Antonietta Raco: Primary Lateral Sclerosis Healed — The 72nd Recognized Miracle

Antonietta Raco, from the Basilicata region of southern Italy, had been progressively losing motor function over years with a diagnosis of Primary Lateral Sclerosis — a rare degenerative motor neuron disease. During a 2009 Lourdes pilgrimage, while immersed in the sanctuary baths, she heard a young female voice repeat three times: 'Don't be afraid.' She subsequently recovered completely from her neurological deficits.

The Lourdes Medical Bureau and CMIL (the Lourdes International Medical Committee) undertook a 16-year investigation — the standard extended review reserved for the most complex cases. In November 2024, 17 of 21 CMIL members voted that her cure was 'unexplained, complete, and lasting,' meeting the required two-thirds majority. On April 16, 2025, Bishop Vincenzo Carmine Orofino of the Diocese of Tursi-Lagonegro proclaimed the 72nd official Lourdes miracle.

PLS has no documented natural remission pathway. Unlike relapsing-remitting MS or some cancers, PLS follows a monotonic degenerative course. If the diagnosis is securely established, the natural explanation is genuinely weak. The main diagnostic caveat: PLS is a diagnosis of exclusion — conditions such as primary progressive MS or hereditary spastic paraplegia can mimic it and have different, occasionally fluctuating courses.

Where This Lands

The most recent Lourdes cure, and on the absence-of-natural-remission criterion, one of the stronger cases in the modern canon. The diagnostic uncertainty around PLS is the honest caveat. Confidence is high if the diagnosis holds; medium if the differential was not fully exhausted.