"NUNCA, NUNCA!"

This stopover at Lourdes to pray to the Virgin of the Pyrenees marks a very important step in Frei Daniel's life. His faith is great, but he is torn between the hope of being cured and the instinct, which is typical of all great human beings, not to go against the will of God, no matter what it costs. He insistently asks for our Heavenly Mother's mediation, the Mother of all missionaries, so that she may enlighten him and give him the comfort he so desperately needs. Frei Daniel will recount many times this encounter with the sacred and the miraculous in Lourdes. In his Diary he often mentions it with deep emotion and also talks about it with people around him.
We ourselves have met several people who have handed down from father to son the story of this event which was first heard from the friar's lips. They repeat with deep emotion: "Nunca, Nunca!" the words that Frei Daniel was supposed to have heard from the Virgin herself: "You will not be cured! No, you will not be cured! Go back! You will receive another grace!" With renewed spiritual strength, he continues his journey and finally reaches Italy, from which he has been absent since 1899. He goes back to his hometown and he sees his family, except for his parents who are now dead. When he celebrates the memorial for them, he becomes deeply moved. The doctors from Milan send him to Rome to consult Professor Campana, a famous dermatologist, but even the specialist is helpless. While in Rome, Frei Daniel is able to visit the Eternal City, and is touched by the deep faith of the first Christians when he tours the Catacombs. Twice he is received by Pope Pius X of whom he implores special blessings for his Mission.

When he realizes that the Italian medicine is as ineffective as the Brazilian, Frei Daniel decides to go back to the warmth of his people. He is ready and willing to give all of himself to the Mandate of Christ which he had heard through the voice of his Holy Mother while in Lourdes.

While in Europe, he also visits other Marian Sanctuaries at Pompeii, Loreto, Casalmaggiore and Casalpusterlengo where, humbly and devoutly, he asks the Virgin Mary for her support. We recently received this unedited testimonial from an old woman who was ecstatically praying in front of Frei Daniel's portrait in Belem. While traveling through the Italian peninsula, from north to south, Frei Daniel walked with his usual devotion into a sanctuary. It is not clear whether it was Orvieto or Lanciano, where the Mystery of The Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ is kept. He knelt and asked for healing, but he heard the usual voice: "Frei Daniel, don't you want to suffer?" Frei Daniel jumped to his feet and promptly answered: "Quero!" ("I will!") and he immediately came out of the church without asking for an explanation. While telling us this story, the old woman was filled with emotion and excitement.