Marcilio Haddad Andrino: Brain Abscesses Resolve Before Surgery After Mother Teresa Prayer

Marcilio Haddad Andrino, from Santos, Brazil, began experiencing severe head pain and convulsions in 2006. Doctors were initially unable to diagnose the cause. In 2008, new imaging revealed eight large abscesses on his brain. His condition became critical, and emergency surgery was scheduled.

His wife Fernanda Nascimento Rocha and their families were praying to Mother Teresa for intercession. As surgeons prepared to operate, Andrino unexpectedly woke from unconsciousness and asked, "What am I doing here?" Pre-surgical imaging showed the abscesses had cleared. He was discharged without surgery and made a complete neurological recovery. His son was born shortly after.

The Vatican investigated the case and Pope Francis recognized it as a miracle in December 2015. Mother Teresa was canonized on September 4, 2016. Andrino and his family attended the Mass in St. Peter's Square.

The case is more cleanly documented than the Besra beatification miracle: no competing medical explanation has been publicly asserted by treating physicians. However, as with all Vatican cases, the underlying medical records are not open for independent scientific peer review. The rapid clearing of multiple abscesses just before surgery remains the medical crux — genuinely unusual, though not impossible with aggressive antibiotics already in the system.