill the cup inexplicably and has been used for healing and conversions.
If you would like to report favors received, or if you wish to obtain some of the healing oil, you may write:
Little Audrey Santo Foundation
64 S. Flagg St.
Worcester, MA 01602
(Attn: Fr. Peter Joyce, Diocesan Liaison to the Little Audrey Santo Foundation. For the oil/cotton swab, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.)
Eternal Father,
we thank you for the gift of Audrey Santo
and for her extraordinary witness to the world
that all life, no matter how small, broken, or wounded, remains precious in Your eyes.
Grant that she may be venerated
as a saint for the glory of God.
Hear the requests of all those who seek
her intercession, especially the grace
for which we now ask (Here mention your request).
We ask this through Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
(Prayer from website: www.littleaudreysanto.org)
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