In Argentina, 44-year-old Leda Bergonzi, known as the Healer of Rosario, is gaining popularity. Having become a well-known healer in the country, the former seamstress and mother of five children won the attention not only of her compatriots, but also of the Catholic Church in Argentina.
Argentina’s history is rich in religious healers, but none have achieved such heights as Leda Bergonzi. As an ordinary woman, she realized that she had the gift of healing from God and decided to use it for charitable purposes.
The Catholic Church supports her, calling the Healer Rosario phenomenon part of an internal movement within the church.
Leda stands out not only for her unusual gift, but also for her informal clothing style – skinny jeans, T-shirts and high-top sneakers make her recognizable. She attracts crowds, spending her days in her hometown of Rosario healing people from ailments ranging from paralysis to cancer.
Her meetings resemble evangelistic services with music, blessings and miracles. However, this is not just a show – hundreds of testimonies of people she has healed and the support of the Catholic Church give Leda credibility. It attracts not only practicing Catholics, but also those who have long departed from the faith.
Every week, up to 20,000 people flock to Rosario to receive Leda’s blessing. Lines for her events sometimes exceed a mile, and people are willing to wait more than 12 hours to see Healer Rosario.
In addition to her singing, which is rumored to have a healing effect, Leda touches the forehead of the afflicted, saying something mysterious. The consequences of this are varied – from inner peace to fainting.
There was the 21-year-old woman who was paralyzed and intubated. The 66-year-old former truck driver who lost his voice two years ago. A 56-year-old who gradually lost his vision.
They rode buses from across the country, camped out overnight and waited in line for hours. Then, one by one, on crutches and in wheelchairs, holding babies and carrying photographs of relatives far away, they approached the woman they hoped would heal them.
And one by one, they started to faint.
At the front of a packed warehouse, 44-year-old Leda Bergonzi placed her hand on each of their foreheads and whispered into their ears. As she blessed them, some grabbed onto her, sobbing uncontrollably. Others collapsed into her arms or dropped onto the concrete floor. Members of her team stood by, ready to catch people as they fell.
“I told myself, I’ll go with all my faith and give it a try,” said Jorge Fernández, a 56-year-old former bricklayer who lost his vision after a traffic accident in 2019 and had traveled to Bergonzi’s ceremony for the sixth time. “Thanks to God and Leda’s touch, I started seeing again,” reports washingtonpost.com.
Leda Bergonzi travels through the countries of South America, attracting the attention of not only believers, but also the curious. She is frugal with her finances and donates food to those in need. Leda says she is simply following God’s call.
Some see it as salvation and an opportunity to bring millions of people back to the church, while others fear that a focus on miracles could harm the interests of the church.