Blessed Alvaro's Favors

Seeking the intercession of men and women who have died with a reputation for holiness is a common practice in the Catholic Church. Examples of favors received through Blessed Alvaro del Portillo's intercession follow.

l have been working on my legal work documents with no real success

From the beginning of the year l have been working on my legal work documents with no real success. I then remembered reading Blessed Alvaro's biography of how during the civil Spanish war he managed to get his documents done and for his friends, in difficult and dangerous circumstances.The first thing I asked him for was serenity, and then the right words to say and to make the government offices understand what I had to tell them concerning my documents.The first time I presented my documents, I was well received, with a smile and encouragement (which is very unusual). Earlier, I had been warned that they might even send me away without listening to me.I continued to pray with faith and asking my family members to join me in my petition to Don Alvaro.In less than three days, after Holy Communion in the Holy Mass, I said to Don Alvaro, "Please, Don Alvaro, you are with St Joseph the Worker in heaven, please work on my documents , I am sure you will!"I went back to work and in less than half an hour, I was called ! "We have good news for you! Your documents have been approved!”I can only attribute this to Don Alvaro.

LL (Kampala, Uganda)

18 October 2022

Because he wants to!

My husband and I have a beautiful family. We have eight children and have always tried to teach them to have faith in and love for God.
When my sixth child turned 16, he began a “spiritual rebellion.” I know that adolescence is a time to question everything. And the period of crisis can help a person grow and mature, including in their faith. However I began to be concerned when my son refused to go to Sunday Mass and to confession. I. started to pray to Don Alvaro, to help my son return to God. After a few months, my son went to confession and received communion. Now, he not only goes with us to Mass every Sunday without complaining, but when he stays with a friend for a weekend he brings him to Mass as well!
G.G. (Argentina)

Trapped in London

A few months ago I was trapped in London. A cloud of volcanic ash caused the cancellation of all flights in Europe.

After a few days the flights resumed. I kept trying to rebook my flight but it was much more difficult than I expected. The airline’s customer service number was always busy or the calls were immediately cut off. Eventually I was given another number, but it was also busy.
I prayed the prayer card to Don Alvaro asking him to solve the problem as soon as possible. Then I found yet another number on the airline’s webpage. When I called the number everything went as smooth as silk. Immediately the lady at the other end of the line offered me a ticket for the following day. But more difficulties arose the next day on the way to the airport.
The London underground line I had to take was halted for maintenance work. I was running out of time and I became quite anxious. Again I asked Don Alvaro for help. I found an alternate route and arrived at the airport on time. Thanks Don Alvaro for your help!

O.J. (Finland)

In a blizzard

My parents pray for me and my family daily. They are the parents of 7 and grandparents of 32 and great grandparents of 7. They received the prayer card of Don Alvaro from a dear friend and the day they started praying it was the day my “miracle” happened. They had been praying for my family’s financial well being but the favor came in a different way.

I have two little boys. My oldest who is now almost 9 was 4 at the time. He had been sick and was running a high fever. I decided I needed to take him to our pediatrician’s office, which is 20 minutes away. There was a very bad snow storm. We started down a major highway and about half way there my son, who was sitting directly behind me in his car seat, began to have a seizure. I had never seen or heard of a febrile seizure before so I had no idea what was happening.
He was screaming and convulsing. I began screaming and trying to reach him. There were cars on each side of me and I know I wasn’t paying attention to where I was steering. I was just trying to reach my son. He fell unconscious and I thought he had died. I grabbed my cell phone which I knew was completely out of battery power but I dialed 911 anyway. The call went through and I stayed connected to 911 for 20 minutes. Many cell phones do save a charge for an emergency call but I don’t think they are meant to last that long.
I continued down the highway, screaming, trying to reach my son, talking on the cell phone and swerving all over on a snow covered highway. It is still a bit fuzzy but I know there were cars all around us and somehow we didn’t hit anyone. I was able to get to where the ambulance could meet me safely.
Febrile seizures are not serious but I didn’t know that at the time. I’m convinced it was Bishop Alvaro who helped me get to where I needed to safely. My son was fine and we went home later that day.
PTG. (United States)

Two beating hearts

My husband and I have been married almost 6 years. We married fairly young: he was 23 and I was 25. Our greatest desire was to start a family. From the beginning we were willing to accept all the children that God wanted to send.

One year went by. Then another. And the children didn’t come. We began to think that perhaps there was a problem. The relevant medical tests were carried out, but everything . was in perfect order. We didn’t know whom to turn to, which saint to pray to. We visited many shrines of our Lady. Our request was always the same: “Give us a child! Please grant us a child!”
After praying so much for a child, our faith began to weaken. I asked our Lord each day in Mass for more and more faith, and he gave it to me. With Don Alvaro’s prayer card in hand, I thought of beginning a novena. I knew that our Lord wanted my husband and I to be united so I asked my husband to pray it with me. We prayed the Novena to Don Alvaro with great faith. When the time came and we tested for the pregnancy, it was negative. Two days later, without knowing that it was March 23, the day that Don Alvaro went to be with our Lord forever, the test came back positive. We could hardly believe it
At first we thought there was some mistake. A few days later we went to the doctor, and saw with our own eyes that the gift that had come to us from heaven was twice what we expected. There were two little beating hearts. We were expecting twins!
C.M.R. (Spain)

Help in finding a job

Despite having degrees in Economics and Business Administration, I was unable to get a job. I submitted applications, sent out resumés and had interviews with various companies, all to no avail. I told an aunt about my situation and she gave me some prayer cards of Don Alvaro del Portillo and told me to distribute them and to say the prayer with faith.

I did this, and to my surprise, my cell phone rang right away and a friend told me that somebody she knew urgently needed an administrator he could rely on. I immediately made the contact. We had an interview, and within a week I was working. I’m now very happy in my job and want to bear witness to the favor that I’ve received. I tell my story to anyone I can and continue to say the prayer on the card. I thank God very much for having given me this favor I was so anxious for: finding honest work.

L.G.P., Maracaibo (Venezuela)

Impossible university bills

Again and again our financial situation made it impossible to pay the bills for our three children at the University of Rome. Often only an intervention from heaven enabled us to pay the bills when they came due. We put ourselves under the patronage of Don Alvaro, saying the prayer on his prayer card, and by God’s grace we somehow got the money together each time. We have obtained many other favors through Don Alvaro’s intercession, including peace and harmony in our family, six people always struggling with thousands of temptations. For all this I give thanks to the good God who has given us such a marvelous intercessor.

P.M., San Giovanni La Punta (Italy)

Stranded at Lake Kossou

One Sunday during a service project at Lake Kossou, we decided to go swimming in the lake. There were about 15 of us in total, half of the participants, and we drove there in a mini bus. After half an hour I got out of the water and realized that I had lost the van keys. It was five in the afternoon, the place we were staying was a long way away, and to get a copy of the key we would have to go to Abidjan, more than 150 miles away. We looked in the water for 45 minutes without finding anything. Then I asked Don Alvaro to help. Although I don’t like to “bother” him with material things, we were getting very concerned. I told him, after saying the prayer for private devotion, “Get me out of this jam.” Two or three minutes later, Yannick, the smallest member of our expedition, dove into the water and emerged with the keys in his hand and a smile on his face, saying: “I prayed to Don Alvaro.”

Ajanon, Abidjan (Ivory Coast)