The
Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, Italy
In the city of
Lanciano, Italy, around the year 700 of
Our Lord there was a priest of the order of
St. Basil who, though learned in the sciences
of the world, was ignorant in ways of God, and
was not strong in his faith. He was plagued
by a doubt as to whether the consecrated Host
was truly the Body of Christ, and the
consecrated wine truly His Blood. He had
difficulty believing in the mystery of
transubstantiation (the miraculous changing of
the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of
Christ).
One
morning, as he was celebrating Mass, he had
already said the most holy words of
consecration ("This is My Body..., This is
my Blood..."), as Jesus had taught it to
his Apostles, his doubts and errors weighed
upon him more heavily than ever. By a most
singular and marvelous grace, he saw the Bread
changed into Flesh and the wine into Blood.
Frightened and confused by such a great
and stupendous Miracle, he stood quite a while
as if in a divine ecstasy; but eventually, his
fear gave way to the spiritual happiness that
filled his soul, and he turned his joyful yet
tearful face to those around him, exclaiming
"...Behold the Flesh and the blood of our
Most Beloved Christ."
At those words, the bystanders ran to
the altar and began, with tears, to cry for
mercy. The faithful, who, having become
witnesses themselves, spread the news
throughout the entire city.
Today
twelve centuries after the miraculous
occurrence it remains intact, a sustained
miracle! Upon a superficial examination, the
Host of Flesh, which is still in one piece and
has retained the dimensions of the original
"Large Host", has a fibrous appearance and a
brown color, which becomes light-reddish if
one places a light in the back of the Ostensorium.
The blood, contained in the chalice,
has an earthly color, inclined toward the
yellow of ocher, and consists of five
coagulated globules. Each of the parts is
uneven in shape and size, and when weighed
together, the total weight is equal to that of
each piece.
The actual spot of the miracle is
located beneath the present day tabernacle of
the Church of St.
Francis. The Miracle Itself is preserved in
the second tabernacle, which is found in the
high altar. The Host, now changed to Flesh,
is contained in a silver Monstrance. The
wine, now changed to Blood, is contained in a
crystal chalice.
Official
Position of the Catholic Church
Local Church and Vatican official have
authenticated the Eucharistic miracle on many
occasions since the middle ages. In 1672,
Pope Clement X declared the altar of the
Eucharistic Miracle a privileged altar on all
Mondays of the year. In 1887, the Archbishop
of Lanciano obtained from Pope Leo XIII a
plenary indulgence in perpetuity to those who
visit the Church of the Miracle during the
eight days preceding the annual feast day,
which falls on the last Sunday in October.
Scientific Studies
A rigorous
scientific analysis was performed in 1970-71
by Professor Dr. Odorardo, University
Professor in anatomy and pathological
histology and in chemistry and clinical
microscopy, Head Physician of the United
Hospitals of Arezzo. Prof. Linoli was
assisted by Prof. Dr. Ruggero Bertelli, a
Professor Emeritus of anatomy at the
University of Siena.
The research done on the fragments of
the Blood and the Flesh yielded the following
results:
Science,
when called to testify, has confirmed what we
have believed in Faith and what the Catholic
Church has taught for the last 2,000 years;
echoing the words of Christ, "My Flesh is
real food; my Blood real drink. Whoever eats
My Flesh and drinks My Blood dwells
continually in Me and I dwell in him."-John
6:56-57
Miracles
of the Eucharist
Throughout the World
Reunion Island,
Indian Ocean (Property of France)--1905
Fr. Lacombe, a
priest at St. Andrew's Catholic Church exposed
the Blessed Sacrament for 40 hours devotion.
During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in
which Our Lord remained exposed in the
Monstrance, Fr. Lacombe looked up to behold
the face of Christ in Agony exposed in the
Monstrance. Fearing what he was seeing was an
optical illusion, he said nothing, but could
not banish the image from his thoughts. After
Mass, a man asked Father to bless a medal.
Wanting to see if the image of Christ in the
Host was an illusion, Father sent the man to
look at the Host in the Monstrance. The man
hurried back, crying that he has seen the face
of a Man in the Monstrance. The altar boys,
who Fr. Lacombe had sent to view the Host in
the Monstrance, returned in amazement with the
same reports. A little girl, who also beheld
the face, later said, "I cannot forget what I
have seen, I will always remember the Face of
Our Lord... it has made an indelible mark on
my life." Word of the miracle of the Holy
Face of Christ spread quickly across the
island. People flocked to the Church to see
the Face of Christ in the Monstrance.
Around 2:00 p.m. the image of Christ in
the Host changed to that of a crucifix, the
Host remaining Immaculate. Crowds gathered to
adore Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and
as they were singing "Tantum Ergo" the image
of the Crucifix disappeared. The Bishop
ordered the Miraculous Host preserved.
Although later attempts were made to discredit
the Miracle and Fr. Lacombe, so many
eyewitnesses were present that any such
efforts were fruitless.
Faverney,
Burgundy, France--Pentecost Sunday 1608 (Notre
Dame de la Blanche)
It was a
glorious feast of the town, and Dom Garnier
had erected an especially magnificent
repository for the Blessed Sacrament. At 3:00
a.m. of the feast, Dom Garnier returned to the
Church and saw a glow around the chapel in
which the Blessed Sacrament was exposed.
Fearing the Church was on fire, he ran to the
nearby Benedictine monastery for help.
Accompanied by several monks, they returned to
the Church and opened the door to witness a
miracle. The Monstrance was suspended in
mid-air! The stone, which was previously
underneath the Monstrance, lay in three
fragments on the floor, surrounded by the
broken remains of the altar and candles. The
Monks, who had fallen away in belief and
practice, fell to their knees in adoration of
the Sacred Host, Who they recognized as their
Lord and Savior. This miracle inspired many
conversions of those who had fallen away from
Jesus and was declared valid by the Bishop
within a few months.
Bawol, Poland
1264
It was a very
turbulent and trying time in Poland's history,
with many people falling victim to the dreaded
Black Plague that stalked Europe. The
population was depleted, and religious
standards changed after the loss of older
churchmen. People were devastated by the loss
of family and friends, and the overall outlook
was hopeless.
It was in these
trying times that a strange phenomenon arose
from the marshy swamps near the village of
Bawol, Poland. Nobody knew what to make of
the arresting rays of light and the lightning
bolts that ran across the sky. After the
strange lights were first seen, people began
visiting the spot to see who or what was
causing the amazing light that nightly lit up
the sky.
During this
miraculous occurrence, news reached Bawol that
someone had broken into a church in Krakow and
stolen the pyx containing the Most Holy
Eucharist. The bishop entreated the people to
pray and fast for the safe return of the
Sacred Host, but was fearful that the thief
had desecrated the Real Presence of Jesus.
Hearing of the
mysterious lights emanating from the swamp,
the Bishop led a procession to the site. The
people dug into the marsh and found the pyx,
which contained the Blessed Sacrament,
perfectly preserved amidst the slime and filth
of the swamp. After the Sacred Host was
restored to the Krakow church, the mysterious
lights stopped. King Casimir the Great had
the swamp drained and erected a magnificent
church, which he dedicated as Corpus Christi,
the Body of Christ.
Aninon, Spain,
1300
The church was
obliterated by fire, and upon first
inspection, it appeared that everything was
destroyed--even the tabernacle and main
altar. But the pall and corporal that covered
the Sacred Hosts in the tabernacle were only
burned in a few places. Five of the Hosts
were bleeding and one of the Hosts was fixed
to the pall. The people constructed a new
church to honor the miraculous Hosts. People
flocked to the grand new church to adore the
miracle of the Eucharist. Even after the
first miracle, the Bishop saw fresh blood
soaking the corporal, which also continued to
emit a divine fragrance. Both the pall and
corporal have remained intact throughout the
years with no sign of decay. On November 23,
1613 the Vicar General of Tarazona approved
the miracle.
Viversel,
Belgium, Abbey of Herkenrode, 1317
A priest of the
parish went to administer last rites to a
dying parishioner. While hearing the dying
person's confession, the priest left his kit,
which contained holy oils and the Blessed
Sacrament, unattended outside the patient's
room. Another villager, aware that the priest
was occupied, snuck into the house and began
rustling through the priest's kit. He lifted
out the pyx containing the Sacred Hosts, but
when he took Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament
out, the Sacred Hosts immediately started
bleeding. Fearing that God would strike him
down for such an act, the villager fled from
the scene.
Having finished
hearing the confession of the dying patient,
the priest went to fetch his kit, so as to
give Holy Communion for the last time. Upon
opening the Kit, he discovered the bloodied
Hosts, and ran to consult with the pastor.
They gave the bleeding Hosts to Fr. Simon, an
abbott. While the priest was carrying the
miraculous treasure to the abbey, voices of
angels were heard, as well as the shrieking of
demons. Animals in the fields bowed their
heads in homage to the Eucharistic King.
Before Mass at the abbey, the Sacred Hosts
were placed on the altar. At this time, monks
present witnessed the face of Christ, crowned
with thorns, and they all testified to having
seen the same vision. There have been many
accounts of divine intervention and
supernatural occurrences following this
miracle.
Santarem,
Portugal, mid-13th century
A woman of
Santarem, upset by the perceived infidelity of
her husband, desperately sought the counsel of
a sorceress. In exchange for a consecrated
Host, the sorceress promised to restore the
affections of the woman's wayward husband.
Although the woman was distressed by her
marital situation, she realized that such an
action was dreadfully wrong, and a sacrilege
against the Real Presence of Our Lord in the
Most Holy Eucharist. Despite her trepidation,
the woman went to Mass and received, but did
not consume, the Sacred Host. After hurrying
from the church, she placed the Most Blessed
Sacrament in her kerchief. Intent on her
mission, the woman did not notice that the
Host had started to bleed profusely. Another
villager worried that the woman herself was
injured, and drew the blood to her attention.
Horrified that the Host was bleeding, she
rushed home and placed the Blessed Sacrament
in a trunk. In the middle of the night, the
woman and her husband were awakened by the
rays of bright light emanating from the
trunk. Other townspeople came to the house
and also beheld the miracle. The parish
priest brought the miraculous Host back to the
church in a wax container and placed it in the
tabernacle. This was not the end of the
miracle of Santarem, however: when the priest
again opened the tabernacle, the wax container
was broken, and instead a crystal container
held the Blood of the Host! The church which
contained the Sacred Host has been re-named
the Church of the Miracle.
Pezilla-La-Riviere, France--1793
During the
violence and anti-Catholic furor of the French
Revolution several brave French citizens took
the Blessed Sacrament from their Church and
kept the Real Presence of Jesus in their
homes. The French government was enforcing a
ban against Catholicism at the time, and even
sold Churches and their sacred contents!
Aware that their church was about to be sold,
Rosa Llorens and Jean Bonafos went in and
retrieved the Sacred Hosts from the
tabernacle. If they had been caught, death
would have been nearly certain. Despite the
obvious danger, Rosa welcomed fellow brave
Catholics who wished to adore Jesus in the
Most Blessed Sacrament. The persecution of
Catholics increased rapidly during the Reign
of Terror, and many of the faithful suffered
great losses of home and even life. Amidst
this mayhem and persecution, the homes of Rosa
Llorens and Jean Bonafos miraculously escaped
unscathed, protected by the Divine Presence of
Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist.
Erding, Bavaria
(Present day Germany)--1417
A poor farmer
of Erding had no food for his family, no
matter how much time and effort he put into
working his fields. A fellow farmer, who was
quite successful, told him that the secret to
his success was having the Blessed Sacrament
in his home. The poor farmer, knowing nothing
about proper veneration or respect of the
Sacred Eucharist, viewed it merely in terms of
possessing a charm that could bring good
fortune. At Mass on Holy Thursday he went to
Communion but did not consume the Sacred Host,
and instead removed it from his mouth and
placed it in a cloth. Although the farmer was
not at all aware of the serious sin he was
committing, he experienced a great deal of
fear at the thought of his action. He
deliberated, and asked himself about the
consequences of what he had done. He honestly
believed that the Presence of the Sacred Host
in his home would cause the fortune of his
family to change for the better. Nonetheless,
he was plagued by a feeling that his actions
were dreadfully wrong. His conscience finally
won the battle inside of him, and he turned to
go back from the Church and to confess his
sin. As he was turning, the Sacred Host fell
from his hand, floated in the air, and landed
on the ground. The farmer began to search
desperately for the Blessed Sacrament but
could not find any trace of it. After his
search, the farmer hurried back to the Church
and immediately told the priest what had
transpired. Accompanied by many villagers,
they went back to the scene of the miracle.
While still quite a ways away the priest could
see the Eucharist, shining white, on the
ground. When the priest bent to pick up the
Host, it again flew into the air, was
suspended and fell to the ground and
disappeared. The priest relayed news of this
event to the Bishop who went himself to the
site. He, too, bent to retrieve the Sacred
Host from the ground, but it again flew into
the air and was susp ended for an extended
period of time, then floated to the ground.
After this third and final miracle adoration
and veneration of Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament increased dramatically and the
people were awestruck by the miracle they had
witnessed. To make reparation for the sins
against our Eucharistic Lord, people of the
town erected a beautiful Church.
Avignon,
France--1433
The Sorgue
river in Avignon, France was heavily flooded
in November of 1433. The waters rose steadily
and reached a dangerous height. Along the
teeming Sorgue, the Blessed Sacrament was
exposed perpetually in a little church. The
Gray Penitents of the Franciscan order were
certain that the little church and had been
destroyed by the raging waters. Fearing that
the Blessed Sacrament would be destroyed as
well, two friars rowed to the Church. To
their astonishment, although water around the
church was 4 feet high, a pathway from the
entrance to the altar was perfectly dry!
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, our sovereign
King, was unscathed! The pathway from the
entrance to the altar called to mind the
parting of the Red Sea in Moses' time, for all
along the sides of the Church, water steadily
rose. Despite the surrounding flood, the
pathway remained completely dry, untouched by
even a drop of water. Amazed by what they
were seeing, the Friars had others from their
order come to the Church to verify the
miracle. On that day our Eucharistic Lord was
victorious over the raging water.
Turin,
Italy--1453
Turin was
besieged by the armies of Piedmont, and
soldiers ransacked and pillaged throughout the
city-state. A Church in the village of
Exilles was plundered by one of these
soldiers, and he grabbed everything he could
cram into his sack. One of the things he
stole was a monstrance, with the Sacred Host
still inside. The soldier threw the sack,
which also contained the monstrance, onto his
donkey. The man became enraged when the sack
kept falling off the donkey's back, and began
to furiously beat the animal. By this time,
they were surrounded by villagers, who were
distressed by the soldier's actions. All of a
sudden, the sack fell to the ground, and its
contents were strewn about the ground. The
monstrance caught the attention of all who
were present, and it slowly rose into the air,
suspended ten feet above the ground. A priest
was among the crowd, and hastened to find the
bishop. The bishop immediately returned to
the site of the miracle, accompanied by many
priests. Upon the bishop's arrival, the
monstrance opened and fell to the ground,
leaving the Sacred Host still aloft and
surrounded by a radiant light. The bishop
began chanting Latin hymns, and was joined by
the townspeople. During the hymns, the Host
slowly descended, and landed in the
outstretched chalice held by the bishop.
People from all over Italy and Europe began coming immediately
to venerate the Miracle of Turin.
Eucharistic
Miracles--Saints
St. Catherine
of Siena was invited to drink the Precious
Blood of Jesus, which flowed from His side.
After drinking from the Fountain of His
Precious Blood, she could not eat or drink
anything more. For seven years before her
death she lived on no food but Our Lord in the
Eucharist. She was not hungry, but remained
active and strong.
St. Juliana
Falconieri, foundress of the Servite nuns,
fasted so rigorously throughout her life that
she was unable to even receive Jesus in the
Most Blessed Sacrament on her death bed. She
begged the priest to bring the Eucharist near,
so that she could at least be next to Jesus.
When he brought the Lord to her, St. Juliana
wanted to kiss Him, but the priest would not
allow her to. She then asked for a corporal
(holy cloth) to be placed on her chest, over
her heart, so that Jesus could be placed there
for a moment. The priest agreed. As soon as
the Sacred Host was laid on her chest, Our
Lord in the Eucharist disappeared! And St.
Juliana, having been united with her Love,
died--her face radiant with joy. The priests
and sisters fell to their knees at this
miracle. When the Sisters later prepared her
body for burial, they found on her
breast--where Jesus had been placed--an
outline of the Crucified Christ, encircled by
the Host.
St.
Catherine of Genoa was a daily communicant, a
special grace at the time in which she lived.
During Advent and Lent she lived without
food. She was sustained by the Eucharist and
salt water alone.