The healings of Saint Basil of Ostrog, who was born in Trebinje in Herzegovina in 1610 and whose relics still rest in the Ostrog monastery, are still widely known and retold, and the number of miracles associated with this saint is endless.
One of them is described in the text of the Slobodna Herzegovina portal, in which the main character is a Muslim woman, Fatima, who suffered from a serious illness for 5 years, and who at first did not want to worship this Orthodox saint.
As everyone in that area spoke the same language to St. Basil, and everyone had similar troubles, they were all his too, even if they believed in a different way and professed their faith differently. So did the Muslim woman Fatima, at a time when she will settle forever in the hard rock of Ostrog, not this Herzegovinian one, but the Serbian one in Montenegro, from which you can see both the road and the river. In the monastery embedded in the rock, obviously intended only for holy people, about which Popović wrote: “On May 6, 1964, the Muslims Asib Gušo and Ševka Zajko brought a seriously ill, also Muslim woman, Fatima, to Ostrog. Fatima was seriously ill. She suffered from some terrible spasms in her whole body for five years.
The pains threw her into unconsciousness, and in that agony she shouted and insulted her loved ones. During those five years of severe illness, which turned into madness, they visited all the doctors, astrologers and herbalists with the patient, but there was no cure or help. They heard about healings from such diseases in Ostrog, so sick Fatima was brought by her cousin Asib and neighbor Ševka to the Upper Monastery. When they brought her to the church where the body of St. Basil lies, the sick woman shouted at the top of her voice: “I will not enter there.” She repeated this several times, frantically trying to get back.
The custodian of the church and the relics opened the church for them, and a little later the sarcophagus with the relics of Saint Basil, and helped bring the sick woman to the Saint. With great difficulty, they finally succeeded. The patient’s relatives managed to convince her to kiss the saint’s relics, which she did. At that moment, she was overcome by a terrible convulsion and trembling, that it was terrible to watch. After she calmed down a little, a prayer was read to the patient. After finishing the prayer, she was only then seized by some terrible pain and convulsions, which caused her to sweat so much that in a short time she was all wet.
That state does not last long. Unexpectedly, in front of all of us, she was suddenly overcome by some peace and tranquility, which was clearly reflected on her face. She completely calmed down, knelt by the life of the Saint and began to pray. It didn’t take long, she got up all beaming and said to all of us: “Thank God and Saint Basil, I’m healed.” Nothing hurts me.” After saying that, he proceeded to kiss the relics of Saint Basil. Those present, amazed at this mercy of God, thanked God and His Comforter for this strange healing. The patient spent that night quite peacefully in the Ostrog monastery, and when it dawned, she was the first to come to the matinee to once again thank God, who had healed her with the prayers of St. Basil.
The list of his healings is long and no one ever doubted any of them.