5 Questions with ... Cause of Servant of God Irving Houle
In our eighth installment of our "5 Questions with ..." interview series we stay in the State of Michigan, featuring an interview with Deacon Terry Saunders, head of the Irving C. "Francis" Houle association, speaking about the Cause of Servant of God Irving Houle. You can learn more about Servant of God Irving Houle here on his page at American Saints and Causes. Thank you Deacon Terry for participating!
(If you are associated with a cause and would like to participate in our interview series, email us or use the form on our Contact Us page. You can find all previous entries in the series indexed here.)
American Saints and Causes: Would you please introduce yourself and how you became involved with the cause of Servant of God Irving Houle?
Deacon Terry: My name is Deacon Terry Saunders. I was ordained 15 years ago in May of 2010. Jesus healed me of a deadly cancer in 1993, through charisms given to Irving Houle in 1993. I was the first of hundreds, maybe many thousands, of spiritual and physical healings that occurred over a period of 16 years. My wife and I were very close to Irving Houle and after I was healed, we were part of a prayer team that prayed with Irving as he "touched" God's people with his hands that bore the Stigmata of our Lord's holy hands. Irving died on January 3rd, 2009. For many years those of us who believe he is a saint prayed that one day God would inspire His Church to investigate Irving in hope of him being declared a saint.
In the summer of 2018, Bishop John Doerfler, Bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, appointed me to establish the lay apostolate to promote the cause for sainthood for Irving "Francis" Houle. Thus the Irving C. "Francis" Houle Association was formed. In November of 2018 the cause was officially inaugurated. In the spring of 2019 the USCCB unanimously voted to support this cause, and Irving was declared the Servant of God Irving "Francis" Houle.
American Saints and Causes: For those who don't know, who is Irving Houle? What can the faithful learn from his witness to Christ?
Deacon Terry: Irving Houle was born in 1925. He was raised in a rural area on a small farm. There were 7 children in their family, 6 boys and a girl. Irving was the second youngest. When Irving was 6 years old, he was injured terribly falling off a horse. He had broken ribs puncturing his lungs, was vomiting blood and could hardly breathe. He was not expected to survive that night. The next morning, his family and doctor were astounded to find that he was breathing normally and appeared to have recovered. Irving related that a "beautiful man", with long hair, in a white "bathrobe", came into his room during the night and stood at the foot of his bed with his hand raised. His first vision of Our Lord.
Irving's family were devout Catholics and he learned his prayers as a child. The Rosary and the Stations of the Cross were his daily prayers as a teen and throughout his adult life. Irving was an athlete in high school, excelling in basketball, track, and ski jumping. His family moved into a town and as a high school student, he attended daily Mass. He had a great love for Jesus and the Eucharist.
Irving was drafted into the Army after graduation, and fought in Europe in WWII. He never spoke to anyone about the horrible aspects of war. The only memories he related were those of how happy he was to occasionally be able to find a priest, attend a Mass, go to confession, and receive Jesus in the Eucharist.
After the war Irving married. He and his wife Gail, raised 5 children. Irving worked several jobs, eventually becoming the manager of a small, fledgling auto parts manufacturing plant. He kept pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary in his office. Whenever someone questioned him about this, he said, "If they go, I go."
Irving remained devout and steadfast in his love for Jesus, praying the Stations every day in his parish church. He was known as a loving father and husband and a dependable worker.
Late in his life, in 1992 when he was near 67 years old, he began to receive locutions from Jesus and later, Mother Mary. Jesus told him "Prepare to receive My holy wounds. Consecrate yourself to My Mother. She will guide you and protect you." Irving told no one of this message.
On Holy Thursday night, 1993, Irving was in St. Anne Church, after the Mass of the Lord's Supper. It was his usual practice to spend several hours in adoration on this night. His hands began to hurt so badly he was forced to go home. He took pain medicine, but nothing would help. He went to bed and prayed. During the night, he received Christ's wounds in the palms of his hands.
At first, Irving was shocked and afraid, and confused. He showed the marks to two different priests, who told him to keep it quiet to see what might happen.
For the 16 years, until his death on January 3rd, 2009, Irving bore the wounds of Jesus in his hands. Jesus and Mary told him to "touch my children" and to suffer for the conversion of sinners. Having become a victim soul out of his love and obedience to Jesus, Irving suffered the passion of Jesus every single night of the remaining years of his life. He spent his days in prayer and family life. He visited sick and dying people in their homes, hospitals, and nursing homes. He prayed continuously. It is estimated Irving touched more than 200 thousand people.
Irving traveled to many, many parishes in his home state, touching God's people. Untold numbers of people were spiritually healed, returned to the Church and the Sacraments, reforming their lives. People that had not confessed their sins for 40 years went to Confession after being touched. Unknown numbers received physical healings from common ailments to deadly diseases.
Irving was always obedient to the Church, having received the blessings of his Bishops to continue this ministry. He received many, many locutions from the Blessed Mother, encouraging and comforting him. He was extremely humble, never intentionally openly displaying the wounds, and always declaring that "I do not heal anyone. It is Jesus who heals."
American Saints and Causes: The saints often serve as examples to the faithful of how to follow Christ and grow in holiness. How has Servant of God Irving Houle impacted you? How has he helped you live your faith?
Deacon Terry: The Servant of God, Irving "Francis" Houle impacted my life, my family, my community, and at least a couple hundred thousand other people. Francis's mission, given to him by Jesus and Mary, was to use his hands to "touch my children." Whenever Francis prayed for me I felt like it was Jesus that was touching my face. That touch radiated peace and on occasion heat. Francis invited my wife Hildie and I to join him in praying for pilgrims who came to him to be touched. I witnessed physical, spiritual, and emotional healings. People regained their health, cancer disappeared, including the fatal cancer I had.
Parents begged for prayers for sick and wayward children. Many were healed. People who had not confessed their sins went to confession. Some having been away for decades. People returned to the Catholic faith and all the Sacraments. Young wives who could not conceive became pregnant and bore children. My own daughter, told by doctors she would not be able to have children, now has four.
Francis taught me to think about Jesus and His Passion every day of my life. He told me, "We have to love everybody." Francis was happy when I decided to apply for the Diaconate. He was always interested in how my studies progressed. While I was unsure if I would be accepted by the Church and whether I could go back to college and succeed, Francis was confident. Francis told me, "the Blessed Mother wants you to become a Deacon." There are several priests who credit knowing Francis for their vocation.
Francis's example has helped mold my prayer life and concern for others for the last 33 years. I would not be the husband, the father, the grandfather, or the Deacon I am if not for God and Francis.
American Saints and Causes: What are the next steps for the cause? Are there any potential miracles being evaluated that might lead to his beatification?
Deacon Terry: The next step in the cause is the interview of witnesses. There are many thousands of people still alive whose lives were touched by Francis. There are thousands whose lives are being impacted today by learning about Francis. The Church will interview a sampling of the witnesses and submit the information to the Dicastery for Saints in Rome. I believe once the Vatican reviews the reports, Francis will be declared Venerable. Those interviews should start this summer.
There are several potential miracles. A married couple who prayed for Francis's intercession for two years that God would reconcile them with their adult children whom had rejected them 20 years past. The two men, their sons, contacted them within a week of each other and reconciled, one having gone to confession and returned to the Church, the other saying he felt called to return to the Church and was compelled to reconcile as part of his reversion.
A man who suffered cardiac arrest, was resuscitated, but not expected to live, recovered after his family called on Francis for intercession. Previously occluded vessels around this man's heart were subsequently found to be open and doctors could not ethically operate on this man.
There are dozens of stories from people who pray for Francis's intercession that experience healings, physical and spiritual, many include medical intervention. The medical intervention precludes these physical healings from being investigated further.
American Saints and Causes: If someone wanted to help, how could they best support or assist the work of the cause of Servant of God Irving Houle?
Deacon Terry: How can you help?
- Join the Irving C. "Francis" Houle Association.
- Pray for the cause/start a prayer group.
- Call the Association (906-786-0727) to learn more.
- Invite someone from the Association to come to your diocese/parish to give a presentation and pray with all of you.
God bless all. Jesus is risen. Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints!
Thank you so much, Deacon Terry, for introducing all of us to the life of Servant of God Irving Houle! As the cause embarks on the hard and costly work of interviewing witness, I am sure they would appreciate the financial support provided by an enrollment in the Irving C. "Francis" Houle Association. You can learn more about Irving Houle here on his page at American Saints and Causes.