NUNTIATORIA

Pope Leo XIV Approves Miracle: Baby Tyquan’s Recovery Advances Cause of Father Salvador Valera Parra

Pope Leo XIV has formally recognised the miraculous recovery of a premature infant in Rhode Island, advancing the cause for beatification of the Venerable Father Salvador Valera Parra. The case, involving the survival of Tyquan Hall in 2007, is the first miracle approved during Pope Leo’s pontificate and reflects his stated commitment to promoting new canonisations alongside established popular devotions.

Born on 14 January 2007 at the former Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Tyquan was delivered by emergency Caesarean section without a heartbeat and remained unresponsive for over an hour. The attending physician, Dr Juan Sánchez-Esteban—himself a native of Huércal-Overa, Father Valera’s birthplace—turned to prayer, invoking the priest’s intercession: “Father Valera, I have done everything possible; now it’s your turn.” Moments later, the child’s heart began beating spontaneously, and he was resuscitated without the neurological impairments predicted by medical staff¹.

Subsequent reports confirmed that Tyquan reached normal developmental milestones, speaking by eighteen months and walking by the age of two². The event was investigated by the Diocese of Providence in 2014 and later examined by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. After a panel of medical experts declared the recovery scientifically inexplicable, Pope Leo XIV gave his formal approval to the miracle on 20 June 2025³.

Father Salvador Valera Parra (1816–1889) was a diocesan priest of Almería, Spain, known for his pastoral zeal, charity to the poor, and personal austerity. He was declared Venerable by Pope Francis in 2021⁴. The recognition of this miracle now clears the way for his beatification, expected to take place in 2026.

Father Timothy Reilly, chancellor of the Diocese of Providence, welcomed the announcement as “wonderful news for our local Church” and a sign of God’s providence working through the communion of saints⁵. Though Father Valera never travelled to the Americas, his intercession has now left an enduring mark on the Catholic faithful of Rhode Island.

1. “Why Pope Leo XIV Declared Birth of Baby Boy in Rhode Island in 2007 a Miracle,” People, 18 Jul 2025.
2. “Pawtucket’s Miracle Baby: Vatican Recognizes Rhode Island Baby’s Survival as a Miracle,” Rhode Island PBS, accessed 14 Aug 2025.
3. “Rhode Island Celebrates Pope Leo Declaration that Baby’s Healing was a True Miracle,” Our Sunday Visitor News, 14 Aug 2025.
4. “Salvador Valera Parra,” Wikipedia, last updated 14 Aug 2025.
5. OSV News, ibid.