The Surprising Story of One Priest’s Hospital Stay on Divine Mercy Sunday: How He’s Saving Souls

Jesus is so generous with His Divine Mercy!

Fr. Goyo Hidalgo of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had surgery to remove kidney stones in 2019.

He spent that Divine Mercy weekend in the hospital recovering. However, something unexpected happened: he heard confessions while lying in a hospital bed!

Here’s his story:

A person knocking on my hospital door,
“Hi. We heard you are a priest. I was hoping I could go to confession.”
“Of course. Come in… wait what do you mean WE?”
“Oh yeah. There are more people outside waiting.”
Another person picking in
“Hey father.”#DivineMercy at its best

— Fr. Goyo (@FrGoyo) April 29, 2019

Click here if you cannot see the post above.

Here’s the text of his tweet:

“A person knocking on my hospital door,
‘Hi. We heard you are a priest. I was hoping I could go to confession.’
‘Of course. Come in… wait what do you mean WE?’
‘Oh yeah. There are more people outside waiting.’
Another person peaking in,
‘Hey father.’
#DivineMercy at its best”

The tweet received an overwhelming response, with more than 3400 likes, over 300 retweets, and 175 comments.

Here’s what some people said:

This user tweeted, “You, Fr Goyo, are awesome. Priests admitted to the hospital I worked at usually had ‘do not disturb’ signs on the door..and some used aliases.”

Fr. Goyo responded, “To be fair, I had ‘do not disturb’ when I was taking the pain medicine because it put me out. The pain was bad–really, really bad.”

This user added, “Santo subito! These hospital stories are so inspiring. You’re living Sheen’s call to not waste suffering. It’s one thing for priests to make hospital visits, it’s another thing when the priest is in the hospital himself and still serving others. I’m in awe. God is good!”

Another user said, “I am wondering how many of these people never would have gone to confession if you weren’t there and what their blessings are because they did. I bet there will be some stories to tell. That is the work of Divine Mercy!”

This user also said, “Maybe this was the whole reason for the kidney stone: to get those people to confess for Divine Mercy. Still praying for you to recover quickly.”

Another user added, “I smiled as I remembered you in my intentions last night. Then I woke up to this tweet in my feed. This is why I smile when I think of you in my prayers. God is doing wonderful works through you – his willing vessel. God Bless you, Father Goyo.”

Here’s his story:

Here’s what some people said:

Remember to pray for priests!