By Joe Pisani
STAMFORD—David D’Andrea believes there have been miracles in his life. When he was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer, they told him he had five years to live. That was nine years ago. Today he is cancer-free and has been blessed with two grandchildren. At eight years old, he had polio and recovered from the illness. He is also a survivor of clerical abuse, and carries the trauma with him, he said. And through all these challenges his faith has grown stronger.
“I am a devout Catholic and Mother Mary is everything to me,” he said. “And I believe she has saved me a few times.”
His devotion to the Blessed Mother inspired him in 2019 to have a Lourdes Virtual Pilgrimage, which more than 1,100 people attended, some of whom, he is convinced, had physical, emotional and spiritual healing.
This year, he is coordinating another Lourdes Retreat, which will be celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano on Saturday, September 7 at 1 pm at St. Mary Parish in Stamford and hosted by Father Gustavo Falla, pastor. Admission is free although donations are encouraged.
The event, which will last about an hour, will include a procession with the Our Lady of Lourdes statue around the church, a candlelight Rosary of the Joyful Mysteries said in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian, a Eucharistic Blessing, a homily by Bishop Caggiano, distribution of Holy Water from Lourdes, and a reception in the church hall.
Lourdes, France is the most famous Marian shrine in the world, and more than 7,000 healings have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. Every year, six million pilgrims travel there. Many go in the hope they will receive healing at the spring she revealed to St. Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl.
In the 160 years since the apparitions in the grotto at Massabielle, thousands of people have been healed in the waters, and 70 have been recognized as miraculous cures by the Church.
The last retreat with Bishop Caggiano was in 2022. D’Andrea says he plans to hold the retreats every other year.
“We hope that having it in September will bring a massive crowd, especially because the world is a little crazy now, and we want to bring people together,” he said.
D’Andrea praised Bishop Caggiano for always saying yes when asked to celebrate the retreats, and Father Falla for his help in hosting them, along with administrative assistant Stefania Canneto who organizes the volunteers.
“St. Mary of Stamford is a wonderful parish,” D’Andrea said. “They are always ready to help. They are rich in faith and volunteerism, and I love that place.”
The free-will offering will be given to the church to help finance renovations, he said.
“I hope to see anyone at the retreat who has challenges personally or who has family members who are suffering physically, spiritually or mentally,” he said. “You do not have to be Catholic to attend. Healing goes across every religion.”
Erin Neil, LCSW, Director of the diocesan Safe Environment Office, will also offer comments at the event.
“Our Committee for Healing, a sexual abuse survivor support group organized through our office, invites everyone who has been wounded by any form of abuse to join us on this special day,” Neil said. “Members of our group include survivors of sexual abuse as minors by clergy and family members of victim-survivors.”
She said the Lourdes Retreat is an opportunity “to bring hope and healing and encourage those who have not yet been able to find a way to come forward to know that they will be listened to and accompanied whenever they feel ready.”
The Committee on Healing will also pray for all who have suffered abuse as adults and as children, she said.
“Members of our group find healing through our faith, prayer and friendship, and they are committed to bringing awareness and education to the community by promoting the Virtus programs, which seek to prevent abuse before it can start.”
D’Andrea said he has been inspired by the many people who have contacted him to tell their stories following the retreats. In his own life, he believes God has blessed him many times, including surviving Stage 3 cancer, which was diagnosed in 2014.
He credits his recovery to Our Lady of Lourdes through the efforts of his cousin, Monsignor Joseph Giandurco, pastor of St. Patrick’s in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., who celebrated a healing Mass for him and brought Holy Water from Lourdes to bless him when he began his treatment.
D’Andrea still has that bottle of Holy Water and continues to share it with others who are suffering or ill. And while he has never gone on a pilgrimage to Lourdes because of his medical challenges, he believes Our Lady was instrumental in his recovery.
“I have a great devotion to Mother Mary,” he said. “She has always been there for me, and when I was young, my mother prayed to her that I would recover from polio.”
Bishop Caggiano took part in the Virtual Pilgrimage in 2019 and conducted the Lourdes retreat two years ago.
At that time, the bishop, who has a profound devotion to the Mother of God, reminded the congregation, “Our Heavenly Mother has been there in every moment of every day of your life and mine, since we were conceived in the wombs of our natural mothers. What words can you and I say to express our gratitude for so great, so rich, so deep a love that she has for you and me? Being here today may be a start, a token of the thanks we owe to the great Mother of God.”
For more information on or to register for the Lourdes retreat, email lourdesretreatstmarystamford@gmail.com. For more information on the Office of Safe Environments or on the clerical abuse victim-survivor group, contact Erin Neil at 203.650.3265 or at eneil@diobpt.org.
