June 24, 2021

"The Honorable Forerunner Saved Me!": A Miracle of Saint John the Baptist in the DR Congo

Prodromos with Fr. Chariton

 By Fr. Chariton Musungai,
the Hierarchical Commissioner of the First Diocese of Goma

One of our first Christians here in Goma (DR Congo) was Prodromos Mukandirwa Kibira, a father of seven. He is always present at all the services of the church and our good fellow-worker.

On Wednesday, February 24, the day of the feast of the Honorable Forerunner, the First and Second Finding of his Honorable Head, a friend asked him to visit a sick person together. Before leaving his house, he took and put in his pocket an icon of the Honorable Forerunner. He had heard, when he was still a catechumen, that it is good to always have a Cross, an Icon or even the New Testament on us for protection.

To get to their destination quickly, they took a taxi. Taxis here are two-wheelers. In front is the driver and behind him the passengers. As they were leaving, a terrible car accident happened to them. They crashed with another motorcycle, as a result of which the driver and the friend of Prodromos were killed on the spot.

Prodromos - O the miracle! - only hit his foot. With the collision he was thrown and found at a great distance from the scene. When he recovered from the shock, he put his hand in his pocket, took the icon of the Honorable Forerunner in his hands and began to cry with emotion about how he was saved. He did not know what to do. He said to himself, "My God, my God, how much love you have for me."

The two who were dead and Prodromos were taken to the hospital. When I went to visit him, the first thing he said to me was: "Father, the Honorable Forerunner saved me! I was saved by the icon I had on me because I heard in the catechisms that it is good to have the Cross or an Icon on us. I feel unworthy of the life God has given me, whom I believe in and love very much. Let me tell you something else, Father. I am not a better person than the other two who were killed."

This miraculous event greatly affected our Christians and catechumens and they praise God for His unexplainable judgments.
 
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.