“The Lord Heard Our Prayers…”

Irakli Gogoladze first visited Samtavro Monastery while he was still a schoolboy.

At that time, Saint Gabriel Urgebadze had not yet been formally glorified among the saints, but many pilgrims were already coming to his resting place.

It was then that Irakli first experienced an extraordinary spiritual joy and profound inner peace.

The nuns of the monastery gave him oil from the lamp burning at the elder’s grave and explained how to use this holy item with prayer and reverence.

Some time passed.

A severe trial befell the family.

Irakli’s father became seriously ill with psoriasis.

The illness progressed rapidly, treatment brought almost no result, and his condition was later complicated by a heart attack.

The doctors said that many months of treatment lay ahead.

Remembering Saint Gabriel, Irakli took the blessed oil, went to the hospital, anointed his father with it in the sign of the Cross, and fervently prayed to the Lord for help through the saint’s prayers.

The next morning, something happened that remained forever in the memory of the entire family.

During the examination, the doctors found that the patient’s skin had cleared completely.

The medical staff were genuinely astonished, and according to eyewitnesses, the attending physician was visibly moved and thanked God.

Later, Irakli’s father described an extraordinary dream.

During the night, an elderly priest with a grey beard appeared to him.

With love, he said that the prayers of his wife and son had been heard.

The elder urged him to change his life, attend church more frequently, confess, receive Holy Communion, and live a full life within the Church.

After these words, he blessed the sick man with the sign of the Cross.

Later, when he saw a photograph of Saint Gabriel Urgebadze, the father immediately recognised him as the very priest he had seen in his dream.

For the entire family, this event became not only a testimony of help through Saint Gabriel’s prayers, but also the beginning of a new spiritual life.

“Glory to God for all things! May the Lord not abandon us through the prayers of Saint Gabriel.”

Glory to God for all things!