Eucharistic Miracle of Alatri, Italy, 1228.
The
circumstances for this Eucharistic Miracle begin with a young girl infatuated
with a young man who had many admirers, and sought the means to acquire his
affection by a love potion wickedly promised her by a woman who required the
young girl to bring her a consecrated Host from the Catholic Mass. (While many
may doubt the Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist, the devil knows the
truth.)
Almost
immediately the young girl’s conscience was troubled, and instead of bringing
the Eucharistic Host to the woman for the potent, she placed it in a small
linen pouch and hid it in her family’s home. 48 hours later, the young girl
looked into the linen pouch and found the Host no longer had the appearance of
bread but now looked like living flesh.
Now
the Bishop wasn’t exactly sure what penance should be given to the young girl
and the woman who asked for the Host intending to make the potion. So the
Bishop wrote a letter laying out all the facts, including the miraculous
transformation of the appearance of the Host, and had it delivered to Pope
Gregory IX.
Pope
Gregory IX’s reply, bearing his seal, has been kept since 1228 in the archives
in the Cathedral of Alatri to this date. The Pope wrote:
“...
[W]e should express our most heartfelt thanks to Him, who, while always
operating in wonderful ways in all His deeds, on some occasions works miracles
and performs ever new wonders in order to recall sinners to penance, convert
the wicked, and confound the evil deeds of heretics by strengthening the faith
of the Catholic Church, supporting its hope and enkindling its charity.
“Therefore,
dear brother, by this apostolic letter, we provide that you inflict a lighter
penance on the girl who, in our opinion, in committing such a serious sin, was
driven more by weakness than by wickedness, especially in consideration of the
face that she certainly repented sincerely when confessing her sin. However,
against the instigator who with her perversity, prompted the girl to commit the
sacrilege, take those disciplinary measures that you think more suitable; also
order her to pay a visit to all the neighboring bishops, to confess her sin to
them and to implore their forgiveness with devout submissiveness.”
From
1228 to 1700 the miraculous Host remained perfectly intact. In 1700, a very
small piece of the host was placed in a reliquary and given to a Cardinal to
place in a church in Rome. However, over time, that piece was lost. All
attempts to locate it have failed. The remaining Host has remained intact to
the present, held in the basilica cathedral of Alatri, Italy. In 1886 and 1960
the Host was taken out of its sealed reliquary for inspection and notation of
its condition, which matched the historical records.
In 1978, the 750th anniversary of the miracle, special celebrations were observed and lectures given, including one by a Monsignor Caesario D’Amato who stated, “... [T]he miracle subsists. It is visible, indestructible, real.”
Dibby Allan Green