Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano

The miracle of Lanciano is a eucharistic miracle.

In the city of Lanciano, Italy, around A.D. 700, a Basilian monk and priest were assigned to celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice in the Latin Rite in the small Church of St.Legontian. Usually celebrating in the Greek Rite and using leavened bread after having been taught that unleavened bread was invalid matter for the Holy Sacrifice he was disturbed to be constrained to use unleavened bread and had trouble believing that the miracle of transubstantiation would take place with unleavened bread..

During the Mass, when he said the words of consecration (This is my body. This is my blood), the priest saw the bread change into living flesh and the wine change into live blood, which coagulated into five globules, irregular and differing in shape and size (this number corresponds to the number of wounds Christ suffered on the cross: one in each hand and foot from the nails, and the wound from the centurion's spear). He was frightened and confused by the miracle, and stood a while as if in divine ecstasy, but eventually he turned his face to the congregation, and said "behold the flesh and the blood of our most beloved Christ."

At those words, the congregation members ran to the altar and began to cry for mercy. This miracle proved to him that unleavened bread was acceptable matter for the Holy Sacrifice.

Years later other Basilian monks stole the documentation that was in the archives of the parish church. The Byzantine rejection of unleavened bread eventuated in the schism of 1054 that started out as a disagreement concerning the 'azymes' between Patriarch Michael Keroularios and Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida acting for the already deceased Pope Leo IX.

Since 1574, various ecclesiastical investigations of varying degrees of detail have been conducted upon the miracle. The first appears to consist of a weighing,in which each different globule though varying in size, all each weigh the same and always produced the same weight no matter what the amount of these globules was. thus all of of them put together was the equivalent to any one of them or any three or any four all equaled the same weight no matter what combination. also an examination in 1971 conducted by Professor Doctor Odoardo Linoli which where confirmed by Dr. Bertelli. The flesh was found to be human striated muscular tissue of the myocardium ( the heart wall ), type AB , and to be absolutely free of any agents used for preserving flesh. The blood of the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano;this blood has divided into five irregularly shaped pellets. at scientific examinations conducted in 1971 these pellets were found to be human blood, type AB("the universal receiver"),with proteins normally fractionated and present in the same percentage ratio as those in normal fresh blood.

• February 17th, 1574 by Bishop Rodriguez
• 1636 by Father Serafino from Scanno
• October 23rd, 1777 by Bishop Gervasone
• October 26th, 1886 by Bishop Petrarca
• 1971, but Professor Odoardo Linoli

This most recent examination was performed by Professor Odoardo Linoli, Professor in Anatomy and Pathological Histology and in Chemistry and Clinical Microscopy, and Professor Ruggero Bertelli of the University of Siena. The report was published in Quaderni Sclavo di Diagnostica Clinica e di Laboratori in 1971.

The following conclusions were drawn by Odoardo Linoli:

• The flesh is real flesh and the blood is real blood
• The flesh and the flood belong to the human species
• The flesh consists of the muscular tissue of the heart
• In the flesh we see present in section: the myocardium, the endocardium, the vagus nerve and also the left ventricle of the heart for the large thickness of the myocardium. The flesh is a heart complete in its essential structure.
• The flesh and the blood have the same blood type, AB
• In the blood there were found proteins in the same normal proportions (percentage-wise) as are found in the sero-proteic make-up of the fresh normal blood
• In the blood there were also found these minerals: chlorides, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium
• There is no trace whatsoever of any materials or agents used to preserve the flesh or blood

The flesh and blood of the miracle can still be seen today. The Host-Flesh, which is the same size as the large Host used today in the Latin Church, is fibrous and light brown in colour, and becomes rose-coloured when lighted from the back. The Blood consists of five coagulated globules and has an earthly colour resembling the yellow of ochre. Unfortunately, there is no way to verify that this flesh and blood was ever anything other than flesh and blood.

Pictures and documents

• 
  Live photo
• 
  rear-lighted panel (side)
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  rear-lighted panel (front)
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  scientific recognition (18 November 1970)
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  scientific recognition (4 March 1971)
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  Document by Prof. Ruggero Bertelli
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  Related article on L'Osservatore Romano
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  Places with other similar miracles