Eucharistic Miracles of the World: Recent Episodes
Eucharistic Miracles of the World.org
The city of Bergen is famous not only for its characteristic canals but also for a Eucharistic miracle that took place there in 1421. For many months, the pastor of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul had experienced doubt about whether the Body and the Blood of Christ was truly present in the consecrated Host. The priest showed no devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament, so much so that one day after celebrating Mass he took the remaining consecrated Hosts and threw them in the river. Some months later the Hosts were found again floating in the water and stained with blood.
During her stay at Proceno, the Dominican Saint Agnes Segni would go into the monastery garden alone to pray near an olive plant. One Sunday morning, she was immersed in prayer from the break of dawn and only after several hours realized that it was a feast day and that she was obliged to attend, attended Mass in the monastery choir. However, an angel of the Lord came bearing an immaculate Host and gave it to her in Holy Communion. This incident was repeated on other occasions as well.
The biographer of Saint Clare of Montefalco recounts in the acts for her canonization process that “one day Clare came up to Holy Communion without her mantle. Sister Giovanna rebuked her harshly, saying to her, ’Go away - I don’t want you to receive Holy Communion.’ Hearing these words, Clare realized that she was without her mantle and felt such bitter regret that after she returned to her cell, she wept bitterly. And while she was praying amid her tears, Christ appeared to her and, embracing her, gave her Holy Communion, leaving her deeply consoled.”
Blessed Angela of Foligno recounted that “on one occasion I saw Christ under the guise of a small child, who nevertheless appeared great and majestic, like a king: It seemed that, seated on his throne, he held in his hand something like a symbol of authority [...] Then, when the others knelt down, I did not do so, and I don’t know if I ran up close to the altar or if I could not move from sheer delight and contemplation, and I experienced great regret that the priest put the Host back on the altar so quickly.”
The Eucharistic Miracle of Santarem, together with that of Lanciano, is considered among the most important. Numerous studies and canonical analysis were carried out on the relics. The Host changed into bleeding Flesh and Blood flowed out of it. Both relics are preserved to this day in the Church of St. Stephen in Santarem.
The little city of Seefeld is the goal of many pilgrimages because of the Eucharistic miracle that took place there in 1384. During the Holy Thursday Mass a nobleman by the name of Oswald Milser, expected that the priest would give him Communion with the large Host. At the moment he was about to receive Communion, the pavement began to tremble under him, and Oswald felt as if he was being sucked into it. As the priest was returning the Host to the altar, live blood began to flow from it.
Alexandrina remained paralyzed at age 21 from a dramatic incident in which she fled from the threat of violence. She did not permit herself to be overcome by sadness and by loneliness, but thought: “Jesus, You are a prisoner in the tabernacle as I am here on my bed, so that we can keep company”. Following the physical sufferings from the paralysis, mystical sufferings were added: for four years, every Friday she saw the sorrows of the Passion, and after this period, for another 13 years until her death she was nourished only by the Eucharist. Her life became a continuous prayer for the conversion of sinners.
This Eucharistic miracle goes back to 1347. In St. Peter’s Church in Middleburg, during Communion, the consecrated Host changed into bleeding flesh. A portion of the Host, to this day, is kept in Louvain by the Augustinian Fathers. The monk, Jean de Gheest, confessor of the Archbishop who approved its cult, asked for It as a gift. Instead, the other portion is in St. Peter’s Church in Middleburg.
“In 2001 I went with my samples to Professor Linoli who identified the white blood cells and said to me that most probably the samples corresponded to heart tissue. The results obtained from the samples were similar to those of the studies performed on the Host of the Miracle of Lanciano. In 2002 we sent the sample to Professor John Walker at the University of Sydney in Australia who confirmed that the samples showed muscle cells and intact white blood cells and everyone knows that white blood cells outside our body disintegrate after 15 minutes and in this case 6 years had already passed.”
The relic of the Blood has remained perfectly intact and is kept in a precious monstrance made at the request of Countess Eleonora Batthyany- Strattman in 1721.
This Eucharistic miracle took place in Ferrara, in the Basilica of Saint Mary in Vado, on Easter Sunday, March 28, 1171. While celebrating Easter Mass, Father Pietro da Verona, the prior of the basilica, reached the moment of breaking the consecrated Host when he saw blood gush from it and stain the ceiling vault above the altar with droplets. In 1595 the vault was enclosed within a small shrine and is still visible today in the monumental Basilica of Santa Maria in Vado.
The Eucharistic Miracle of Eten happened about 365 years ago in the Peruvian town of Port Eten. In a Host exposed for public adoration, there appeared the Child Jesus and three interconnected hearts of a brilliant white color. Every year, the feast in honor of this event begins on July 12, with the transfer of the Host of the Miracle from its Sanctuary to the church in the City of Eten, and it ends on July 24.
In the Eucharistic miracle of Moncada, Baby Jesus appeared in the Sacred Host to dissipate the doubts of a priest uncertain about the validity of his priestly ordination. At the end of the 14th century, in fact, the French cardinals elected an antipope hoping that he would transfer the Holy See back to Avignon. This event created great confusion among the clergy, to the point that many priests started doubting whether they had been validly ordained. Fr. Odorico Raynaldi described the fact in his Anales Eclesiasticos. It is also narrated in other numerous documents kept in the archives of the city of Moncada.
The Eucharistic miracle of Breda-Niervaart occurred on June 24, 1300. At the time, the Netherlands was occupied by Spanish army troops, and during a pillage a soldier stole a consecrated Host, which was found a short while later by a farmer named Jan Bautoen; it was hidden under a lump of dirt and in perfect condition. One of the most authoritative and complete documents describing the events connected with this miracle is the investigation conducted by the Bishop of Link. Traces of the miracle remain in the church’s paintings as well as in the documents.
Don Mateo brought them to the place where he had hidden the corporal and they found the Hosts drenched in Blood.
The History of Saint Clare, Virgin, tells of various miracles performed by Saint Clare. There are episodes of multiplications of loaves and of bottles of oil that appeared in the convent when there was none before. But Clare performed the most famous of the miracles in 1240 on a Friday in September, in which she turned away an attack by Saracen soldiers who had broken into the convent cloister by showing them the Sacred Host.
In 1330, at Cascia, a gravely ill peasant called the priest so he could receive Communion. The priest, partly through carelessness and partly through apathy, instead of taking the ciborium with him in order to carry the Eucharist to the house of sick man, irreverently placed a Host in a prayer book. When he reached the peasant the priest opened the book and with astonishment saw that the Host was transformed into a clot of blood and the pages of the book were marked with blood.
During Mass at Ludbreg in 1411, a priest doubted whether the Body and Blood of Christ were really present in the Eucharistic species. Immediately after being consecrated, the wine turned into Blood. Today the precious relic of the miraculous Blood still draws thousands of the faithful, and every year at the beginning of September the so-called “Sveta Nedilja - Holy Sunday” is celebrated for an entire week in honor of the Eucharistic miracle that occurred in 1411.
Young Miguel-Juan Pellicer had his leg amputated due to an accident. Thanks to his great devotion, the young man nurtured himself through the most Holy Sacrament and the Virgin of Pilar. A great miracle came upon him, which was immediately recognized and approved by the Archbishop of Zaragoza who presided over the canonical process. In his clear judgment he wrote that “Miguel-Juan Pellicer of Calanda was miraculously given back his right leg, which was amputated years prior and it was not a natural occurrence but a miraculous one”.
The undersea earthquake in 1906 on the Pacific Coast caused enormous damage in many areas. Fr. Bernardino Garcia of the Conception, who at the time was in the City of Panama gave the following testimony regarding the terrible cataclysm that struck the area. “Unexpectedly an enormous wave (we style them tsunamis today) crashed into the port, reached into the market area and destroyed everything. Boats that had been drawn up on shore were picked up hurled long distances causing heavy losses”. The small island of Tumaco was spared by a miracle thanks to the faith of the people and the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament by Fr Gerardo Larrondo.
In 1560 at Morrovalle, a huge fire destroyed the church of the Franciscans but spared a large Host contained in a pyx (which was also completely burned except for the lid). The Eucharistic miracle’s fourth centenary was celebrated in 1960, and the City Council unanimously decided to place at Morrovalle’s main gate the inscription, “Civitas Eucaristica” (Eucharistic City).
The woman stole the Host and hid it in a linen cloth that immediately became stained with Blood.
Anne Catherine Emmerich was forced to abandon the monastery in which she lived because it was being appropriated by the government. In that period, her health declined and the mystical experiences increased: she received the stigmata and had numerous visions. One of these allowed the finding of the house of Our Lady in Ephesus. In fact, according to antique traditions, it seems that Mary settled, together with John the Apostle, in this city. The miraculous aspect of the life of Anne Catherine is that for years she fed only on the Eucharist.
Great was his joy when he saw that the three prodigious fish were there, almost completely out of the water, lifting the Hosts, intact, with their mouths, like little trophies.
At Ettiswil, there is a shrine dedicated to a Eucharistic miracle that happened in 1447. Ann Vögtli, a member of a satanic sect, was able to steal the pyx containing the large Host from the parochial church. The Host was found close to a fence in the middle of some nettles bushes, lifted high up and surrounded by a vivid light, divided in 7 pieces united among them so that they looked like a flower. Many Popes granted indulgences to the shrine's visitors. The great feast of the miracle’s chapel takes place on the “Laetare” Sunday and on the two following days.
In the Basilica of San Francesco in Siena, 223 consecrated Hosts have remained intact for 276 years. (Archbishop Tiberio Borghese sealed unconsecrated hosts in a tin box for ten years. The scientific commission put in charge when the box was reopened found only worms and rotted fragments.) The Siena event is against any physical and biological law. The scientist Enrico Medi stated: “This direct intervention from God is the miracle [...], accomplished and maintained for centuries, to testify to the permanent reality of Christ in the Eucharistic Sacrament”.
The conversion of the atheist writer Andre Frossard, in the presence of the Holy Eucharist, has had great repercussions in the world. He himself recounted how his conversion came about in his book, God Exists. I Have Met Him (1969). Up to his final years, up to his final days, he would only say: “Since the time when I encountered God, I have never succeeded in growing tired of the mystery of God. Every day is something new for me. And if God exists, I should speak of it; if Christ is the Son of God, I should proclaim it loudly; if there is Life Eternal, I should preach it.”
In his work, De excessu fratris Satyri, St. Ambrose himself describes this Eucharistic miracle in which his brother Satyrus played a key role. St. Satyrus was able to save himself from shipwreck thanks to the Eucharist.
The most recent practical link to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the devotional icon of the Lord’s Merciful love came from the Polish nun Saint Faustina Kowalska. Jesus appeared to her on February 22, 1931, with His right hand bestowing blessings and His left hand pointing towards His Sacred Heart, which emitted two rays: one pale; the other a bright red. These rays represent the Water and Blood that came out of Jesus’ pierced side while on the Cross. This symbolizes the purifying virtues of Baptism and Confession and the regenerative virtue of the Holy Eucharist.
Boxtel is particularly famous for a Eucharistic miracle that occurred around 1380. A priest named Eligius van der Aker was celebrating Mass at the altar of the Three Kings. Immediately after the consecration he inadvertently knocked over the chalice containing consecrated white wine, which immediately changed into Blood and stained the corporal and the altar cloth. The relic of the Blood-stained corporal is still kept in Boxtel, while the altar cloth was given to the town of Hoogstraten. The most authoritative document describing the miracle is a decree issued in 1380 by Cardinal Pileus.
In 1412, the prior of the Basilica of St. Mary of Bagno di Romagna, Fr. Lazzaro da Verona, while celebrating the Holy Mass, was assailed by doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament. He had just pronounced the words of consecration of the wine when this was transformed into living Blood and began to flow from the chalice and fall onto the corporal. Fr. Lazzaro, profoundly moved and repentant, confessed his unbelief to the faithful present at the celebration and the profound miracle that the Lord had worked before his eyes.
Desperate, he threw the Host into boiling water and the Host freed itself from the water hovering in mid-air and then taking the form of a crucifix.
The Eucharistic Miracle of Blanot took place during the Easter Mass of 1331. During Communion, a Host fell to a cloth that was held below the communicant’s mouth. The priest tried to pick it up, but it was not possible. The Host had transformed into Blood, resulting in a stain – the same size as the Host – on the cloth. That cloth is preserved today in the village of Blanot.
On the Vigil of the Feast of Pentecost, the monks of Faverney decided to expose the Blessed Sacrament for public adoration. During the night, a fire flared up which destroyed the altar and the sacred furnishings, but not the monstrance containing the Sacred Host. The monstrance was retrieved after a few days while it was suspended in the air perfectly intact. The miraculous Host is still kept today and many are the pilgrims who every year hasten to venerate the miracle.
In the miracle of Ponferrada, Juan De Benavente decided to steal the tabernacle containing a precious silver ciborium with numerous consecrated Hosts inside from his very own parish. With only the passing of time and miraculous circumstances the recovery of the stolen Hosts, which remained perfectly intact, was made possible.
The second miracle took place in the old Chapel of Opera Pia Milliavacca and it is documented by numerous testimonies gathered by a notary public, underwritten by the priest and by imminent clerical and non-denominational authorities.
One of the most complete documents about the Eucharistic miracle is told of the Eucharistic miracle of Walldürn Germany in the year 1330 and was written by the Monk Hoffius in 1589. During the Mass, a priest accidentally overturned the Sacred Species of the consecrated Wine onto the corporal. The Sacred Blood formed an Image of the Crucified Christ on the corporal. The relic of the corporal with the Blood is preserved today, placed on the side altar in the minor basilica of Saint George in Walldürn. Every year, several thousands of pilgrims visit Walldürn to venerate the sacred relic.
Having just finished praying, he saw that part of the bread prepared by the woman became Flesh and Blood. The woman repented, knelt on the ground, and began to cry.
The news spread rapidly, and many people and authorities came to the Church, singing songs of praise and of thanks to the Lord.
On April 25 1356, at Macerata, a priest whose name is not known was celebrating Mass in the chapel of the Church of St. Catherine, owned by the Benedictine monks. During the breaking of the Eucharistic Bread before Holy Communion, the priest began to doubt the Real Presence of Jesus in the consecrated Host. Precisely at the moment in which he broke the Host, to his great surprise, he saw flow from the Host an abundance of Blood which stained part of the corporal, and the chalice placed on the altar.
The oldest documents concerning the Holy Blood of Bruges date back to 1256. The Holy Blood probably was part of a group of relics of the Passion of Christ preserved at the imperial museum of Bucoleon in Constantinople (modern Istanbul). In 1203 Constantinople was besieged and conquered by the crusaders. Baldovin IX, Count of Flanders, after being crowned as the new emperor, sent the relic of the Precious Blood to his native country at Bruges.
An inscription in marble from the 17th century describes this Eucharistic miracle which occurred at Lanciano in 750 at the Church of St. Francis. “A monastic priest doubted whether the Body of Our Lord was truly present in the consecrated Host. He celebrated Mass and when he said the words of consecration, he saw the Host turn into Flesh and the Wine turn into Blood. Everything was visible to those in attendance. The Flesh is still intact and the Blood is divided into five unequal parts which together have the exact same weight as each one does separately.
On August 29, 1774, the Curia of the Archbishop expressed itself favorably regarding the miraculous finding and unexplainable preservation of the Hosts stolen from the Church of St. Peter’s in Patiemo on February 24, 1772. In 1971 the Eucharistic Year of the diocese has been established in order to allow the community to capture the essence of the Eucharistic miracle. Unfortunately in 1978 some unknown thieves were able to even steal the relic with the miraculous Hosts of 1772.
In 1216, the village of Benningen was the location of a Eucharistic miracle in which the Host bled. A few years later in 1221, the citizens of Benningen began the construction of a chapel in honor of this miracle which is known as Riedkapelle zum Hochwürdigen Gut. From 1674 to 1718 the Riedkapelle was rebuilt and enlarged to accommodate the large number of pilgrims. Each year, during the Feast of Corpus Domini (Corpus Christi), the parish of Benningen makes a procession to the Riedkapelle, to celebrate the commemoration of the miracle.
“We saw the angel holding in his left hand a chalice and suspended in the air above it, was a Host from which drops of blood fell into the chalice…”
During a terrible fire that exploded in the village of Wilsnack in 1383, among the ruins of the parish church were found three completely intact Hosts, which bled continuously. Pilgrims began to go there in great numbers, and for that reason a church was built there in honor of the miracle. Its veneration was approved by two bulls of Pope Eugene IV in 1447.
At the beginning of January of 2009 the Curia of Białystok asked two eminent specialists in pathologoical anatomy of the Medical University of Białystok - Professor Maria Elzbieta Sobaniec-Łotowska and Professor Stanisław Sulkowski, to analyze the samples of the bloodstained Host. On Janaury 7 - Professor Sobaniec-Łotowska went to Sokółka and took from the corporal a minuscule sample of the mysterious substance present in the Host.
The little village of St. Georgenberg-Fiecht, in the Inn Valley, is very well known, especially for a Eucharistic miracle that took place there in 1310. During the Mass, the priest was seized with temptations regarding the Real Presence of Jesus in the consecrated elements. Right after the consecration, the wine changed into blood and began to boil and overflow the chalice. In 1480, after 170 years, the sacred blood was “still fresh as if it had come out of a wound,” wrote the chronicler of those days. It is preserved intact to this day and is contained in the reliquary in the Monastery of St. Georgenberg.
In 1452 the chapel was destroyed by a fire, but strangely the monstrance containing the miraculous Host remained intact.
In both the Eucharistic miracles of Asti, real blood gushed out from the consecrated Hosts, and there are numerous documents that confirm these events. In the first miracle, Mons. Scipione Roero had a notary act drawn up and, on November 6, 1535, Pope Paul III granted a plenary indulgence to anyone who visited the Church of San Secondo on the anniversary of the miraculous event.
In the year 1370, the pastor of Cimballa was assaulted with a strong doubt during the Mass about the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The Host then transformed into flesh and from it began to flow blood onto the altar-linens. The episode reenforced the wavering faith of the priest who penitently retired to a monastery dedicating himself to a life of penance and prayer. Every year, the 12th of September, the memory of the miracle in the parish church is celebrated where even now the Relic of the corporal soaked in the Blood is kept.
Every year a ceremony known as The Ride (or Procession) of the Blood in honor of the relic was organized at Weingarten.
In 1290, due to the invasion of the Lithuanians, a priest from the village of Glotowo, buried in a field a silver ciborium plated in gold with a consecrated Host still in it which he missed by mistake. The Lithuanian’s troops destroyed the village and the church. None of the survivors knew about the hidden Host. Only a number of years later, while plowing the field in the spring, a farmer found it by chance, thanks to the strange behavior of his oxen. They had bowed to the ground in adoration of the Host which was emanating a very bright light.
The Eucharistic Miracle of Krakow relates to consecrated Hosts that emitted an unusual bright light when they were hidden by thieves in a muddy marsh. The thieves had stolen a monstrance containing consecrated Hosts from a church in the village of Wawel (outside of modern-day Kracow). They ultimately abandoned the monstrance and Hosts in a marsh outside of the village, where the miracle took place. The Church of Corpus Christi in Krakow, Poland contains paintings depicting the miracle as well as documents and depositions relating to the matter.
After a youth spent in studying and then in scientific research, Nicolas Steno at age 28 converted to the Catholic Church while watching the Corpus Christi procession, thus realizing the greatness and magnificence of the Eucharist; the Real Presence of Jesus in the Host. He then decided to become a priest and missionary in his own country.
In 1888, a French priest of the National Pilgrimage proposed the creation of a procession with the Blessed Sacrament in Lourdes; a miraculous healing was then realized. Since then the sick make pilgrimages to Lourdes, are blessed by the Holy Sacrament and countless have been cured of illnesses during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament. The Sanctuary of Lourdes is a clear example of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Saint Francis nurtured a particular affection for lambs, to whom Jesus Christ is often paralleled in Sacred Scripture, most especially for His gentle nature.
During Easter of 1570 in the Church of St. Erasmus in Veroli, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed (at the time, the Blessed Sacrament was first placed in a round pyx and then placed in a large chalice, covered with a paten) for the Forty Hours of public adoration. The Child Jesus appeared in the exposed Host and manifested many graces. Today, the chalice where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed is kept in the same Church of St. Erasmus and is used once a year at the celebration of Mass on Easter Tuesday.
The Flesh and the Blood of Lanciano therefore are just the same as they would be if they had been drawn that very day from a living being.
In the Eucharistic Miracle of Bordeaux, Jesus appeared giving a blessing for more than 20 minutes in the Host exposed for public adoration. Even today it is possible to visit the Chapel of the Miracle and venerate the precious Relic of the Monstrance of the apparition, which is kept in Martillac, France, in the church of the contemplative community “La Solitude”.
This precious object has always been at the center of extraordinary stories and novels like the legend of the Knights of the Round Table in England, the stories of Perceval in France, and Parzival in Germany of the twelfth and thirteenth century. This genre was used by Wagner in a Christian esoteric perspective and at the end of the twentieth century the fantastic novels of B. Cornwell favored the birth of the editorial trend still alive today.
“We began to see, in the distance, a light whiter than snow in the form of a young man, quite transparent, and as brilliant as crystal in the rays of the sun…”
In the city of Poznan, in 1399, three consecrated Hosts were robbed by some desecrators who struck them with some hole-punchers in order to deface it. The Hosts began to drip blood and every attempt to destroy them proved futile. At that point, the malefactors, in order not to be discovered, decided to cast them into a marsh. But the particles were suspended in the air and began to radiate strong flashes of light. Only after fervent prayers did the bishop succeed in recovering the particles, which can be venerated today at the Church of Corpus Christi in Poznan.
The angel appeared three times to the shepherds of Fatima in order to prepare them for future apparitions of Our Lady and elevate them with Communion to a supernatural state. During the third apparition the angel gave Lucy Communion with a Host that dripped a drop of blood into the chalice. Francesco and Jacinta, having not yet made their First Holy Communion, were offered the content of the chalice. In this apparition the angel told them: “Eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ terribly outraged by the ingratitude of men. Offer reparation for their sakes console your God”.
The Eucharistic miracle of O’Cebreiro – During the Mass the Host changed to Flesh and the wine changed to Blood and was expelled from the chalice, staining the corporal. The Lord performed this prodigy in order to sustain the little faith of the priest who did not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. To this day, the Sacred Relics of the miracle are guarded near the church where this prodigy took place and numerous pilgrims go there annually to honor them.
In the Eucharistic Miracle of Douai, a consecrated Host was unintentionally dropped to the ground while a priest was distributing Communion to the faithful. Immediately he bent down to pick it up, but it lifted Itself up in flight and went to place Itself on the purificator. In Its place, a little later, a wonderful child appeared, who all the faithful and religious present in the celebration could contemplate. Although more than 800 years have elapsed, even today it is still possible to admire the Host of the miracle. All Thursdays of the month, in the Church of Saint Peter of Douai, many faithful gather in prayer before the miraculous Host.
“Even though the Eucharist is solemnly celebrated every day of the year, on one day we pay special honor to the Body of Christ. We may, of course, invoke the Lord with our minds and our spirits at any time, but we do not in this way obtain the Real Presence of Christ. With the Eucharistic commemoration, however, Jesus Christ is actually present with us in his own substance. As the risen Christ told us prior to his Ascension: ’And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.’ (Mt.28, 20) …He would remain and be with them even by His bodily presence.” Pope Urban IV: TRANSITURUS DE HOC MUNDO
Mother Yvonne-Aimée was a religious who lived in Malestroit from 1927 to 1951. Heroine of the resistance, she was decorated with more flmings (photo shoots) than even General Charles De Gaulle. She saved many patriots during the war. In 1943, she was arrested by the Gestapo and liberated miraculously by her Guardian Angel. She died on the 3rd of February 1951 during a trip to Africa due to a cerebral hemorrhage. She was an extraordinary mystic.
The relic of the Eucharistic miracle can be venerated even today in Spain. But it is kept in the Royal Monastery in El Escorial, but the miracle was verified in Holland. Some Protestant mercenaries entered into the Catholic church in Gorkum and plundered it. As a sign of insult, one of the mercenaries trampled a consecrated Host with a spiked boot, which broke it into three pieces. Immediately from these piercings, it began to drip live Blood and in the Hosts formed themselves like three small wounds in the shape of a hoop that is possible to contemplate even today.
During the invasion by Count Harcourt’s army, the soldiers entered the Church of St. Maria del Monte and killed many civilians. The lives of the Capuchin friars, however, were spared. A French soldier succeeded in opening the tabernacle which contained a ciborium with several consecrated Hosts. Flames of fire miraculously blazed out to envelop him - burning his face and his clothing. The door of the tabernacle which is adorned with agate and lapislazzuli or blue stones still shows the imprint of the soldier’s scorched hand.
In April 1604, a Eucharistic miracle took place in Mogoro that was described by the historian Pietro M. Cossu. During Mass, two men in mortal sin dropped two Hosts on the ground, leaving imprints of the Hosts on the stone floor. To commemorate this event and in reparation for the sacrilege, there is a solemn Eucharist procession every year in Mogoro on the Sunday after Easter.
The Eucharistic miracle of Caravaca de la Cruz regards the celebration of a miraculous Mass during which Jesus appeared inside a Host together with a Crucifix. Thanks to this apparition, the Muslim king of Murcia and his family were converted to Catholicism. The most authoritative document describing the Miracle is the contemporary testimony of the Franciscan Father Gilles of Zamora, the historian of King St. Ferdinand.
Among the most authoritative documents which describe the Eucharistic miracle which took place at Gruaro in 1294 is that of local historian Antonio Nicoletti (1765). A woman was washing one of the altar linens of the Church of St. Giusto in the public wash house of Versiola. Suddenly she saw the altar linen become tinged with Blood. Observing more closely, she noted that the Blood was flowing from a consecrated Particle remaining among the folds of the cloth.
In the consecrated Host, stolen by a woman of Zaragoza to use in making a love potion, the Baby Jesus appeared. In the town hall archives of the city of Zaragoza is preserved the document that describes the miracle in detail. And in the cathedral, next to the chapel of “San Dominguito del Val” there is a painting accurately depicting the marvelous event.
The “Feast of the Castello” has been faithfully celebrated since 1657 and it recalls the plague epidemic which visited the Citta di Cava on May 25, 1656, Ascension Thursday. The plague was stopped by a religious procession of the Corpus Christi which started from the Castle of the Annunciation and proceeded to the higher terrace of Monte Castello.
In 1348, a priest while on his way to visit some sick people in order to bring them Communion, slipped in the waters of a small river that he was crossing and overturned the ciborium which contained some consecrated Hosts. The poor priest, who had by now resigned himself to the loss, heard himself being called by some fishermen a short distance away inviting him to come closer to the shore in order to see several fish with discs in their mouth which appeared to be Hosts. The particles were immediately recovered and brought back to the church in a solemn procession in which the whole village participated.
Saint Peter Damian: A sorceress asked a woman to bring her a consecrated Host. The woman went to Mass and during Communion she managed to hide a Host in her handkerchief. The priest noticed what happened and ran after the woman and ordered her to show him what she was hiding. The woman opened the handkerchief, and to their surprise they saw that half of the stolen Particle had been transformed into Flesh and the other half looked like the Host.
Scala: In 1732 for more than three consecutive months there appeared signs of our Lord’s Passion in the consecrated Hosts. This marvelous event took place during exposition of the Most Holy Sacrament in the monastery of the Most Holy Redeemer of Scala in the presence of numerous testimonies, among whom was St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, the great Doctor of the Church.
In 1263 a German priest, Peter of Prague, stopped at Bolsena while on a pilgrimage to Rome. He was celebrating Mass in the Basilica of Bolsena, and when the moment of consecration arrived, the Host was transformed into Flesh. This miracle strengthened the wavering belief of the priest in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Sacred Body was inspected by Urban Pope IV and by St. Thomas Aquinas. This miracle helped convince the Pope to extend the feast of Corpus Christi to the universal Church so that everyone could recognize the love God has for those who love and worship him.
In 1472, during the war that broke between Volterra and Florence, a soldier from Florence, having entered in the Cathedral of Volterra, managed to take possession of the precious Ciborium of ivory which contained numerous consecrated Hosts. As soon as he left the Church, taken by a fit of fury against the sacramental Jesus, he threw the ciborium with its precious content against a Church wall. All the Hosts fell from it, and - illuminated by a mysterious light - elevated into the air and remained suspended for a long time. Many are the witnesses that were present at the event.
The indisputable history of the Eucharist and the Incarnation of the Son of God, “Flesh of Christ, flesh of Mary”, says Saint Augustine. The Church “contemplates Mary with joy in the purest image - that which she desires and hopes to be in her entirety” (SC, 103): tabernacle, womb, pyx. The Madonna appeared in Guadalupe dressed in a gown fastened at the waist with a black belt, identical to that worn by the local women during pregnancy.
On Holy Thursday 1417, a peasant stole a consecrated Host, which in the course of his journey escaped from his hands and flew away in the air. He tried in vain to catch it. It was only thanks to the direct intervention of the Bishop that he was able to recover the particle. A chapel was immediately built on the site where the miracle occurred. There were many cures and wonders attributed to the veneration of this miracle.
In the Eucharistic Miracle of Bettbrunn, a very pious farmer in an excess of zeal stole a sacred Host that he brought to his farm in Viehbrunn. One day, the Host fell to the ground accidentally but no one was able to pick it up. Everything was tried and finally the Bishop of Regensburg intervened. The Bishop was able to pick up the Host only after promising the Lord that he would build a church in honor of the Host. The report of the miracle spread rapidly and attracted a large number of pilgrims.
On October 12, 2013, H.E. Most Rev. Alejo Zavala Castro, Bishop of the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, announced through a Pastoral Letter the recognition of the Eucharistic Miracle that occurred at Tixtla, on October 21, 2006. In the letter we read: “This manifestation brings to us a marvelous sign of the love of God that confirms the Real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist... In my role as Bishop of the Diocese I recognize the supernatural character of the series of events relating to the Bleeding Host of Tixtla... I declare the case as a “Divine Sign ...”.
In the Eucharistic Miracle of Herentals, some Hosts that had been previously stolen were found after eight days perfectly intact, in spite of the rain. The Hosts were found in a field near a rabbit burrow, surrounded by a bright light and arranged in the form of a cross. Every year, two paintings of the Antoon van Ysendyck, depicting the miracle, are taken in procession to the field where a small shrine was built – De Hegge. Here a commemorative Mass is celebrated before numerous people. The two paintings are presently kept in the Cathedral of Sint-Waldetrudiskerk ad Herentals.
On May 8, 1902, La Montagne, the volcano at the peak of Mount Pelée suddenly erupted. A discharge of lava immediately reached the city of Saint-Pierre de la Martinique and completely destroyed it. That day, the eruption mysteriously spared the village of Morne-Rouge, located between Saint-Pierre and Mount Pelée. The prodigious event was accompanied by an apparition of Jesus and His Sacred Heart in the Host exposed for public Eucharistic adoration. There were many witnesses to that extraordinary phenomenon.
The Eucharistic miracle that took place in Alcoy in the year 1568 regards the miraculous retrieval of some consecrated Hosts that had been stolen. The miracle is still remembered every year by the habitants of Alcoy in a festival that is celebrated on the feast of Corpus Christi. The house of the man who committed the sacrilege was turned into an oratory and can be visited to this day.
In the Eucharistic Miracle at Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, the consecrated Host bled and stained the corporal. On May 3, 1413, the Bishop of Cambrai, Peter d’Ailly, authorized the devotion of the holy relic of the miracle along with a solemn procession. The first procession took place in 1414. On January 13th, 1424, Pope Martin V approved the building of the Monastery of Bois-Seigneur-Isaac. Today the monastery is the goal of pilgrimages. The corporal stained with blood is exposed to view in the chapel.
On January 26, 1902, at the parish church of Saint-André, a city on the island of La Réunion (French colony), Abbot Henry Lacombe, pastor of the church, was witness to the miracle that he would recount to thousands of people during the Eucharistic Congress of Angouleme (1904), as well as to the group of priests gathered for a spiritual retreat in the town of Perigueux. The face of Jesus appeared in the Host which was for many hours witnessed by thousands of people.
Teresa Neumann’s life changed radically after her miraculous recovery from paralysis and total blindness at the age of 25. About a year later, she received the stigmata and began fasting, which lasted 36 years until her death. Her only nourishment was the Holy Eucharist and for this reason the Nazi authorities, during World War II, withdrew her food rationing card and gave her a double rationing of soap to wash her towels and clothing, because every Friday she would be drenched in Blood while she was in ecstasy, experiencing the Passion of Christ. Hitler was very fearful of Teresa.
During Easter of 1290 a non-believer who harbored animosity toward the Faith and did not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist was able to gain possession of a consecrated Host with the intent to desecrate it. He stabbed the Host and threw it into boiling water. The Host came out of the water by itself right in front of the man who was distressed by this and so put the Host in the basin of a pious woman. The woman immediately brought the Host to her pastor.
In St. Hyacinth’s church in Legnica, during Holy Mass, on December 25, 2013, a Host accidentally fell on the ground, during the distribution of Communion. It was immediately placed in a container with water and closed in the tabernacle as required by code of Canon Law. A few days later, a red spot appeared on Its surface. The Bishop of Legnica at the time, Stefan Cichy, decided to establish a commission for a scientific analysis. The results were surprising, and confirmed that It had similarities to “human heart muscle with alterations that often appear during the agony”.
The parish priest of this town doubted the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. One day in the year 1010, while celebrating Mass, the miracle occurred: the wine contained in the chalice was converted entirely into live Blood. At present, the Sacred Relics are preserved in a gothic reliquary from 1426 that contains the altar cloth spotted with Blood, and other relics given from Pope Sergius IV to Saint Ermengol.
On October 12, 2008, at the church dedicated to Saint Anthony of Sokółka, the Holy Mass of 8:30 AM is celebrated by a young vicar, Filip Zdrodowski. During Communion, unknowingly the Host falls from the ands of one of the priests. A woman kneeling, ready to receive the Eucharist, makes him notice it. The priest remains paralyzed from fright and believing it was dirty, places it in the vasculum, a small silver vessel which contains the water utilized by priests to wash their fingers after distributing Communion. At the end of the Holy Mass, the sacristan, Sister Julia Dubowska, takes the vasculum with the Host and for increased safety pours it into another vessel which she then locks in the safe where the chalices were kept.
In 1429, in Alkmaar’s Cathedral of Saint Lawrence, a priest named Folkert was celebrating his first Mass. After the consecration, the priest accidentally knocked over the chalice, spilling consecrated wine on the altar and on his chasuble. The wine was miraculously transformed into Blood. Every attempt to remove the traces of Blood from the chasuble was in vain. The precious reliquary of the chasuble soaked in Blood is preserved even today in the Cathedral of Saint Lawrence in Alkmaar.
Charles Martel had committed a grave sin, and stricken by remorse, decided to go to Provenza and present himself to a well-known abbot of the time named Egidio, in order to seek absolution for this sin, without actually confessing it and while keeping the crime committed a secret. Saint Egidio was officiating at a Mass when an angel appeared and placed himself near the altar, carrying in his hand a book in which was written the unconfessed fault. As the celebration continued, the writing in the book faded little by little until it completely disappeared, and Charles Martel felt himself absolved.
In Offa, near the Church of St. Augustine, are kept the relics of the Eucharistic miracle which took place in 1273, in which the Host was converted into living Flesh. There are many documents which describe this miracle, among which is an authentic copy on a parchment of the 13th century, written by the notary Giovanni Battista Doria in 1788. There are also many official decrees of the Popes beginning with that of Boniface VIII (1295), to that of Sixtus V (1585), discourses of Roman congregations, Episcopal decrees, communal statutes, votive gifts, memorial stones, frescoes and testimonies of notable historic figures, among whom we recall the Antinori’s and Fella.
On November 30, 1433 a small church run by the Gray Penitents of the Franciscan order was exhibiting a consecrated Host for perpetual adoration. After days of rain, the rivers swelled and surprisingly, Avignon was submerged. By boat, two friars of the Order succeeded in reaching the church where the Holy Sacrament had been left for adoration. When they entered the church, they saw that the waters were divided to the right and to left, leaving the altar and the Sacrament perfectly dry.
The fact that the Legnica miracle happened in a church dedicated to St. Hyacinth (1185-1257) is significant. St Hyacinth was a Dominican saint who was devoted to the Eucharist and who also experienced a Eucharist Miracle. When the fierce Mongolian troops had reached the outskirts of Kiev, St. Hyacinth took the ciborium containing the consecrated Hosts and was taking them to safety. He arrived at the back of the church and heard a voice coming from the Madonna statue near the altar calling him, "Hyacinth, Hyacinth. I see you're rescuing my Son, but you will not want to leave His mother in the hands of the desecrating barbarians?" He apologised saying it was impossible for him to lift such a heavy weight, but Our Lady replied: "If you had a little more faith and love for me, it would be easy for you to carry this burden." "I do not want anything but to love you and trust in you," said St. Hyacinth. Immediately the statue became as light as a feather and St. Hyacinth, accompanied by his fellow friars, miraculously crossed the wide river Dnieper and went unnoticed amid the Mongolian troops.
In the Eucharistic miracle of Onil, a pyx containing a consecrated Host was robbed from a parish church. Days later, a woman from the nearby town of Tibi recovered the stolen pyx with the consecrated Host inside in the middle of a green field. Exactly 119 years later, on November 28, 1943, Don Guillermo Hijarrubia, delegate of the Archbishop of Valencia, confirmed the authenticity of the miracle, verifying the complete preservation of the Host. To this day the consecrated Host has remained intact in spite of the 182 years that have passed.
In the Eucharistic miracle of Stiphout, consecrated Hosts were preserved from a raging fire that destroyed the whole church, which was later rebuilt. In addition to the many documents describing the miracle, one can admire a painting depicting the miraculous episode in the parish church where it occurred. This event is venerated each year by the residents of Stiphout especially on the feast of Corpus Christi.
The Eucharistic miracle of Silla happened in 1907. Some Hosts, stolen by unknown thieves, were recovered in perfect condition and were hidden under a stone in a little garden not far from the city. Even today it is possible to adore the miraculous Hosts: they remain intact since almost one hundred years ago. The Hosts are preserved in the church of Our Lady of the Angels in Silla. Still today it is possible to adore the uncorrupted Hosts preserved in the church of this town at the outskirts of Valencia.
Then suddenly the bag opened and the monstrance with the consecrated Host rose over the surrounding houses while the people were filled with wonder.
The message received by the nun, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque of Paray-le-Monial contains the so called “twelve promises of the Sacred Heart,” in which Jesus reveals the graces linked to this devotion. Love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus is directly tied to that of love for the Eucharist. As the great apostle of this devotion, the Jesuit priest Henri Ramiere wrote, “It is in the Eucharist that we truly find the Heart of Jesus nearest to us; it is in the Eucharist that He unites himself in a most intimate way to us, and we to Him.”
In 1533, some thieves stole a ciborium containing some consecrated Hosts from a church. The thieves then discarded the Hosts in a field. Unfortunately there was a strong snow storm; however, the following day the Hosts were recovered and miraculously were found to be in perfect condition. The numerous healings and the tremendous popular devotion that followed the miracle were not sufficient to protect the Hosts which were destroyed by some seeking to profane them.
In the monastery church of Rosano is venerated the statue of the Sacred Heart which bled and wept on various occasions. The statue, which is of natural height, as donated in 1948 by a devout person to fulfill a promise made during World War II. Christ’s face has an intense expression of manly sweetness which invites all to prayer. The Heart is at the center of his chest, surrounded by a crown of thorns.
Jesus appeared to St. Catherine of Siena to assure her that a great flame does not diminish, even if it is used to light many candles. Such is the flame of the Holy Eucharist, because it does not weaken while enflaming the loyal faithful who come with their strong or weak faith. The stronger and weaker charity of each of the faithful is symbolic only by the flame’s dimension of the candles.
In the Cathedral of Brussels there are many artistic testimonies to a Eucharistic miracle verified in 1370. Desecrators stole Hosts and struck at them with knives as a way of showing their rebellion. From these particles came a flow of living blood. This miracle was celebrated up until some decades ago. There are many reliquaries of different eras that were used to contain the miraculous Hosts of the miracle of the Blessed Sacrament that have been kept to this day in the museum close to the cathedral in an ancient chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. There are tapestries of the 18th century which represent the miraculous event.
In the Eucharistic miracle of Les Ulmes, it was during the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for public adoration, that, in place of the Host, there appeared the shape of a man with light-brown hair falling over his back, a luminous face, the hands crossed one over the other, and a white tunic covering the body. After close examination the Bishop authorized devotion to this Eucharistic Miracle. Even today in the church, the recess which contained the miraculous Host for more than 130 years can be seen. The Host was devoutly consumed by the Vicar of Puy Notre Dame during the French Revolution, for fear that this Blessed Sacrament would be profaned.
On December 8 of 1991, Father Otty Ossa Aristizábal was celebrating Mass in the chapel of the Shrine of Betania in Cúa and during the consecration, saw the Host bleeding. The miraculous Host is preserved in the city of Los Teques, at the convent of the Augustinian Recollects Nuns of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, where It is permanently exposed for the adoration of the faithful and It is visited every year by numerous pilgrims coming also from abroad. Many prodigious events have taken place, connected to the Host of the Miracle, among the one which stands out that occurred to a young American who filmed the Miraculous Host pulsating like a heart, while It was exposed to the faithful.
The account of this Eucharistic miracle goes back to the first centuries of Christianity and is found in the apothegm of the Fathers of the Desert who lived in the desert after the example of St. Anthony, Abbot. A monk had doubts regarding the Real Presence of Jesus in the consecrated bread and wine consecrated at Mass. After the consecration the Infant Jesus was seen in place of the bread. Three companion monks witnessed the same appearance.
The Holy Grail of Valencia is the Chalice used by Jesus in His Last Supper with the apostles to consecrate and offer the Eucharistic wine that is His Blood, but it has also been identified as the cup in which Joseph of Arimathea collected the Blood of Jesus on the Cross.
In the year 1597, a thief stole consecrated Hosts along with some precious objects from a church not far from Alcalá, Spain. A few days later, the thief returned full of profound remorse and went to confess his sins at the church of the Jesuits. The priest who heard his confession had him return the Hosts however, for the sake of prudence, asked him to foster the Eucharist in a silver box, without consuming it. After eleven years the Hosts were still perfectly intact and after careful analysis, both medical and theological, the act was declared miraculous.
During the celebration of the Mass, a priest saw numerous drops of Blood fall from the consecrated Host. The miracle contributed to strengthening the belief of the priest and many of the faithful, among whom was also the King of Castile. There are numerous documents that testify to the miracle. The relics of the marvel had been exhibited to the veneration of the faithful during the Eucharistic Congress of Toledo in 1926 and even today are the objects of deep devotion to the whole of the Spanish people.
“At first I was convinced that it was a blood clot” - said Professor Sobaniec-Łotowska. But the truth was much more surprising! The two scientists of Białystok, who for their own independent investigations, made use of the most modern optical microscopes and the transmission electronic microscope, have reached the same conclusion (Professor Sulkowski, did not know that the sample which he was examining came from a Host): the sample examined was neither a clot, nor blood ... it was a human cardiac muscle tissue still alive. And, something even more incredible, it was a cardiac muscle with typical indications of the final phase that precedes death.
In the Eucharistic Miracle of Pressac, a chalice in which a consecrated Host had been placed was completely fused after a fire in the parish church. The only thing remaining of the chalice was the foot of the chalice on which had formed a tin bubble under which the Host was found completely intact. The Miraculous Host was consumed the day after, but there are many documents which testify to this miracle still in existence today. Among these documents are the windows of the church of Pressac which depict the different phases of the miracle.
In 887, the Count Vifred founded a monastery in the Pirenean region of Catalonia, around which a village developed almost immediately, called even today “Saint John of the Abbesses” (“San Juan of the Abadesas”). Here a crucifix is preserved with a Host, kept intact since 1251, imbedded in the forehead of the statue of Jesus.
This particular Eucharistic miracle features a pastor, Father Antonio Reinardi, whose deep faith in the Eucharist was responsible for saving the village of Canosio from the torrential floods of the Maira River with a blessing of the Blessed Sacrament. There were many conversions among those who witnessed the miracle and to this day the townspeople of Canosio celebrate a feast during the Octave of Corpus Christi to commemorate the miracle.
This Eucharistic miracle is related in the life of St. Mary of Egypt who lived in the desert for 47 years. The account of her life was written by the Bishop Sofronio of Jerusalem in the 7th century. St. Mary is said to have walked on the Jordan River to reach the opposite bank and receive Communion from the Monk Zosimus.
During a Mass in Boxmeer, in Holland, in the year 1400, the species of wine was transformed into Blood and bubbled out of the chalice, splashing onto the corporal. As soon as the priest, terrorized at the sight, asked God to forgive his doubts, the Blood stopped bubbling out of the chalice. The Blood that had fallen on the corporal coagulated into a lump the size of a walnut. Even today one can see the Blood, which it has not changed at all over time.
The wine in the chalice changed into Blood and the Precious Blood poured onto the altar cloth and flowed to the ground.
“The ecclesiastical authority wanted likewise to specify that in a Catholic context the Miracle distinguishes itself for the following aspects: 1. Theological: The intervention comes from God. It is of divine origin. 2. Objectivity: The ‘alteration’ of the causes or natural laws is evident. 3. Subjectivity: Whoever accepts the miracle ‘recognizes or accepts’ with an act of Faith that the extraordinary event comes from the loving Will of God. 4. Purpose: It has as its end the good of one or many people.”
For more than 900 years it has been possible to venerate the relic of a portion of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus at the Benedictine Monastery at Weingarten. According to many historians, the soldier Longinus had carried the relic of the Most Precious Blood of Christ to Mantua. Later the Precious Blood was divided into several portions and given to various rulers of the era, the most famous of whom was Charlemagne, and to different popes.
Miracles of the Eucharist are miraculous divine interventions that are aimed at confirming faith in the real presence of the body and blood of the Lord in the Eucharist. We are familiar with the Catholic doctrine relating to this real presence; with the Words of Consecration, “this is my body” and “this is my blood,” the substance of the bread becomes the body of Christ and the substance of the wine becomes his blood. This awe-inspiring change is known as transubstantiation, in other words, the transition of the substance. Only the appearances, or species, of the bread and wine remain; these are known by the philosophical term “accidents”. The dimensions, colour, flavour and odour remain, as do the nutrients, but the substance, or rather the true reality, does not remain because it has become the body and blood of Christ. Transubstantiation can in no way be experienced by the senses; faith alone makes certain of this miraculous change.
The parish of Saint Mary in Buenos Aires has been the protagonist of 3 Eucharistic Miracles that occurred in 1992, 1994 and 1996. Professor Ricardo Castañon Gomez was called by the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, none other than the current Pope Francis, to analyze the Miracle that occurred on August 15 of 1996.
The reliquaries of two Eucharistic miracles which took place in 1230 and 1595 are held in Florence’s Church of Saint Ambrose. In the 1230 miracle, a distracted priest left several drops of consecrated wine in the chalice after Mass. The next day, returning to celebrate Mass in the same church, he found in the chalice drops of living Blood coagulated and incarnated. The Blood was immediately kept in a crystal cruet. The other Eucharistic miracle took place on Good Friday in 1595, when several fragments of the Host were miraculously unharmed in a church fire.
The Eucharistic Miracle of Augsburg, is known locally as Wunderbarlichen Gutes – “The Miraculous Good”. It is described in numerous books and historical documents that can be consulted in the civic state library of Augsburg. A stolen Host was transformed into bleeding flesh. In the course of the centuries, several analyses were completed of the Holy Piece that have always confirmed that human flesh and blood are present. Today the Convent of the Heileg Kreuz (Holy Cross) is taken care of by the Dominican Fathers.
French philosopher Jean Guitton left us a forceful witness on Marthe Robin: “She was a peasant of the French countryside, who for thirty years took neither food nor drink, nourishing herself instead on the Eucharist alone, and every Friday she relived the pains of the Passion of Jesus through her stigmata. A woman who perhaps was the most unusual, most extraordinary and disconcerting of our age, but whom even in the age of television remained unknown to the public, buried in a profound silence… From our first meeting, I understood that Marthe Robin would have been a ‘sister of charity,’ always, as she was for thousands of visitors."
This Eucharistic miracle was performed directly by Saint Anthony after he was challenged by a certain Bonovillo to demonstrate the truth of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The most ancient biography of Saint Anthony, L’Assidua (The Untiring), carries Bonovillo’s exact words: “Father! I tell you before all these people: I will believe in the Eucharist if my mule, after fasting for three days, adores the Host which you offer him rather than eating the fodder which I give him.” The mule, despite the fact that it was exhausted by hunger, knelt before the Host and refused its food.
In the Eucharistic miracle of Gerona, during the celebration of the Mass, a priest doubted the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. But when the time for Communion arrived, the priest did not succeed in swallowing the Host which had transformed into Flesh in his mouth. Unfortunately the relic of the Host transformed into Flesh was destroyed in 1936, during the civil war.
In 1284, in the small city of Kranenburg in the district of Kleve, there was a Eucharistic miracle known under the name of “Miracle of the Miraculous Crucifix.” A sacred Host was thrown near a tree by a shepherd who was not able to swallow the Holy Eucharist because of an illness. Later, the tree was cut in half and a perfectly carved crucifix fell to the ground. On the place where the crucifix was found, a church was built. That church is still there to this day and numerous pilgrims come to visit it.
This is the account given by Professor Castañon regarding the Eucharistic Miracle that occurred in 1996 still in the Parish of Saint Mary: “On August 15, 1996, a faithful received the consecrated Host in his hands to take communion but he let it inadvertently fall to the ground and thought not to pick it up because its seemed “dirty” to him. Another person, more pious, noticed what had happened, picked it up and placed it apart immediately informing the priest, Father Alejandro Pezet. The priest, following the directives of the Church in these circumstances. put the Host in a vessel full of water which he placed in the tabernacle awaiting that it would dissolve.”
This Eucharistic miracle was verified recently, on May 5, 2001 in Trivandrum, India. In the Host there appeared the likeness of a man similar to that of Christ crowned with thorns. His Beatitude Cyril Mar Baselice, Archbishop of the diocese of Trivandrum, wrote regarding this prodigy: “[…] For us believers what we have seen is something that we have always believed […]. If our Lord is speaking to us by giving us this sign, it certainly needs a response from us”. The monstrance containing the miraculous Host is to this day kept in the church.
In the Eucharistic miracle of Regensburg, a priest was assailed by doubts concerning the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist during the Holy Mass. At the moment he was elevating the chalice, the wooden crucifix above the tabernacle came to life, and the Lord slowly extended his arms to the priest, took the chalice from his hands and exhibited the Holy Eucharist for adoration of the faithful.
In the Eucharistic Miracle of Dijon, a lady purchased a monstrance which by mistake still contained the Sacred Host. The lady decided to use a knife to remove the Host, which started to drip living Blood that dried immediately, leaving imprinted the image of the Lord, seated on a semicircular throne with some of the instruments of the Passion on the side. The Host remained intact for more than 350 years, until it was destroyed by the revolutionaries in 1794.
A non-Christian woman who did not believe the true Catholic dogma of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, aided by some of her Christian friends, managed to steal a consecrated Host during the celebration of a Sacred Mass. The woman, as if daring God, put the consecrated Host into a frying pan of oil. Suddenly the Host spilled out masses of Blood, which poured to the floor and out the door of the house.
This Eucharistic miracle, whose relic is still preserved in the Benedictine Monastery of Andechs, Germany, is verified by numerous written sources. The authentication took place in Rome in 595 during a Eucharistic celebration presided by Pope St. Gregory the Great. At the moment of receiving Holy Communion, a Roman noblewoman began to laugh because she had doubts about the Real Presence of Christ in the consecrated Bread and Wine. The Pope, troubled by her disbelief, decided not to give her Communion and then the Bread turned into Flesh and Blood.
In fifteenth-century Austria there were a number of thefts of consecrated Hosts, so Church authorities took to keeping the Hosts in the sacristy. Despite these precautions, a thief succeeded in 1411 in stealing a consecrated Host from the parish church in Weiten. The Host slipped unnoticed to the ground during his journey and was discovered several days later by a pious woman. The Host glowed brilliantly, divided in two pieces but united by threads of bleeding flesh.
In the Cathedral of St. Quintinus in Hasselt is exposed the relic of the Eucharistic miracle that took place in Herkenrode in 1317. During the course of the centuries, many tests were done to ascertain the miraculous preservation of the consecrated Host from which blood came forth. We recall the one done in the 18th century by the Apostolic Nuncio Carafa and the Bishop of Liège or the one done by the Archbishop of Malines during a visit of the Archduchess Isabel. In the cathedral we also find numerous paintings depicting the miracle, done by a pupil of Jordaens, Jan.
In 1631, a young farm girl, foolishly kindled a fire with dry hay. Because of a heavy wind, the fire spread to the town of Dronero. Every attempt to extinguish the flames proved useless. A Capuchin friar, Maurice da Ceva, inspired by his great love of the Blessed Sacrament took the monstrance containing the large Host from the Church of St. Brigid and in procession walked to where the fire was raging. The fire at once subsided.
At San Mauro la Bruca unknown thieves secretly entered the church and stole several sacred objects - one was the pyx (ciborium) that contained consecrated Hosts. The thieves threw the Hosts aside; a child discovered them. The Hosts are preserved to this day.
In 1222 and 1464, two important Eucharistic miracles took place in the town of Meerssen. The first occurred during Holy Mass, when living Blood dripped from the large Host and stained the corporal. The second occurred in 1456, when a farmer was able to rescue the relic of the miracle from a fire that had destroyed the whole church. The church was later rebuilt, and in 1938 Pope Pius XI raised it to a minor basilica. Numerous pilgrims come every year to Meerssen to venerate the relic of the miracle.
The Eucharistic miracle of Montserrat brings us to reflect on the reality of purgatory and reminds us that every Mass has an infinite value because it makes the unique sacrifice of Christ suffering on Calvary present in our minds. This Eucharistic prodigy is reported by the Benedictine priest R.P. Francio de Paula Crusellas, in his text, New History of the Sanctuary and Monastery of Our Lady of Montserrat.
The Eucharistic miracle of Pibrac is about Saint Germaine Cousin (1579-1601). In order for St. Germaine Cousin to participate in the Holy Celebration of the Mass, she had to cross through a violent stream with extremely high waters; the waters divided in two and let her pass undisturbed.
On the day of her First Communion, Mary Grace was seven years old, and the Child Jesus appeared to her with wounded and bloody hands and said to her: “People inflicted these wounds on me with their sins!” From that moment Mary Grace consecrated her life to the Eucharist and the salvation of souls. “I am in the Eucharist to dispense graces and extend mercy, but I receive only ingratitude, profanity and sacrileges. The Eucharist is dishonored and nobody cares. My beloved one, you make reparation with your adoration done in my presence.”
When the facts were ascertained, he ordered the bishop of the diocese to bring the Host and the linen cloth bearing the stains of Blood to him.
ted Host to make a love potion. During Mass, the young woman hid a Host in a cloth. But when she got home, she realized that the Host had been transformed into bleeding flesh. This miracle has extensive documentation, including from Pope Gregory IX.
The Eucharistic Miracle of La Rochelle concerns the instantaneous cure of a boy paralyzed and mute since the age of seven when he received Communion at Mass on Easter Sunday, 1461. He was completely healed of his paralysis and was, once again, able to speak. The most authoritative document that describes visually this miracle is the painted-manuscript preserved still today in the Cathedral of La Rochelle.
The Eucharistic miracle of Amsterdam regards a consecrated Host that was preserved from flames. Ysbrand Dommer was gravely sick and vomited a Communion Host he received. His maid threw it into the lit fireplace. The consecrated Host was found the next day completely intact and suspended in air in the middle of the fireplace. There were many witnesses to the miracle, and the bishop of Utrech, Jan van Arkel, immediately authorized devotion. Even today in Amsterdam every year, there is a procession in honor of the miracle.
During the years of his theological maturity, from 1269 to 1272, St. Thomas Aquinas was called to Paris to resolve the complicated question of the nature of the Eucharistic Sacrament. Before St. Thomas started his dissertation, he went in church to pray and then finally wrote the actual text. Once the exhibit was concluded, St. Thomas returned to church and that is when Our Lord Jesus appeared to him to confirm the righteousness of his writings.
Saint Stanislaus Kostka, at the age of seventeen, was so gravely ill that he seemed very near the end of his life. In that time, he lived as the guest of a noble Protestant who would not even permit him to be visited by a Catholic priest. Stanislaus was not discouraged and one night, in the presence of his tutor, he received Communion in a miraculous way. A few days later he recovered and decided to enter the Jesuit order.
Inside the Corpus Domini Basilica in Turin, there is an iron railing that closes in the place where, in 1453, the first Eucharistic miracle of Turin occurred. An inscription inside the railing describes the miracle: “Here the she-mule that was carrying the Divine Body fell prostrate; here the Sacred Host was miraculously freed from the bag containing the Sacred Species and rose high; here came gently down among the suppliant hands of the people of Turin; here then, the place made holy by the miracle. Remembering, pray on your knees. (June 6, 1453)”.
Catherine Labouré was born on May 2, 1806 to a family of farmers. On April 21, 1830, she entered as a novitiate into the religious order, Daughters of Charity, in the motherhouse of Paris near Rue du Bac. Here in 1830, Catherine had the famous apparition of the Immaculate Mary, who told her, “Have a medal of this style coined; those who wear it around their neck will receive great graces.” During her entire stay at Rue du Bac, Catherine also had the grace of seeing Jesus in the consecrated Host, at both the moment of Holy Communion and during the Exposition of the Holy Sacrament.
One day, Saint Lucia Filippini was making her way to Pitigliano, near Grosseto, to supervise a school for craftsmen which she had founded. First, however, she stopped at the church of the Franciscan Fathers to attend Holy Mass. So great was Lucia’s desire to receive Jesus in the Eucharist that the Lord wished to reward her with a miracle. When the priest was breaking the large Host in half to place a small fragment in the chalice, this very part escaped his hand and flew into the air, radiating light, and came to rest on the tongue of the future saint. Today, the shrine where the miracle took place is under the care of the devout Filipini Sisters.
Saint Juliana Falconieri was always most devoted to the Holy Eucharist. In the last days of life, a stomach ailment which had afflicted her for a long time, as it became more acute, prevented her from receiving Communion. Before her death in 1341, she asked that a consecrated Host be placed on her chest, and as she recited a prayer, the Host disappeared and left a violet mark, as if it had been branded there. She was beatified in 1678 and canonized in 1737.
Blessed Imelda Lambertini, from childhood, already showed a great love for the Eucharistic Jesus but the chaplain reminded her that she could only receive Communion when she turned 14. Nevertheless on May12, 1333 (Ascension Vigil), she went to Mass and presented herself to receive Holy Communion. The priest ignored her completely but the Lord wished to grant the desire of little Imelda. A Host radiating light rose up in flight, and stopped in front of Imelda. After she received the Body of Christ, her pure white soul flew straight up to heaven. Blessed Imelda is Patroness of First Communions.
Saint Bernard: Saint Bernard was the central character of an important Eucharistic miracle. The Duke of Aquitania separated himself from the Catholic Church, and he had absolutely no intention of returning to it. Saint Bernard, after he celebrated Mass, went outside the door of the church to the duke and presented the Blessed Sacrament to him. The Duke, deeply moved by a mysterious force, fell to the ground on his knees, begging forgiveness for having left the Catholic Church.
Saint John Bosco: Saint John Bosco was always very devoted to the Eucharist. Numerous are the writings in which the saint speaks of the importance of this sacrament. Once, having only eight Sacred Hosts remaining in the corporal, he began to multiply the Hosts so that he could distribute Communion to the 360 youth who were present at Mass.
The Eucharistic miracle of Daroca was verified shortly before one of the numerous battles sustained by the Spanish against the Moors. The Christian commanders asked the priest in the field to celebrate Mass, but a few minutes after the consecration, an improvised enemy attack obliged the priest to suspend the Mass and hide the consecrated Hosts amid the lines of the celebration. The Spanish left the battle victorious and the commanders asked the priest to communicate the Hosts previously consecrated. However, they were found completely covered in Blood. Even today, it is possible to venerate the blood-stained linens.
An extraordinary event occurred in Salzano in 1517. A priest was called with urgent haste to bring the Viaticum to an invalid on the brink of death. The season and the time of day were not appropriate to make a procession, and so the priest had to be content with only one altar boy. Upon arrival at the meadows surrounding the Muson River, several donkeys that were grazing faced themselves in the direction of the pius convoy and, after approaching the priest, they bowed on their knees and then followed the Most Holy Sacrament all the way to the home of the infirm, renewing the genuflection; and then, always with the priest, they walked back to return to the pasture.