The Diocese of Rome published this written prayer to implore favours through the intercession of the late Pope John Paul II.

O Blessed Trinity,

we thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendour of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him.   Trusting fully in your infinite mercy and in the maternal intersession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you. Grant us, by his intercession and according to your will, the graces we implore,

hoping that soon he will be numbered among your saints.

Amen.

for PDF prayer card click here

In April 2002, after two years of marriage, I was diagnosed with Endometriosis. The consultant, who carried out the investigative Laparoscopy, felt that because of the severity of the condition she did not think that I could have surgery anywhere in Ireland to safely remove the growths, without the risk of damage to other organs.  As you can imagine this was a big shock to both my husband and I.  She mentioned the possibility of I.V.F treatment but we decided that this was not for us.  In this case she told us that our best chance of having a baby was to apply for an adoption.  This was devastating news for us but we tried to keep as positive as possible and we decided that we had to do as much as we could to try and deal with this awful news.  We did not want to look back with regret and wonder if only we had done something maybe we could have had a baby.

Naturally because of our first encounter with the medical profession regarding this disease, we were terrified of further surgery and believed what she told us to be true.  So we decided to go down the alternative route.  I went on an herbal treatment for the best part of 12 months.  The alternative practitioner  kept telling me at each visit to her, that the treatment was working and that the endometriosis was nearly completely gone.  During those 12 months I had continued to make further enquiries and learn as much as I could about the disease.  I made contact with a lovely lady in an organisation called N.A.O.M.I and started charting my cycles using the “Billings method” of tracking.  It was that lady who told me about the NAPRO system and gave me Dr. Boyle’s name.

My first appointment with Dr. Boyle was in September 2003, all of this time we had been praying for guidance and that everything would work out for us.  Straightaway I started charting my cycles using the NAPRO system.  Because of my previous scope results, Dr. Boyle wisely set up an appointment for another investigative scope with Dr. Monaghan, consultant Gynaecologist / Obstetrician.  I was terrified but agreed to go ahead thinking well maybe by the time I get an appointment for surgery I might be pregnant and be spared the ordeal. 

This wasn’t to be and Dr. Monaghan operated on me in December 2003.  His findings were much more detailed that those I had previously received and he advised that he would have to perform a Laparotomy in order to deal with the disease safely because of the extent of the growths which were present.  I was very frightened about having such major surgery but felt we just could not bear to look back with regrets if we  did not take the advice being given to us.  I started on Decapeptyl injections in preparation for the surgery and in Feb 2004,  Dr. Monaghan both successfully and very safely removed as much of the disease as he could giving us the best chance to conceive naturally.  I had to take another Decapeptyl injection after the surgery.

After recovering from surgery we started back charting as soon as my cycles returned. This would have been May 2004, by March  of 2005 we still had no success.  We were very disillusioned as we felt that our best chance was immediately after the surgery.  However we decided that we had come too far to give up and that if we gave up now all of Dr. Monaghan and Dr. Boyle’s efforts would also be wasted.  Around this time I started getting back some symptoms of the endometriosis again so Dr. Boyle thought I should go back to Dr. Monaghan for another scope.  This would be my fourth time having surgery and I was really feeling worn out at the very thoughts of it.  My husband and I jointly decided that we would always regret if we did not go this extra mile. 

I had my scope on 3/6/05, the day after my 37th birthday, Dr. Monaghan found that the endometriosis had returned again and that I must have a very aggressive form of the disease.  He removed as much of the disease as he could and felt that this may give us another chance. This was a most difficult time for us, we both knew that with the aggressive nature of the disease that if I did not conceive pretty soon after the surgery that our chances would be gone yet again and that I just couldn’t keep having surgery indefinitely.

The few days after that surgery I received a catalogue in the post from a company who supply decorative wall plates.  They had an offer of a special commerative plate of the life of the late Pope John Paul II.  I placed an order for it, as I had a great love of him having had been lucky enough to meet him during a trip to Rome in 1992.    Some week or so after this, I was visiting one of my sisters and she gave me a photocopy of a special prayer which had been just drafted by the Vatican.  It was a prayer to seek favours through the intercession of the late Pope John Paul II.  She told me that she just got a very strong feeling that she should give this to me.  I started saying this prayer immediately, sometimes with great devotion but truthfully sometimes reluctantly as we were pretty disillusioned at the time.  Unknown to me my sister was also saying it for our intentions.

In the meantime I received confirmation of my order for the commerative plate stating that I would have the plate delivered in mid July, that there was a delay in getting the orders out.  I was really looking forward to getting this as I did really have a great love for him.

My cycle returned on 8/7/05 after the surgery in June and miraculously we conceived in that very cycle.  The commerative plate did not arrive in July as promised but arrived the very week we got our first ever positive pregnancy test after a wait of  five and a half years.  We now have a beautiful, perfectly healthy baby girl.   Pope John Paul II died on the eve of a feast known as “The Feast of Divine Mercy” this is a moveable feast and falls on the first Sunday after Easter Sunday.  Our little baby was born on the eve of the same feast just twelve months after the Pope’s death.  When we were  in the labour ward the doctors told us that our baby would be born before midnight but there were some complications and after an emergency section she was born at 03.45 a.m. so she waited until the eve of that feast day, which we feel is miraculous.

My husband and I are eternally grateful to the very dedicated and skilful work of Dr. Boyle, Dr. Monaghan and all of their staff.  We also believe that there was some spiritual intersession and that we were guided and sustained by the power of prayer.  The late Pope John Paul II had a great love of Children and the sacredness of the family unit.  On telling Dr. Boyle this story about the prayer he told me that the NAPRO system had been supported greatly by the late pontiff.

I only hope that anybody reading this will get encouragement and hope from our story which thankfully has had a very happy ending.

O Blessed Trinity,

we thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendour of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him.   Trusting fully in your infinite mercy and in the maternal intersession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you. Grant us, by his intercession and according to your will, the graces we implore,

hoping that soon he will be numbered among your saints.

Amen

for PDF prayer card click here