Miracles or Myths? Deciphering Fact from Fiction with the Miracle Hunter | Michael O'Neill

Apr 9, 2025

Michael O'Neill, known as The Miracle Hunter, discusses his deep fascination with miracles and their role in faith. He explains the rigorous processes the Church uses to verify miracles, distinguishing between significant and everyday occurrences. O'Neill dives into miracles across various religions and addresses fraudulent claims. Additionally, he highlights recent Vatican changes regarding supernatural investigations and the special significance of Marian apparitions. With captivating anecdotes and insights, he invites listeners to see miracles as divine invitations in everyday life.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

How A Mother's Promise Sparked A Career

Michael O'Neill's mother taught him the Tilma story every December 12, sparking his lifelong work on miracles.
That family miracle and devotion led him to create MiracleHunter.com and study approved miracles professionally.

INSIGHT

Why Bishops Are Cautious With Miracles

The Church makes the local bishop responsible for investigating alleged miracles and is purposely rigorous to exclude non-supernatural explanations.
Bishops often default to skepticism to avoid chaos and only declare a miracle when other explanations are exhausted.

INSIGHT

2024 Vatican Shift Alters Miracle Declarations

Vatican norms on apparitions changed in 2024, replacing clear declarations of 'established as supernatural' with graded levels and nihil obstat.
This removes formal universal supernatural approval and makes papal prerogative the only possible definitive stamp going forward.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode, Conor Gallagher is joined by Michael O’Neill, known as The Miracle Hunter, for a captivating conversation about the mysterious world of miracles. Michael shares how he first became fascinated with miracles and why he believes they have a unique power to stir hearts and open the door to faith.

Together, they explore the Church’s rigorous process for investigating miracles, the difference between big “M” and small “m” miracles, and why God often leaves just enough mystery to invite us deeper into faith. They also discuss miracles in other religions, fraudulent claims, and the Vatican’s recent changes to how supernatural claims — especially Marian apparitions — are handled.

This episode is a fascinating look at how miracles aren’t just about the supernatural — they’re about God’s invitation to see His hand at work in every corner of our lives.

GET THE BOOK

Science and the Miraculous: How the Church Investigates the Supernatural

https://bit.ly/42kFLlK

THE MIRACLE HUNTER WEBSITE

https://www.miraclehunter.com/

CHAPTERS

(1:57) Introduction
(4:04) How Did You Become ‘The Miracle Hunter’?
(7:34) Why Miracles Can Crack Open the Door to Faith
(8:15) Why God Leaves Doubt in Miracles
(10:38) What Is a Miracle?
(12:01) Big 'M' Miracles and Little 'm' Miracles
(14:38) Process of Miracle Investigations
(20:01) Why “Catholic” Miracles Are Ignored
(21:04) Other Religions and Miracles
(23:37) Fraudulent and False Miracles
(34:40) Change in Vatican’s Standards for Miracles
(44:15) Medjugorje
(47:59) Our Lady of Guadalupe and The Tilma
(1:13:17) The Shroud of Turin
(1:26:23) The Shoulder Wound of Christ
(1:31:53) The Stigmatists
(1:40:39) Is the Stigmata the Marking of a Saint?
(1:49:08) Marian Apparitions
(1:52:20) Conyers & The Catholic “Maybe”
(1:54:51) Vatican Guidelines for Apparitions
(1:55:36) Garabandal
(2:02:19) Zeitoun
(2:05:28) Las Lajas
(2:10:06) Healing Miracles
(2:10:41) The Girl Whose Bladder Grew Back
(2:26:05) Incorruptibles
(2:31:24) Eucharistic Miracles
(2:38:18) Saint Januarius
(2:47:05) Weeping Statues
(2:53:11) Closing Comments

Be sure to subscribe to The Conor Gallagher Show for more honest conversations about faith, culture, and the Catholic life.

#MiracleHunter #CatholicMiracles #ConorGallagherShow #MichaelONeill #CatholicPodcast #Miracles #FaithAndReason #CatholicChurch #MarianApparitions #Vatican #CatholicFaith