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ROSARIO, Argentina They came by the thousands, praying for a miracle.
There was the 21-year-old woman who was paralyzed and intubated. The 66-year-old former truck driver who lost his voice two years ago. A 56-year-old who gradually lost his vision.
They rode buses from across the country, camped out overnight and waited in line for hours. Then, one by one, on crutches and in wheelchairs, holding babies and carrying photographs of relatives far away, they approached the woman they hoped would heal them.

And one by one, they started to faint.

At the front of a packed warehouse, 44-year-old Leda Bergonzi placed her hand on each of their foreheads and whispered into their ears. As she blessed them, some grabbed onto her, sobbing uncontrollably. Others collapsed into her arms or dropped onto the concrete floor. Members of her team stood by, ready to catch people as they fell.

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Argentina has seen previous cases of charismatic priests attracting large crowds in search of healing, including here in Rosario, Argentina's third largest city. But Bergonzi looks nothing like them. A lay person, she doesn't wear robes or veils. She favors skinny jeans and high-top sneakers.

In the weekly programs, she sings alongside a band while speaking spontaneously in tongues, beneath bright, colorful lights. It's a scene that would appear at home in an evangelical church, a movement that has rapidly gained ground in Latin America.

Bergonzi, though, is Catholic. She describes herself as an intermediary an instrument for God.
And local Catholic leaders are fully behind her.

But no one has a following quite like Bergonzi's, or an operation like the one behind her.
She is surrounded by a team of advisers, social media gurus, lawyers and former Argentine soccer stars, all helping to promote and protect her image. Her movement, called Soplo de Dis Viviente, or Breath of the Living God, now claims about 1,000 members in different WhatsApp groups and has been organizing visits to surrounding towns.

The team is also collecting medical studies from people who say they have been healed by Bergonzi and presenting them to the Catholic Church as part of a lengthy process that can result in the validation of a miracle or an official healing.

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UTExan said:

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/15/leda-bergonzi-argentina-catholic-church/

Quote:

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ROSARIO, Argentina They came by the thousands, praying for a miracle.
There was the 21-year-old woman who was paralyzed and intubated. The 66-year-old former truck driver who lost his voice two years ago. A 56-year-old who gradually lost his vision.
They rode buses from across the country, camped out overnight and waited in line for hours. Then, one by one, on crutches and in wheelchairs, holding babies and carrying photographs of relatives far away, they approached the woman they hoped would heal them.

And one by one, they started to faint.

At the front of a packed warehouse, 44-year-old Leda Bergonzi placed her hand on each of their foreheads and whispered into their ears. As she blessed them, some grabbed onto her, sobbing uncontrollably. Others collapsed into her arms or dropped onto the concrete floor. Members of her team stood by, ready to catch people as they fell.

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Argentina has seen previous cases of charismatic priests attracting large crowds in search of healing, including here in Rosario, Argentina's third largest city. But Bergonzi looks nothing like them. A lay person, she doesn't wear robes or veils. She favors skinny jeans and high-top sneakers.

In the weekly programs, she sings alongside a band while speaking spontaneously in tongues, beneath bright, colorful lights. It's a scene that would appear at home in an evangelical church, a movement that has rapidly gained ground in Latin America.

Bergonzi, though, is Catholic. She describes herself as an intermediary an instrument for God.
And local Catholic leaders are fully behind her.

But no one has a following quite like Bergonzi's, or an operation like the one behind her.
She is surrounded by a team of advisers, social media gurus, lawyers and former Argentine soccer stars, all helping to promote and protect her image. Her movement, called Soplo de Dis Viviente, or Breath of the Living God, now claims about 1,000 members in different WhatsApp groups and has been organizing visits to surrounding towns.

The team is also collecting medical studies from people who say they have been healed by Bergonzi and presenting them to the Catholic Church as part of a lengthy process that can result in the validation of a miracle or an official healing.

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This is reminiscent of the Azusa Street revival and the Great Awakenings and numerous revivals of the past. The fastest growing element of Christianity right now in the evangelical and charismatic movement and the Holy Spirit is no respecter of denominations or labels.

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