Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2019) |
In Catholicism, the Miracle of Lanciano is a Eucharistic miracle which is alleged to have occurred in the eighth century in the city of Lanciano, Italy. According to tradition, a monk who had doubts about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist found, when he said the words of consecration at Mass, that the bread and wine changed into flesh and blood. The Catholic Church officially claims the miracle as authentic.[1]
The story is similar to the tradition known as the Mass of Saint Gregory, first recorded in the 8th century by Paul the Deacon.
Traditional account
The miracle is usually described roughly as follows: In the city of Lanciano, Italy, then known as Anxanum, some time in the 700s, a Basilian hieromonk was assigned to celebrate Mass at the monastery of St. Longinus. Celebrating in the Roman Rite and using unleavened bread, the monk had doubts about the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. 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 blood which coagulated into five globules, irregular and differing in shape and size.[citation needed] The miracle was contemporaneously investigated and confirmed by the Church, though no documents from this investigation are extant.[citation needed]
Relics
The Basilian monks kept custody of the elements until their departure in 1175. They were succeeded by Benedictine monks in 1176. The items were placed in different locations within the Church of St. Francis at Lanciano. They were kept in the Valsecca Chapel from 1636 until 1902 when they were relocated to a new altar.[2][dead link]
As of 2012[update], the relics of this miracle are kept in the Church of San Francesco in Lanciano.[3][better source needed] In 2004 Pope John Paul II recalled visiting the relics there while a cardinal.[4] They are displayed in a silver and glass reliquary made in Naples in 1713.[3][better source needed]
Gallery
-
Rear-lighted panel (side) -
Rear-lighted panel (front) -
Scientific recognition (18 November 1970) -
Scientific recognition (4 March 1971) -
Document by Prof. Ruggero Bertelli -
Related article in L'Osservatore Romano -
Places with similar miracles
Notes
References
- ^ News, Käri Knutson (25 April 2008). "Wabasha church hosts display depicting 160 Vatican-approved Eucharistic miracles". Winona Daily News. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Miracles of the Church (PDF). Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Learning. 2012. p. 20.
- ^ a b Lillie, Barry (26 March 2012). "Take a Faith Break in Lanciano". Italy Magazine. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ Pope John Paul II (4 October 2004), Letter of John Paul II to Archbishop Carlo Ghidelli of Lanciano-Ortona (Italy), Libreria Editrice Vaticana, retrieved 21 April 2019
External links
Media related to Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano at Wikimedia Commons- Santuario del Miracolo Eucharistico
42°13′48″N 14°23′24″E / 42.23000°N 14.39000°E
