In a touching display of faith and resilience, pediatric physician María Dolores Rosique, affectionately known as “Lola,” shared her remarkable testimony of healing after overcoming aggressive abdominal cancer. Her journey, deeply intertwined with the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, led to a renewed and unwavering trust in God’s plan.
According to Catholic News Agency, Rosique, a 44-year-old Spaniard, was living one of the happiest times of her life in 2022, surrounded by her husband, Pablo, and their four children. However, a sudden health scare during a family trip to Italy turned her life upside down. “I knew it for sure from the first minute,” she recalled, describing the pain she felt in her abdomen. Her profession as a pediatrician gave her an instinctive understanding that something was terribly wrong. “I didn’t know if the cancer was in the liver, in the pancreas, but at that moment life took a sudden turn for us,” she said.
Despite an initial diagnosis of ovarian cancer, which would later be corrected to appendix cancer, the path ahead seemed bleak. Doctors gave her between six months to a year to live. But Rosique’s faith, bolstered by prayers from friends and family, guided her through this dark period.
One pivotal moment in her spiritual journey occurred while visiting Assisi, Italy, during the trip. At the Church of St. Mary Major, Rosique prayed at the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a young man who is known for his deep devotion to the Eucharist. She asked Carlo for two things: that her children would remain close to the Eucharist and that her illness would not be so severe that she couldn’t watch her daughters grow up. It was then, standing before Carlo’s relic, that Rosique experienced a profound sense of peace, feeling a spiritual touch from God. “When you say, ‘This is no longer up to me, Carlo, I’m leaving it here with you,’ you feel a profound sense of relief,” she shared.
Remarkably, soon after this prayer, Rosique began to feel physically better, a sensation that she described as “amazing” and “a caress from the Lord, telling me: ‘Be calm, you are not alone. Whatever happens, you are not alone.’”
Her family’s return to Spain marked the beginning of a miraculous recovery. Although her diagnosis had seemed grim, further tests revealed that the cancer, while widespread, was in a more treatable form—appendix cancer. Over the next two years, Rosique underwent two aggressive surgeries and chemotherapy, but today, she is in remission and crediting her recovery to the power of prayer and divine intervention.
Reflecting on her journey, Rosique remarked, “The real miracle is not just that I am alive — which of course is a blessing — but the spiritual impact that this has had on me, on my family, and on many of my women friends who were far from the Lord. As a result of this experience, many people have come back to God.”
Her bond with Blessed Carlo Acutis has deepened, with Rosique now considering him part of her family. She keeps a second-class relic of Carlo, sharing it with others who need his intercession. “I’m like, I don’t know how to tell you, an apostle of Carlo. I’m going to spread his message, his devotion,” she said.
This healing journey has also inspired Rosique to evangelize her friends who were once distant from the faith. Through “mini-catechesis,” a monthly gathering where she shares catechism lessons, she has become an instrument of God’s love in her community. “I know that, for the moment, the Lord is calling me to this: to share my testimony, which is helping some people,” she affirmed.
Today, Rosique’s perspective on life has been forever altered. “I’ve learned to trust and to unload my worries on him. ‘Lord, You will know if it’s the right thing to do,’” she explained. Her faith now permeates every part of her life, especially in her work as a pediatrician, where she strives to communicate the joy of the Gospel to her patients and their families.
As she continues to spread the message of love, prayer, and trust in God’s plan, Rosique urges others to find God in the details of daily life. “See Our Lady and the Lord in the people who care for you,” she advised. “Behind all of them, there is the Lord. He does not leave us alone.”
Through her testimony, Rosique has shown that faith, prayer, and the intercession of saints like Blessed Carlo Acutis can truly transform lives, especially in moments of hardship. “In the end, we are made for something much greater, and there are times when heaven cannot wait,” she concluded.
Source: Catholic News Agency, ACI Prensa
