Young widow, 22, welcomes ‘miracle’ baby she believes was conceived after shock death of her new husband

A young Catholic woman who lost her husband in a tragic accident on their honeymoon has welcomed a ‘miracle’ baby.   

Nate Kuhlman, 23, and Mari Kuhlman, 22, got married on October 28, 2023, in a beautiful ceremony in Florida.

But Nate was killed while water-skiing on the first day of their honeymoon in Saint Lucia, the Caribbean, as she waited for him on the beach, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The couple had spent just three nights together and chosen their wedding date specifically to avoid her getting pregnant. 

Yet despite the period tracking app Flo informing her she had ovulated days before the wedding, Mari was stunned to discover she was pregnant on Thanksgiving. 

Nate and Mari had met at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, in October 2021. Nate was studying to become a physician’s assistant, while Mari planned to either become a lawyer or a detective.

After a year of Chick-fil-A picnics, playing pickleball and croquet matches, listening to ‘Godspell’ songs sung by Nate on his ukulele and watching The Mandalorian and Avatar, the couple got engaged, 

They agreed not to consummate their relationship until after they were wed, at which point they would refrain from using contraception in the Catholic tradition, the Tampa Bay Times reported. 

The young couple would pray together every morning and go to Mass every evening as well as attend Catholic counseling to make sure they were on the right path.

They held their wedding ceremony at St. Mary Our Lady of Grace church in St. Petersburg, with 140 Catholic guests – half of them under than the age of 30. 

According to Father Joe, all of the attendees ‘prayed their way through the wedding’ and the ceremony was ‘one of the most spiritual he had officiated’. 

‘So many very fervent, passionate young people united in their faith,’ he told the Tampa Bay Times.

After a year’s long of Chick-fil-A picnics, pickleball and croquet matches, ‘Godspell’ songs sung by Nate on his ukulele, the couple got engaged

Nate was studying to become a physician’s assistant while Mari was planned to either become a lawyer or a detective when the couple met

The newlyweds had spent their wedding night in their new Carrollwood apartment, then drove to Miami the next night.

They then embarked on their honeymoon on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. 

On the first morning, Nate – who could swim since the age of two and was on the show team in high school – decided to go waterskiing.  

But when Mari saw the boat retuning back to shore, her husband was prone on the deck and receiving CPR. 

By the time paramedics arrived, Nate had been unconscious for a half an hour and was eventually declared dead three days after they married.

The young couple would pray together every morning and go to Mass every evening as well as attend Catholic counseling 

In order to ensure they did not get pregnant, the pair decided to get married on October 28

Nate’s Catholic parents, Heather and Gordon arrived in St. Lucia to pray over their son’s body at the hospital along with the now widowed youngster and her parents while two police officers stood outside

Nate’s Catholic parents, Heather and Gordon traveled to St. Lucia to pray over their son’s body at the hospital along with the now widowed youngster and her parents while two police officers stood outside. 

After 15 minutes of praying and hoping he would come back, Nate’s body was wheeled away for an autopsy. 

‘I don’t think I could handle being mad at God. My whole relationship with Nate was about getting each other into heaven. Now he was there. I was confused. Are you kidding me, Nate? He was always so competitive. You seriously had to get to heaven before me?,’ Mari said.

The distressed mother later revealed that her priest, Monsignor Joseph Pellegrino had assured her that ‘if God wants to bring Nathaniel back to life, he will’. 

The funeral was attended by at least 1,000 people, including 15 priests, and was streamed online. 

Weeks later Mari realized she had missed her period, but put it down to grief as she hadn’t been eating or sleeping. 

Eventually she took a test on Thanksgiving to ‘get that thought out of her head’. But instead she broke down in tears as she discovered she was in fact pregnant. 

Weeks later on Thanksgiving, Mari discovered she was pregnant after she took a test to ‘get that thought out of her head’

Hearing the miraculous news, Heather and Gordon were overjoyed and began to prepare for their grandson’s arrival

‘This has to be a miracle,’ she recounted telling her in-laws. ‘God himself would have had to kick an egg out.’ 

Hearing the miraculous news, Heather and Gordon were overjoyed and began to prepare for their grandson’s arrival. 

Announcing her pregnancy on Instagram, she wrote: ‘The joys of pregnancy are so hard to articulate so i don’t have much to say other than God truly amazes me and takes my breathe away with the way he intentionally created us, especially women! getting to participate in creating a human being by an act of love is truly a beautiful privilege that i’m forever grateful to the Lord for.’ 

On July 18, Mari gave birth to Raphael Patrick Kuhlman and posted pictures of the baby on Instagram. 

On July 18, Mari gave birth to Raphael Patrick Kuhlman and posted pictures on Instagram

‘raphael patrick, my heart is exploding with joy at the fact that you have arrived! no words can express how much I love you already���� with your dada we always told each other how each and every day our love for each other GROWS every day. 

‘And it’s already the same with you, by the minute my heart GROWS more and more in love with you! raphael, welcome to this side of the veil, I cannot wait for this life we have together, as we live our lives striving for heaven to be one with the Father and getting to unite once again with your father, nathaniel!,’ she told the world. 

The new mom also revealed that beside a framed picture of Jesus above the baby’s crib, she had hung their wedding portrait so he would wake up seeing his dad everyday.