Denver, Colo., Jun 21, 2007 / 11:15 am (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Denver has completed its investigation into whether Blessed Junipero Serra, an 18th-century missionary priest, intervened to save Kayla Rebecca Kellog from severe birth defects before she was born.

The girl’s family believes prayers to Bl. Serra led their child to be born completely healthy, despite doctors' warnings that she could be severely deformed. Kellog, now 14, resides with her family in Denver.

A team of specialists from the Denver archdiocese has spent seven months collecting documents, including independent medical data, reported the Rocky Mountain News-Denver. They interviewed the original obstetrical team and also assembled an independent medical panel to assess the case. The probe was finished in April and the documentation has been sent to the Vatican for review.

If the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints confirms the case as a miracle, it would lead to Bl. Serra’s canonization.

According to journalist Fr. Gerard Beigel, there has been a massive campaign to discredit Bl. Serra and his contemporaries. Writing in The California Mission, Fr. Beigel remarks: "The view of the missionaries as oppressors is now taught to children in fourth and fifth grades in many public schools throughout the state."

However, he noted, Bl. Serra made a long and hazardous journey to Mexico City to protest the treatment the Indians were receiving from civil authorities. His efforts resulted in a so-called ‘Bill of Rights’ for the Indians.

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