Danger and protection
Miracles of Rescue from Drowning
Drowning miracles recount a person fallen into a river, well, lake, or sea, then saved or brought back to life in an episode attributed to a saint's intercession. According to sources, the saint acts during their lifetime, appears from a distance, prays from the shore, or is invoked after their death. Water can be a concrete danger but also a narrative threshold between loss and salvation. The category must remain centered on the threatened person: a saint who crosses water without a boat pertains more to a wonder over the elements, and the calming of a storm possesses its own page. When a drowning victim is explicitly presented as dead before returning to life, the account may also pertain to resurrection. Sancteo preserves these overlaps to allow for comparison, while distinguishing the main motif of each episode.
- Accounts
- 108
- Saints
- 96
- Period
- 8th century BC – 20th century
Definition
Understanding this type of miracle
Drowning miracles recount a person fallen into a river, well, lake, or sea, then saved or brought back to life in an episode attributed to a saint's intercession.
Forms included from the sources
- falling into water, drowning, and rescue
Not to be confused with…
- simple crossing of waters and storm without victim
Documented examples
Major figures
-
Saint Raymond of Penyafort 13th century · 3 accounts « To flee the court of King James I whose conduct he disapproves of, Raymond crosses the sea from Majorca to Barcelona by sailing on his cloak. »
-
Saint Vincent of Spain 4th century · 2 accounts « His body, exposed to beasts and then thrown into the sea, is miraculously protected by a raven and brought back to the shore. »
- Saint Mansuetus (Mansuy) 4th century · 2 accounts
« Mansuy resurrects the son of the governor of Toul, who had fallen into the Moselle »
- Saint Malo (Maclovius) 6th century · 2 accounts
« Preservation from drowning of a child on a mound that became an island »
Classified sources
Accounts in the corpus
108 results · page 1/3
Protection / deliverance
Survival of Jonah in the belly of the sea monster
Drownings
« Survived three days in the belly of a sea monster »
Mastery of the elements
Calming of sea storms in Genoa
Drownings
« Ashes calming sea storms in Genoa »
Sign / wonder
Miraculous river crossing
Drownings
« Miraculous river crossing at an unknown ford »
Sign / wonder
Miraculous translation by sea
Drownings
« Miraculous navigation of a boat without sails or oars from Pisa to Fréjus »
Mastery of the elements
Miraculous walking on water in Trier
Drownings
« Walking on the waters of the Saar and Moselle rivers during a storm »
Protection / deliverance
Miraculous preservation during an attempted drowning
DrowningsViolence
« Miraculous deliverance after being thrown into the sea »
Protection / deliverance
Miraculous survival in the Garonne River
DrowningsViolence
« Floats on the Garonne despite a millstone around his neck »
Sign / wonder
The body of Saint Andéol carried by the waters
DrowningsCaptivityViolence
« Body miraculously floating on the Rhône despite a chain and a stone »
Protection / deliverance
Miraculous preservation in the Aisne
DrowningsViolence
« Floated with a millstone around his neck in the Aisne river »
Protection / deliverance
Miraculous survival at sea
Drownings
« Survival after being thrown into the sea in a sack »
Protection / deliverance
Preservation during forced drowning
DrowningsViolence
« Deliverance from the waters of the Tiber despite the anchor attached to her neck »
Mastery of the elements
Preservation from drowning
Drownings
« Floating on the Tiber despite a stone around her neck »
Protection / deliverance
Preservation from drowning in the Tiber
DrowningsViolence
« Survival of an attempted drowning in the Tiber and return to the shore with dry clothes »
Vision / apparition
Apparition of Saint Theodota during a shipwreck
Drownings
« Apparition of Saint Theodota guiding a leaking boat to the shore »
Mastery of the elements
Calming of a storm at sea
Drownings
« Calming of a storm at sea through prayer »
Mastery of the elements
Calming of a storm on the Moselle
Drownings
« Calming of a storm on the Moselle by the sign of the cross to save a boat of salt »
Conversion
Conversion of idolaters after a rescue at sea
Drownings
« Conversion of one hundred and twenty idolaters following the rescue of the boat »
Mastery of the elements
Drying up of a river
SpringsDrownings
« Resurrection of people drowned in the river »
Mastery of the elements
Miraculous crossing of the Ubaye
SpringsDrownings
« Crossing the Ubaye river on dry land »
Mastery of the elements
Miraculous preservation from fire
FireViolenceDrownings
« The fire of her torture spares the saint and consumes the infidels »
Sign / wonder
Miraculous preservation of Saint Vincent's body at sea
DrowningsViolence
« Body floating on the sea despite a stone attached »
Sign / wonder
Miraculous recovery of the relics of Saint Leocadia
DrowningsSprings
« Discovery of the relics in the Aisne five days after their theft »
Protection / deliverance
Preservation from drowning by angelic intervention
Drownings
« Rescue from the lake waters by an angel »
Sign / wonder
Preservation of modesty after drowning
Drownings
« Miraculous preservation of the decent arrangement of clothing after drowning despite the current »
Protection / deliverance
Protection of the body by a raven
ViolenceDrownings
« Protection of the body by a raven against a wolf »
Mastery of the elements
Protection of the church against the flooding of the Adige
DrowningsSprings
« Floodwater becoming potable for the trapped faithful »
Resurrection
Resurrection of the son of the governor of Toul
Drownings
« Resurrection of the son of the governor of Toul »
Resurrection
Resurrection of the son of the governor of Toul
Drownings
« Miraculous discovery of the child's body on the surface of the water »
Mastery of the elements
The flood of the Adige sparing the church
Drownings
« The water of the Adige rising like a wall around his church without entering it »
Mastery of the elements
The miraculous floating of Saint Quirinus
DrowningsViolence
« Floats on water despite the weight of a millstone »
Sign / wonder
The return of the body by the dolphin
Drownings
« Miraculous reunion of his severed right hand to his body by the sea »
Sign / wonder
The transport of the body by a dolphin
Drownings
« Body carried by a dolphin after being thrown into the sea »
Mastery of the elements
Walking on water
Drownings
« Walking on the waters of a lake »
Mastery of the elements
Calming of a storm at sea
Drownings
« Calming of a storm at sea with blessed oil »
Mastery of the elements
Miraculous crossing of Lake Orta
Drownings
« Crossing Lake Orta on their cloaks »
Protection / deliverance
Preservation during a sea storm
Drownings
« Divine protection during a storm at sea »
Protection / deliverance
Preservation during a shipwreck on the Saône
Drownings
« Survived a shipwreck in the Saône with his chalice and book »
Resurrection
Resurrection of a child and healing of a mother
DrowningsSight disorders
« Resurrection of a drowned child and healing of his blind mother »
Resurrection
Resurrection of a drowned child
Drownings
« Resurrection of a child drowned in a well »
Resurrection
Resurrection of a drowned young man
Drownings
« Resurrection of a drowned young man »
Mastery of the elements
Calming of a storm at sea
Drownings
« Calms a storm at sea through prayer »
Protection / deliverance
Miraculous preservation of a child from drowning
Drownings
« Preservation of a child from drowning on a mound that had become an island »
Mastery of the elements
Miraculous preservation on the waters
Drownings
« Preservation on a bundle of seaweed carried by the waters »
Protection / deliverance
Miraculous rescue of the cows of the Ourcq
Drownings
« Miraculous resurrection or rescue of two cows drowned in the Ourcq »
Protection / deliverance
Preservation from drowning
Drownings
« Saved from drowning by Saint Maur walking on water »
Protection / deliverance
Rescue of a navigator on the Sorgue
Drownings
« Rescue of a navigator in the waters of the Sorgue »
Resurrection
Resurrection of a child at Broue
Drownings
« Resurrection of a young boy drowned in a well at Broue »
Resurrection
Resurrection of a drowned servant
DrowningsResurrections
« Resurrection of a convent servant who drowned while fishing »
Editorial transparency
Method and sources
Sancteo presents these accounts as hagiographic and historical traditions, without ruling on their origin or making medical or spiritual promises.
Volumes are calculated from technically validated classifications in the canonical database. Each figure above has a quotation directly linked to this theme. Last recalculated: .
Editorial responsibility: Sancteo · Corpus source: Les Petits Bollandistes and documented enrichments. Version: miracle-topic-editorial-en-v1.