Who is Rhoda Wise and why is she on the path to sainthood?

Rhoda Wise experienced several encounters with the Lord and St. Therese of Lisieux.

Rhoda Wise was known for her devotion to God, healing gifts and the stigmata wounds resembling those of Christ's when he was nailed to the cross.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to Wise herself, she was subject to several subject to several physical inflictions, including a 39-pound-tumor, permanently injuring her ankle, abscesses at the tumor incision site, further abscesses on the bowel and an open wound from which the intestines expelled their contents.

Wise remained in the hospital for quite some time and, though she was a Protestant, she became interested in the Rosary. She asked one of the Sisters to teach her about it.

Soon after learning to pray the Rosary, Wise "learned about St. Theresa, the Little Flower of Jesus, and became greatly devoted to her, making one novena after another."

She felt drawn to the Catholic Church and was instructed by Monsignor Habig, the pastor of St. Peter's Church in Canton, OH. He received her into the church on January 1, 1939.

Just over one month later, on February 12, her doctor explained there was no hope for a cure. Her abdominal condition would be permanent.

It was then that Wise began to keep a diary to record all that had happened and all that would come to pass.

When a Confirmation Service was held at St. Peter's in Canton on March 7th, 1939, Wise was confirmed by Bishop McFadden from her sickbed and was discharged two months later.

The doctor initially told her family she had cancer and there was no cure in sight. She was moved to her home where a nurse came to visit daily to drain and clean her wound. The area of the site was raw and sore, creating more pain than the opening itself.

In the midst of the intense pain and hopeless outlook, Christ spoke to Rhoda Wise.

On May 38, 2939, Wise made a diary entry at 2:45 a.m. reading: "Our Blessed Lord appeared to me as I lay awake in bed at my home. The room which had been dark suddenly became bright, and when I turned around in bed to see the cause of it, I beheld Jesus sitting on a chair beside my bed.

"I distinctly saw the marks of His forehead where the thorns had pieced His brow. He was gloriously beautiful and was robed in a gold garment which reflected every color. My first thought was that my time and come, and I said to Him; 'Have you come for me?'

"His answer was, 'No. Your time has not yet come.' I then questioned Him about my dear deceased mother, and He assured me that she was in heaven. He then declared that He would return in thirty-one days. As I reached out to touch His resplendent garment, He disappeared."

The Lord kept his promise and returned to Wise on June 28 at 2:45 a.m.

In her diary, Wise explained: "The room suddenly lighted up, and there He stood in the doorway clothed in white, and the Little Flower was with Him. He declared: 'I am here as I said.' The Little Flower approached my bed and motioned to me to remove the coverlet and the dressing from my wound.

"She then placed her hand on my abdomen and said: 'I am the Little Flower. You have been tried in the fire and not found wanting. Faith cures all things.'

"She would not permit me to replace the dressing, but returned to Our Lord's side, and Jesus said 'I will come again. There is work yet to be done.' Then they vanished, and immediately I fell asleep.

"When I awoke at 5:00 A.M. I was astounded to find that the wound on my abdomen was entirely closed. Al[l] the rawness which had extended over the entire abdomen was also completely gone and was replaced with healthy tan-colored skin.

"The ruptured bowel, too, was entirely healed. Great was the rejoicing of my relatives and friends and in the days that followed a large number of people came to my home to see me.

"Now that my abdomen seemed completely cured, the doctor placed another cast on my leg on July 14th. This cast in time proved too light to keep my foot from turning inwards, and on August 11th a heavier cast was applied, which caused me much discomfort."

Again, at 2:45 in the morning, Wise awoke. It was August 15, 1939.

She sat up in her bed, crying with pain from the cast, which fit too tightly. That was when the room lit up, and she saw the Little Flower standing beside her bed.

"That is a very little thing," Wise reported her saying. "Stand up and walk."

Wise believed in her words and placed her feet on the floor. As she did this, the cast, which was over a foot long, split from top to bottom.

She easily stepped from the cast and The Little Flower told her, "Go to church now," then disappeared.

It had been two-and-a-half years since Wise had injured her ankle and was forced to walk with the help of crutches. After the miraculous incident, her foot was straight and healthy. She walked around her hope and at 6 a.m. she took a car to Mercy Hospital, where she was able to walk about 60 yards from the elevator to the chapel without assistance.

She heard the very first Mass of her life, and it was the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since that day, Wise was able to walk without difficulty.

Three months later, the Lord appeared to her again, this time at 3:30 a.m. on December 29. He said many things to her but what she recorded in her diary was: "You will win with many souls through your devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Little Flower."

The Little Flower appeared, and as the two left, she said, "I will return on my birthday."

True to her word, she returned to Wise on January 2 at 4:10 a.m. She delivered a "personal message, and then admonished [Wise] not to love and honor her so much, but to love Jesus more."

On January 8, 1940, at 1:30 a.m., the Little Flower appeared again to drop seven fresh rose petals on her face and chest, then instructed her to have them photographed.

When Wise followed the instructions, many images of Christ, the Little Flower and other saints were visible in the picture.

On April 3, 1949, at 2:40 a.m., Christ again appeared to Wise with a message she recorded according to his direction.

"He said among other things: 'Cures more wonderful than your own will take place on this spot,'" she wrote. "He also spoke of many conversions that would occur and declared: 'I will not see you again for a long time. Much will be accomplished before I return again.'"

Since that morning, Wise was visited by the Little Flower seven more times and Christ four more times.

In total, she was visited by the Lord and St. Therese twenty times. Every First Friday from noon to 3 p.m. she suffered very visible stigmata between 1942 and 1945. Following 1945, she suffered invisible wounds until her death - but ten days before her passing, God came to her one final time.

"Tell the people not nearly enough of them are saying the daily Rosary; they must say the Rosary for the conversion of Russia," Christ told her, then showed her His Sacred Heart (bleeding heart).

Many claimed they were miraculously healed with help from Wise, including Mother Angelica, the founder of the Eternal World Television Network. She was cured of a painful stomach issue after praying with Wise, who led her in a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux.

In the years after her death, Wise's daughter Anna Mae kept the Wise home open to visitors, many of whom were cured of their various illnesses.

When Anna Mae passed away, the home was willed to Mother Angelica and EWTN.

As the home was important to Mother Angelica, the property was transferred to Our Lady of Angels Monastery, where it remains a nonprofit and accepts visitors.

A quote from the Lord to Wise, which was stated April 3, 1940, remains the center of the Monastery: "This place is to be a shrine and cures more wonderful than your own will take place on this spot."

St.Peter's Church in Canton was full to the brim with over 1,000 people during the Mass to officially open the cause for Rhoda Wise.

Many traveled from out of state to be present for the momentous occasion and Fr. Edward Beneleit, the pastor of St. Peter, explained to the Youngstown's diocesan newspaper the number of people who appeared for the Mass "shows how many people she touched while she was alive or after (her death). It shows devotion to her. This is the crowd that is really faithful."

A postulator has been named, and a local tribunal will open an inquiry into Wise's life. The diocese will make a recommendation to Congregation for her cause at the Vatican, which will then review the information from the postulator and tribunal.

Should Wise's case continue, she will be given the title "Venerable" and the next steps will be beatification and canonization.

The Rhoda Wise Shrine announced prayers for her cause would occur the first Thursday of each month with Mass, Rosary and Eucharist adoration unless the day falls on a Holy Day.

Please join the faithful to pray for Wise's cause.

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