Toledo woman uses 'gift' of channeling

Full article Toledo Blade (USA)

Article published Saturday, July 12, 2008


Dottie Zimmerman says an Italian saint speaks through her

Dottie Zimmerman is a 63-year-old mother of three, an award-winning religion teacher at a Toledo Catholic school, a former Ursuline nun, and a director of the Children's Theatre Workshop.

Dottie Zimmerman is a 63-year-old mother of three, an award-winning religion teacher at a Toledo Catholic school, a former Ursuline nun, and a director of the Children's Theatre Workshop.

For the last five years, Mrs. Zimmerman also says she has been "channeling" Padre Pio, letting the dead Italian Catholic saint mystically speak through her.


For the last five years, Mrs. Zimmerman also says she has been "channeling" Padre Pio, letting the dead Italian Catholic saint mystically speak through her.

It is a "gift," she said, and although she never asked for it she believes she must use it to help others, especially children. ...

She said she is hoping to use her gifts to encourage people, especially children, who may have similar talents but are afraid to use or even acknowledge them.

Mrs. Zimmerman just this week had her first book published, Why Am I Different?, by Outskirts Press. It is about a young girl who must cope with her gifts of seeing and hearing spirits.
"More and more kids are coming to me who are hearing voices or who are seeing spirits, some of them both, and lately I've asked him [Padre Pio] if this is an area that I'm being directed towards and he said, 'Absolutely. That's one of the reasons why you're here, to help these kids understand that it's a gift and it's not a fearful thing.'•"