After nine years of waiting, we managed to have a baby boy through the intercession of Saint Paraskeva

I was a student in Iași, and I often went to worship at the Holy Relics of Saint Paraskeva. There, in that place full of grace, I experienced many soulful moments, and one of them changed my life forever: right in the park in front of the Metropolitanate, my husband proposed to me. Since then, I felt that our life was placed under the protection of the Saint.

For years, we prayed with hope for the blessing of a child. After nine years of waiting, the Saint worked in our lives in a way that only God can arrange. Before the feast day of Saint Paraskeva, I was at the church in our city, and the priest said, “Parents rejoice when you go to them on their birthday, not a week before or after. So does the Saint; she rejoices when you go to her on her birthday.” Those words touched me deeply. I immediately told my husband: “We’re going to Iași!” We tried to find accommodation, but all the hotels were full. And yet, by the will of the Saint, we found a room because someone had just canceled their reservation.

We arrived in Iași with emotion and gratitude. We sat in line around 8:00 PM, carrying our prayer in our hearts: to receive the blessing of a baby. Time was passing; it was 5:00 AM. Fatigue was taking its toll, so I bought a coffee. After drinking it, I suddenly felt nauseous and started shaking. I didn’t feel well at all. I couldn’t stay any longer. We returned to the hotel, but my heart was not at peace, feeling that I hadn’t finished my prayer.

After resting a little, I woke up and told my husband, “I have to get to the Saint.” The queue was huge again, and we couldn't stand it any longer. With tears in our eyes, I approached a priest and said: "I beg you from the bottom of my heart, let me get to the Saint, let us pray for the gift of babies." The priest understood my pain and let us pass.

We arrived in front of Saint Paraskeva. The feeling that gripped me then cannot be described in words. Although I had been to her so many times during my student years, I had never experienced such emotion. I was crying and praying with all my being, with hope and faith.

That night, Saint Paraskeva appeared in a dream to my husband. She asked him, while he was worshiping her holy relics:

- "What is your desire?"

He answered:

- "You know my desire, Saint."

And the Venerable said to her gently:

- Be patient, for it will be fulfilled.”

Two months later, in December, I found out that I was pregnant. I knew from that moment that this pregnancy was the gift and blessing of Saint Paraskeva.

Today, our little boy Dimitrie is 6 years old. He loves Saint Paraskeva very much and knows that she was the one who gave him to us. God ordained that he be born on the very day that his grandfather, whom he never got to know, was born, the same day, the same month.

We feel, every moment, the blessing of God and the intercession of Saint Paraskeva over our family. She gave us the most precious gift: the life of this child, our miracle, the living proof that God and the Saints listen to our prayers, coming from the heart.