“I would like to share with you a very special moment in which I deeply felt the hand of God in my life. My husband and I tried to conceive for a year and a half, without success. We tried everything – acupuncture, naturopathy, homeopathy. We consulted several doctors until we were referred to a fertility clinic in the north, where I underwent a series of tests. It was there that we were told I had less than a 5% chance of conceiving naturally, and just a 30% chance with IVF.

As a Catholic, I didn’t want to pursue IVF. Instead, I chose to trust in God’s plans. I entrusted myself to the Virgin Mary and asked many people to pray for me. During that time, the Catholic Medical Association of Calgary recommended Dr. Thomas Bouchard, a Catholic physician who specializes in fertility and women’s hormonal health.

After seeing him and starting the treatment he prescribed, my husband and I decided to take part in the Travelling Prayer Cross program at Holy Spirit Parish. In this program, each family that wishes to, can take the cross home for one week. We received the cross on July 6, 2024.

Because I had documented everything carefully – and later confirmed it via ultrasound – I know that it was on July 6, the very day we received the cross and prayed with it, that our miracle baby, Alonso, was conceived.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who prayed for us, especially the Totus Tuus group at Holy Spirit. I hope that more families will welcome the cross into their homes and open their hearts to the graces it brings.

If I’ve learned anything through this journey, it’s that no matter how difficult or impossible something may seem, we must trust that God’s plans are always wiser and more perfect than our own – and never lose hope.”

Mariana