Had their mother heeded her doctors' advice, these twin brothers would not be alive today.
But thanks to the unswerving faith of their mother, the two brothers—Paulo and Felipe Lizama—are now both serving God and the people of Chile as priests, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reports.
The two brothers were born on Sept. 10, 1984 after their mother, Rosa Silva, rejected her doctors' advice for her to undergo abortion.
Before discovering her pregnancy, Rosa had exposed herself to x-rays while performing her duties as a paramedic. Allegedly because of the X-ray exposure, her doctors found "something strange" in the ultrasound image of her womb.
"The baby has three arms and its feet are sort of entangled. It also has two heads," the doctor reportedly told her.
Abortion for "therapeutic" reasons was legal in Chile at the time. Moreover, her doctors told her that her life was in danger.
But Rosa rejected the idea, saying she would accept whatever God would send her.
It turned out she was carrying twins. "The Lord worked and produced a twin pregnancy," Fr. Felipe told CNA.
He said he learned that he was born first. Later, the doctors were confronted with a big problem when his mother's placenta would not detach.
The doctors suggested scraping her womb. Again, Rosa rejected her doctors' recommendation, saying she felt another baby was coming out. Paulo was born 17 minutes later.
"The doctors inserted instruments to remove the placenta because it wouldn't come out. My mother knew that I was there. I was late, but I came out," Fr. Paulo said.
Had the doctors scraped his mother's womb, he would have likely been "gravely injured."
Fr. Paulo said he realised that God was working in his life right from the start, thanks to his mother who said "yes" to life and "no" to abortion.
Considering how his mother defended the life inside her, Fr. Paulo asked, "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."
"I am convinced of what I believe, of what I am and of what I speak, clearly by the grace of God," he told CNA.
