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 Eucharistic Miracle of Santarém, Portugal, 1266.

      Evil things result from evil behavior. But God is Lord of all and well capable of bringing a greater good out of every evil for those who believe and trust (cf., Romans8:28). Sometimes God even intervenes publicly and miraculously to wake humanity up.

      The events begin with an unfaithful husband who continually violates his marriage vows to his wife. (First evil.) The wife becomes more and more miserable. Instead of turning to God alone, she seeks the help of the devil by going to a sorceress. (Second evil.) The sorceress promises a result if the wife would bring her a consecrated Host from the Catholic Church to concoct a love potion. (Third evil, the sorceress’ intent.) The wife hesitates, but eventually agreed to commit the sacrilege. (Fourth evil, her intent, and subsequent action.)

      It is February 16, 1266, Santarém, Portugal. The wife goes to Mass at the Church of St. Stephen and receives communion. Then secretly, she removes the Host from her mouth and wraps It in her veil. She leaves the church intending to go to the sorceress. She doesn’t get there. God intervenes.

      Immediately she discovers the Host is bleeding. Blood seeps through the veil and onto her hands. In the street, people try to come to her assistance thinking she’s hurt, but she brushes them off and rushes home. She hides the bloody Host inside a chest, and washes up.

      That night, after her husband had got home late (again), they are both awakened from sleep by a bright light in the house. They find it coming from the chest, emanating through the wood to illuminating the entire house. Well, now the wife has to speak. She tells her husband all. God then works the miracle of spiritual healing in both of them. They kneel with sincere repentance. They remain before the lighted chest in prayerful adoration of the Lord the rest of the night.

      At dawn, they go to the pastor and tell him all. Of course, news spread immediately. They return to the house and the priest places the bleeding Host into a wax container (a pyx). He brings it in procession to the church, a line of the faithful behind him. He places the bleeding Host in the Tabernacle of the church (a locked container where Hosts are retained in case of need for the sick or dying). The Host continues to bleed for three consecutive days. After the bleeding ceases, the pastor places the Host and its Precious Blood in a more suitable beeswax reliquary, kept in the Tabernacle.

      74 years pass. It is now 1340. The same beeswax reliquary with the consecrated Host and Its surrounding Blood, remains in the Tabernacle. But today is different. The parish priest opens the Tabernacle to find many broken pieces of the beeswax reliquary, but the Host and its Blood, mixed with some beeswax, are now are within a crystal vase (reliquary).

      Yes, all would seem to be a fabricated legend or stealthy deception, except that there have been numerous investigations, by both Church and King, as well as studies on the Eucharistic Host and Blood, all attesting to the truth of the facts. God wanted to bring a huge public good, many times over, out of the initial evils. Over the now intervening years (757 years since the original miracle), the consecrated Host, in its same crystal vase (now inside an 18th Century reliquary), has periodically given new emissions of fresh Blood widely seen by many, even in our time.

      Each year, since the miracle first occurred, on the second Sunday of April, the Eucharistic Miracle is carried in procession from the home of the couple (a chapel since 1684) to the church. These precious Eucharistic relics may still be seen today at the Church of St. Stephen (rebuilt in the 16th Century). The Eucharist has been “upheld” in existence still today by God’s “word of power” (Hebrews 1:3).

      The inscription above the main altar at of the Church of St. Stephen reads (from Genesis 28:16): “Indeed, the Lord is in this place.”

Dibby Allan Green

Originally published in the print edition of the Mojave Desert News of June 22, 2023.
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is located in California City, CA. Visit our website at ollcalcity.org
Dibby Allan Green has a BA in Religious Studies (Westmont College, 1978) and MA in Theology (Augustine Institute, 2019), is a lay Catholic hermit, and a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.