Gerard Migneault has been a Pilgrim of St. Michael for the last 53 years; he currently serves as one of the seven directors of the Institute of Louis Even for Social Justice. He had, as in years past, devoted himself to his duties during our Congress and week of study of September 2009. He has been a faithful disciple of the road for many years and he is one of the full-time Pilgrims who holds meetings in the different regions.
After ten days, during which time we celebrated our International Congress and week of study, Gerard Migneault felt very tired and on Monday morning, September 7, was driven to the emergency room in Granby. We thought it was something insignificant so we left for our pilgrimage to St. Joseph’s Oratory. At the end of the day, we were on our way back to Rougemont when we received the telephone call telling us that Gerard Migneault had suffered a heart attack and been transferred to the hospital in Sherbrooke. He was dying.
After informing the family of the news, several members of the Pilgrims of St. Michael went with Fr. Eloi Yog Lambon of Togo to the emergency room. When we arrived, we saw that Mr. Migneault was asleep because of the medication and was connected to many machines. The nurse in charge told us that he was dying and they saw no hope of recovery, so Fr. Eloi administered the Sacrament of the sick.
The next day, Cardinal Bernard Agre (who had spent the entire Congress and week of study with us in Rougemont), accompanied us. He blessed Mr. Migneault and said: “He will not die, let us pray to John Paul II.”
The cardiologists told us that according to their diagnosis, Mr. Migneault had no chances all to survive. In fact, the machines were keeping him alive artificially and if they removed them, he would die in just a few hours or days. They were very sure of that fact. In Mr. Migneault’s file, Dr. Cort states that, “He is not a candidate for surgery because the cardiovascular arteries are not visible, thus inoperable.” The next day, they removed the balloon and even though he was asleep, Mr. Migneault remained alive. Slowly, they removed the strong medication that kept his heart rate normal; afterwards, they removed the respirator.
Mr. Migneault then revived from the coma that he had been under for 11 days; completely lucid. The next day, they removed all oxygen masks. “They tested my respiration, it was at 99.99%,” Mr. Migneault told us. From this moment on, the nurses called Mr. Migneault: “the miraculous recovery.” Another doctor, a Dr. Pharand, told him, “it is the first time in my life I have ever seen a case such as yours and, without a doubt, it will be the last.” Something extraordinary had definitely happened.
 On May 1, 2011, Mr. Migneault (left) was in Rome with our full-time Pilgrim Marcel Lefebvre for the beatification of John Paul II. |
During the time that Mr. Migneault was in the hospital, we had Holy Masses said and many people were praying to John Paul II for his recovery. All of the priests who had joined us for the International Congress and the week of study offered Holy Masses for his recovery as well.
After another examination, Dr. Denyse Normandin decided to operate on him. The operation lasted for 5 hours and Dr. Normandin spent the night with his patient to ensure a good follow-up to the operation.
Here are some clinical notes taken after the operation: “Mr. Migneault is a patient of 78 years of age who is very fragile, he had a severe heart attack after an occlusion of the core artery and it is impossible to perform an angioplasty. He suffered from pneumonia and shock. We inserted an aortic balloon and he is under a high dosage of medication. He was refused a surgery by all the surgeons of the Sherbrooke hospital and astonishingly, almost miraculously, the patient survived.”
After the operation, Mr. Migneault left the hospital for a rehabilitation center for one month.
Today, Mr. Migneault is 80 years old; he has taken up his regular duties in the community. He just had another visit with his doctor, who told him that for his age, he is in very good health.
God gave life back to Gerard Migneault; without doubt because he still has something to accomplish in this life. Mr. Migneault has generously given the sacrifice of his life to God and has placed himself totally into the Hands of Divine Providence, uniting his sufferings to those of Christ. May God be praised, adored and loved, because He alone is the only Master of life.
Therese Tardif
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