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<p>‘God, I thank you for the gift of Raphael Patrick,’ Mari Kuhlman wrote on social media announcing the birth of her son.</p>
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<p>Nine months after tragedy came new life. </p>
<p>Mariana (Mari) Kuhlman, 23, welcomed her son, Raphael Patrick, on July 18 — nine months after the tragic death of her husband, Nathaniel (Nate) Kuhlman.</p>
<p>“Nate, our son is here!” Kuhlman wrote on Facebook and Instagram. “I know you’ll be praying for him, for us each and every day, and he will know without a doubt how much his father loves him!”</p>
<p>Mari lost her husband, Nate, three days after their wedding. The couple was on their honeymoon on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia when Nathaniel fell and drowned while water-skiing, three days after their wedding. After attempts to revive him, doctors told Mari he wouldn’t make it. </p>
<p>The couple met in October 2021 at Franciscan University, when Mari was a junior and Nate was a senior. They got engaged in December 2022 and married on Oct. 28, 2023. </p>
<p>Nearly a month after Nate’s death, Kuhlman discovered she was pregnant after taking a test on Thanksgiving Day. </p>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/2024012920010_79c2be93ebdeb479a19cb977c6e177e0c2370258a1ca87df80a307a06cb38277.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024012920010_79c2be93ebdeb479a19cb977c6e177e0c2370258a1ca87df80a307a06cb38277" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="Mariana (Mari) and Nathaniel (Nate) Kuhlman"/><figcaption>L to R: Mariana (Mari) Kuhlman shares happy news; Mariana and Nathaniel (Nate) Kuhlman smile on their wedding day.<span/><span/></figcaption></figure>
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<p>“When praying the Lazarus Prayer, it had crossed my mind, ‘What if God answers this in another way, that I’m pregnant,’” she told the <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/features/kuhlman-hope">Register</a>.</p>
<p>“I was so overjoyed that God would give us this gift of new life,” she said. “I was wishing Nathaniel was here with me, but there is overwhelming joy. I could feel his joy. He already knew, but I was just finding out.”</p>
<p>Mari first announced her pregnancy on Instagram on Jan. 14, Nate’s birthday. </p>
<p>“Clearly, God had a plan bigger than anything we could have ever imagined. He answered our prayers, and prayers of those around the world, just in a different way than we had expected, but still the GIFT OF LIFE; the miracle we are so overjoyed to finally share with you all,” she wrote. </p>
<p>Mari posted a photo of her and Nate’s newborn son on July 18 with a card indicating his birth at 9:19 p.m. and his weight at 9 lbs. and 11 oz. She included photos of family members holding the newborn baby. </p>
<p>“God, I thank you for the gift of Raphael Patrick …”</p>
<p>The new mother thanked everyone who prayed for her and said she offered up her labor for the souls in purgatory and for everyone who asked for her husband’s intercession. </p>
<p>She wrote, “We will be in newborn bliss, for a while :) continue to pray for us as we get to know each other …”</p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/news/mari-kuhlman-welcomes-baby-boy">Source link </a></p>
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Mari Kuhlman Celebrates Birth of Baby Boy| National Catholic Register
