On about 700th year of OUR LORD, in a monastery then named of St. Longinus (that Roman centurion who pierced the side of CHRIST with a lance), a priest-monk of the Order of St. Basil was celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to the Latin Rite. Although his name is unknown, it is reported in an ancient document that he was ". . . versed in the sciences of the world, but ignorant in those of GOD". Having suffered from recurrent doubts regarding "transubstantiation" (the change of the bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of CHRIST), he had just spoken the solemn words of Consecration when the host was suddenly changed into a circle of flesh, and the wine was transformed into visible blood.

Bewildered at first by the prodigy whom he had witnessed, he eventually regained his composure, and while weeping joyously he spoke to the congregation:

"O fortunate witnesses, to whom the BLESSED GOD, to confound my unbelief, has wished to reveal HIMSELF visible to our eyes! Come, brethren, and marvel at our GOD, so close to us. Behold the flesh and blood of our Most Beloved CHRIST."

The congregation rushed to the Altar, marveled at the sight, and went forth to spread the news to other townspeople who, in turn, came to the church to witness the Eucharistic Miracle for themselves.

The flesh remained intact, but the blood in the chalice soon if divided into five pellets of unequal sizes and irregular shapes. The monks decided to weigh the nuggets. On a scale obtained from the Archbishop, it was discovered that one nugget weighed the same as all five together, two as much as any three, and the smallest as much as the largest.

The Host and the five pellets were placed in a reliquary of artistic ivory. Over the years they have been in safe keeping per three different religious orders. At the time of the Miracle, the Church of St. Longinus was staffed by Basilian monks, but it was abandoned by them at the close of the 12th century. The property passed quickly to the Benedictines, and then to the Franciscans who had to demolish the old church because of damage incurred during earthquakes. The new church that was built on the site was named after their founder, St. Francis of Assisi.

The ivory reliquary was replaced in 1713 by the one which now exhibits the two relics. This is a Monstrance of finely sculptured silver and crystal. The flesh is enclosed in the way a Host is usually enclosed in a Monstrance, and the nuggets of blood are held in a chalice of artistically etched crystal, which some believe might be the time chalice in which the miraculous change occurred.

In 1887 Archbishop Petrarca of Lanciano obtained from Pope Leo XIII, a plenary indulgence in perpetuity for those who visit the Church of the Miracle during the eight days preceding the annual feast day, the last Sunday of October.

In February of 1574 Monsignor Rodriguez verified in the presence of reputable witnesses that, the combined weight of the five pellets of congealed blood was equal to the individual weight of any an of them, a fact that was later memorialized by being chiseled on a marble tablet, dated 1636, which is still located in the church.

A number of these authentications have been performed throughout the centuries, but the last verification, in 1970, is the most scientifically complete, and it is that examination which we will now consider.

Performed under strict scientific criteria, the task was assigned to Professor Doctor Odoardo Linoli, university professor at large in anatomy and pathological histology, and in chemistry and clinical microscopy, head physician of the united hospitals of Arezzo, Italy. Professor Linoli availed himself of the services of Doctor Ruggero Bertelli, a professor emeritus of normal human anatomy at the University of Siena. Dr. Bertelli not only concurred with all of Professor Linoli's conclusions, but also presented an official document to that effect.

Assembled in the sacristy of the Church of St. Francis in November 18, 1970 were the Archbishop of Lanciano, the Bishop of Ortona, the Provincial of the Friars Minor Conventual, the chancellor of the Archdiocese, the reverend secretary of the Archbishop and the entire community of the monastery, together with Professor Linoli.

On examining the Ostensorium, it was observed that the lunette containing the flesh was not hermetically sealed and that the particles of “unleavened bread” in the center of the flesh that had remained for many years, had entirely disappeared. The flesh was described as being yellow brown in color, irregular and roundish in shape, thicker and wrinkled along the periphery, becoming gradually thinner, reaching the central area where the tissue was frayed, with small extensions protruding toward the empty space in the middle. A small sample was taken from a thicker part for examination in the laboratory of the hospital in Arezzo.

In examining the five pellets of blood, it was noted that the prodigy regarding the weight of the pellets was not maintained, as it was last noted in 1574. The five pellets were found to be quite irregular in form, finely wrinkled, compact, homogeneous and hard in consistency, being a yellow chestnut color and having the appearance of chalk. A small sample was taken from the central part of one pellet for microscopic examination and scientific study. Later, after all the studies were completed, the fragments of both relics were returned to the church.

The conclusions reached by Professor Linoli were presented in March 4, 1971, in detailed medical and scientific terminology to a prestigious assembly, including ecclesiastical officials, the provincials and superiors of the Friars Minor Conventual, and representatives of religious houses in the city as well as civil, judicial, political and military authorities, representatives of the medical staffs of the city hospitals, various religious of the city and a number of the city's residents.

The professor's conclusions were later discussed by the Rev. Father Bruno Luciani and Professor Urbano, the chief analyst of the city hospital of Lanciano and a professor at the University of Florence. A copy of the detailed report and the minutes of the meeting and discussions are kept in the archives of the monastery. Authentic copies were sent to various officials of the Catholic Church and to superiors of the Order, while another report copy was delivered to His Holiness Pope Paul VI during a private audience.

As a result of the histological (microscopic) studies, the following facts were ascertained and documented:

a) The flesh was identified as striated muscular tissue of the myocardium (heart wail), having no trace whatsoever of any materials or agents used for the preservation of flesh. Both the flesh and the sample of blood were found to be of human origin, emphatically excluding the possibility that it was from an animal species.

b) The blood and the flesh were found to belong to the same blood type, AB.

c) The blood of the Eucharistic Miracle was found to contain the following minerals: chlorides, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium in a lesser degree, and a greater quantity of calcium.

Proteins in the clotted blood were found to be normally fractionated, with the same percentage ratio as those found in normal fresh blood.

Teacher Linoli said yet that if the blood, had it been taken from a cadaver, would have altered rapidly through spoilage and decay. His final conclusions exclude the possibility of a fraud perpetrated centuries ago. In fact, he maintained that only a hand experienced in anatomic dissection could have obtained from a hollow internal organ, the heart, such an expert cut, made tangentially that is, a round cut, thick on the outer edges and lessening gradually and uniformly into nothingness in the central area. The doctor ended his report by stating that while the flesh and blood were conserved in receptacles not hermetically sealed, they were not damaged, although they had been exposed to the influences of physical, atmospheric and biological agents.

The Ostensorium containing the relics was previously kept to the side of the Altar in the Church of St. Francis, but it is now situated in a Tabernacle atop the main Tabernacle of the high Altar. A stairway at the back of the Altar enables the visitor to approach very close to the Tabernacle, which is open in the back, so that he can clearly see the reliquary containing the flesh and blood.

The visitor will notice that the Host appears rosy in color when it is backlighted. Somebody that contemplates the Miracle, certainly he comes to remember with emotion of the countless number of people that have come to worship this Holy Miracle during its more than 1.200 years of existence lives.

"SANTAREM, Portugal, year 1247"

A poor woman was if feeling miserable by the activities of her unfaithful husband. She was living in the village of Santarem, 35 miles at the south of Fatima. In your extreme unhappiness seeking help she consulted a sorceress, who promised deliverance from the problems by the price of a consecrated Host. After many hesitations the woman finally consented, and visited the Church of St. Stephen. Receiving the Holy Communion, she removed the Host from your mouth and wrapped in a veil and intended to take it to sorceress.

But at few moments, the blood began to go out from the Host. The quantity of blood increased so much that it wet the clothes and attracted the attention of bystanders. The people seeing blood in the woman's hand and arms have thought that she was injured and soon several witnesses, they have hurried in helping. The woman avoided them and ran to your home, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

Hoping to hide the spotted veil of blood and its content, she placed them in a trunk (wood’s box in your room). But during the night she was forced to reveal the fact at your husband when a mysterious light has gone out from the trunk illuminating the whole house. They have knelt in adoration and so they have remained until dawn, when the parish priest was summoned.

News of the mysterious event it spread quickly and attracted many people who have wanted to contemplate the miracle. Because of the happening, an Episcopal investigation went promptly organized.

The Host was taken in procession to the Church of St. Stephen, where was encased in wax and secured in the tabernacle. Some time later, when the tabernacle was opened, another miracle was discovered. The wax that had encased the Host was found broken into pieces, but the Host remained closed in the crystal pyx. The Miracle it was placed after in a Monstrance of gold and silver, in which it is still contained.

After approbation by ecclesiastical authorities, who saw no reason to condemn or suppress reports of the miracle, the Church of St. Stephen was renamed "The Church of the Holy Miracle". There the Host is still preserved and displayed for the admiration and veneration of pilgrims. In the nave of the church, on the high on both sides, there are ancient paintings depicting the miracle.

The Host is somewhat irregularly shaped, with delicate veins running from top to bottom, where a quantity of blood is collected in the crystal. In the opinion of Dr. Arthur Hoagland, a New Jersey physician who has observed the miraculous Host many times over a period of years, the coagulated blood at the bottom of the crystal sometimes has the color of fresh blood, and at other times that of dried blood.

This miracle, which occurred in the early part of the 13th century, has endured for over 700 years.

"SEEFELD, Austria, year 1384"