Many miracles are attributed to Saint Peter, but one is truly special. It involves another saint, or rather, the Apostle invites a paralytic girl in a vision, who turns to his intercession in prayer, to go and look for a certain Abbondio if she wanted to be healed.

Who was this Abbondio? He was a Vatican mansionario, that is, a cleric who usually served in the Basilica of Saint Peter.

We know very little about him. Saint Gregory the Great mentions him in book III, chapter 21, in his Dialogues. He describes him as a man of great humility and faithful in fulfilling his religious services. He also reports the episode of the paralytic girl, who had been praying to Saint Peter for a long time to heal her, when one night he appeared to her in a dream, and told her to turn to Abbondio, who would heal her.

The poor girl was well aware of the vision, but she did not understand who to go to, because she did not know who Abbondio was. However, she went back to the Basilica to look for the person Saint Peter had mentioned, until she came across Abbondio himself. After telling her that the person she was looking for was in front of her, the girl explained to him: “The Blessed Apostle Saint Peter, our shepherd and father, has sent me to you so that you may deign to free me from this infirmity”. Then, Abbondio replied: “If it is he who sends you, then rise up”. So, he took her by the hand, set her on her feet and healed her. From that moment on, there was no longer any trace of paralysis.