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Mother refused abortion, twin sons now serving as parish priests

Pope Francis talks during a meeting with priests of Rome in this photo. | Reuters/Osservatore Romano

Twin Chilean Catholic priests are convinced that God was at work in their lives while they were yet to be born when their mother kept them alive and said "no" to medically advised abortion.

"I am convinced of what I believe, of what I am and of what I speak, clearly by the grace of God," Fr. Paulo Lizama said in an interview with Catholic News Agency.

The twin priests almost did not see the light of day when their mother was advised by doctors to have them aborted.

Their mother, Rosa Silva, worked as a paramedic. Before learning that she was pregnant, Silva was exposed to x-rays while performing her duties.

When she confirmed her pregnancy, she sought the advice of a doctor who conducted ultrasound procedures and informed her that the her results were abnormal. The doctor reportedly said the baby looked "strange," having three arms, entangled feet and two heads.

Silva was advised to get an abortion saying that her life was on the line. Abortion due to medical reasons is legal in Chile. However, she refused and said she would willingly receive whatever God would give her.

Fr. Felipe Lizama said, "The Lord worked and produced a twin pregnancy. I don't know if the doctors were wrong or what." What the doctors initially thought of as an anomaly concluded in an identical twin birth.

The twin brothers' lives were still hanging in the balance even during their delivery on Sept. 10, 1984. Felipe came out first and the doctors thought that he was the only one. When the placenta did not separate from the womb, the doctors suggested that they will scrape Silva's womb to disengage it. But Silva somehow knew that the delivery wasn't over and refused. She said she felt there was another child coming and true enough, Paolo came out 17 minutes after Felipe.

"How can I not defend the God of life? This event strengthened my vocation and gave it a specific vitality, and therefore, I was able to give myself existentially to what I believe," Fr. Paolo shared with CNA.

Fr. Paolo and Fr. Felipe serves as parish priests in the Assumption of Mary in Achupallas and in Saint Martin of Tours in Quillota, respectively, according to a Christian Today report.