From: "joycelang"
M.T. Melvin
MIRACLE AT GHEENS, LA.
May 11, 1991, saw the saga of a little girl, now an elegant lady, and a statue given in honor of the little girl at a time when she was gravely injured.
It was on that Saturday afternoon that a statue of "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" came to find its new resting place in the St. Anthony's Catholic Church in the community of Gheens, La., a short distance from Bayou Lafourche. Parishioners of the church and family members of the little girl gathered for a Mass to once again dedicate the statue and hear the story of its coming to Gheens.
The story begins just after the turn of the century, 1903, to be exact, when the little girl, May Ayo, was taken to Gheens from their home in Raceland, by her mother, Alida Lepine Ayo, the wife of Dr. Jack Ayo. Mrs. Ayo and her daughter journeyed to Gheens in a horse-drawn carriage for a visit to a dressmaker. The little girl, May, remained in the dress-maker's yard in the charge of a young nursemaid.
Suddenly, frightened by a snake, the horses reared. That frightened the nursemaid who dropped May on the ground and ran. In the panic which ensued, one of the horses stepped on May's face. The blow from the horse left May on the ground unconscious and hemorrhaging from the eye, ear, nose and mouth.
May was quickly taken to the home of her paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton Ayo, who also lived in Gheens. Dr. Ayo, May's father who practiced medicine in Raceland, La. For many years, believed his daughter was critically injured and could not survive what, in those days, was an arduous trip to New Orleans for the medical care needed to treat her injuries.
Dr. Ayo got word to some of his doctor friends in New Orleans, who were specialists and asked them to come to Gheens to treat his daughter. The New Orleans doctors hastily made the trip, but upon examining the still unconscious little girl, rendered an unwelcome prognosis.
The doctors saw that all of the bones on the left side of May's face were crushed and her eye had been severely damaged. "All you can do is make her comfortable. It would be a miracle if she lives," the doctors said.
May's mother, who had a great devotion to Our Blessed Mother, must have believed in miracles. It seems she definitely believed in the power of prayer. Mrs. Ayo called the family together, including May's two older brothers, Jack and Hubert, to pray for their sister.
The family prayed before a picture of "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" which hung in May's grandparents' home. The prayers asked the Blessed Mother to petition her son, Jesus, to save May's life. Alida, May's mother, then made a promise that if May lived, she would place a statue of "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" in the family's parish church in Raceland, La.
Within hours, the hemorrhaging stopped and May spoke her oldest brother's name, Jack. In just a few days, May's face was normal and she could see out of her right eye. May was healed. A real Miracle had taken place in Gheens!
The little girl whom some doctors believed would perish did not. She grew up and later married Harvey Peltier [MT: He later became a state senator and president of the American Bar Association in the early 1940's.] and moved to Thibodaux, La., where she had five children, 25 grandchildren, and on the day the statue was re-dedicated, 45 great-grandchildren.
Once it was evident that May's life had been miraculously saved, her mother went immediately to the pastor of St. Mary's Church in Raceland to offer the statue she had promised. But, there she was told St. Mary's did not have room for another statue. Mrs. Ayo then went to Holy Saviour Church in Lockport to make the same offer. The priest replied similarly as had the Raceland pastor, there was no room for another statue. It appeared her promise would be unfulfilled.
A few years later, Mrs. Ayo offered a statue to St. Anthony's, the small mission church in Gheens. That offer was graciously accepted and the statue [about five feet tall.] was happily put in St. Anthony's. It seems that Gheens was where "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" wanted to be, hence the refusal of the other churches was in her plans.
Although the statue had found a home in Gheens, turbulent times were still ahead of it.
In the 1920's a severe hurricane destroyed St. Anthony's Church. Miraculously, only the statue of "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" was left standing. Mrs. Lille Sampey Louviere, who lived near the church, took the statue into her home for safekeeping. The statue had a prominent place in the Louviere home where family prayers were prayed and many favors were granted. Mrs. Louviere returned the statue in 1933 when the church was finally rebuilt.
In 1945, the statue was again ousted from St. Anthony's. A priest decided that there was no longer room for it in the church and gave the statue to Mrs. Esther Matherne, Mrs. Louviere's daughter.
Mrs. Matherne cared for the statue with much love and devotion. Many Rosaries were prayed at the foot of the statue. Often, members of the Matherne family would carry the statue to the front porch of the family home and prayers were recited there.
In 1989 members of May's family learned from Deacon Moore and Aline Barker that at statue of "Our Lady of Victory" had just been returned to St. Anthony's by Mrs. Matherne. She believed the statue should be in the church.
May's family traveled to St. Anthony's at the invitation of Deacon Moore and spoke with Mrs. Matherne. Then the story of how the Matherne family had come to be in possession of the statue was relayed and how it had been taken care of. Mrs. Matherne said she had always thought the statue was "Our Lady of Victory."
The statue was photographed and the pictures were sent to the National Shrine of "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" at the new Ursuline Convent in New Orleans. There it was verified that the statue was indeed "Our Lady of Prompt Succor." Statues of "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" and of "Our Lady of Victory" are quite similar, so it is easy to understand the confusion over the identification.
Time had taken its toll on the statue, so May commissioned Mrs. Mary Robichaux Boudreaux of the St. Charles community to restore the statue to its original beauty. [MT: It appears to be refinished in gold leaf.] It has now been given a prominent place in St. Anthony's Church. May and her family are convinced that "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" has come home at last and wants devotion to her spread throughout the area.
No one knows why the Blessed Mother chose the Gheens community to have her Son perform one of His miracles, but we rejoice in the fact that she wants to here among us. We pray that devotion to Our Blessed Mother under her special title "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" will spread in a special way in Gheens and throughout South Louisiana.
"Our Lady of Prompt Succor" has also been credited with other miracles in South Louisiana, as a result of prayer and the religious devotion of area residents.
In January 1815, a large force of British troops threatened to overrun New Orleans. Many of the women of New Orleans sought refuge in the Ursuline Convent. There in the chapel with the Ursuline nuns, prayers were offered to "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" and on the next morning, January 8, 1815, notice was received that General Andrew Jackson and his forces had defeated the British, thus saving New Orleans from almost certain destruction.
Prayers to "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" have been credited with saving the Ursuline Convent and the surrounding area from a fire that consumed much of the city in 1812. One of the sisters placed a little statue of "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" in a window of the convent before fleeing the fire while another nun prayed aloud, "'Our Lady of Prompt Succor', hasten to our help or we are lost." Just then the wind changed and the convent was saved from the fire, where it remains until this day.
[MT: That same little statute is kept at the National Shrine of "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" on State Street in New Orleans. If you visit the Shrine and ask to see it, the nuns will bring it out of the clositer.]
Date: Tue Mar 27, 2001 7:33pm
Subject: Miracle at Gheens, La.