Eucharistic Miracle of Douai, France 1254

Bonum universale de Apibus is the work written by an eye witness of the miracle: the Dominican Father Thomas de Cantimpré, doctor of theology and “suffragan” Bishop of Cambrai. On the day of Easter in 1254 in the Church of St. Amato in Douai, a priest who was distributing Holy Communion unintentionally dropped a consecrated Host to the ground.  Immediately he bent down to pick up the Sacred Species, but the Host lifted up in flight and lighted on the purificator. A little later, a wonderful Child appeared there Who all the faithful and religious present in the celebration could contemplate.  The news spread quickly, and the Bishop of Cambrai, Thomas de Cantimpré, came immediately to Douai to verify the facts in person, which he described in this manner: “I went to the Dean of the Church, followed by many faithful, and I asked to see the miracle. The Dean opened the small case in which he had reposed the Host of the miracle, but initially I didn't see anything special.

“I was conscious though, that nothing could prevent me from seeing, as was true of the others, the Sacred Body. I didn’t even have time to ask myself this type of question, when I scarcely looked at the Host and saw the face of Christ crowned with thorns with two drops of Blood that descended on His forehead.  Immediately I knelt, and crying, I began to thank God”. It is certain that already by the year 1356, that is, one century after the apparition,  every year on Wednesday of Holy Week, a feast  in memory of the miracle of the Blessed Sacrament was celebrated, and the document which records it indicates that this event was in existence already for a long time. The precious relic of the miracle was conserved and honored until the Revolution. Then all signs of this marvel were lost for many years. In October 1854, the Pastor of the Church of St. Peter by chance discovered underneath the Christ in the Altar of the Dead, a small wooden box containing a small Host, still white, but with damaged edges. A letter written in Latin gives witness: “I, the undersigned, Canon of the distinguished collegial Church of St.Amato, certify it to be the real and true Host of the holy miracle, which I removed from imminent danger of profanation and which I have happily collected. I have placed the Host in this pyx and have left this witness, written by my own hand, for the faithful who will discover the Sacred Miracle in the future (January 5, 1793)”.

Eucharistic Miracle Faverney, France 1608

In the 17th century, Protestantism and Calvinism spread quickly in France by means of the many material benefits conceded by the new religions to the members of the nobility and the clergy coming from the Catholic Church. This placed at risk the faith of many and created many uncertainties, even in the monasteries. In the city of Faverney there was a Benedictine Abbey whose monks had departed a great deal from the rule of their founder.  They held only the highest esteem for the devotion to the Lady of Notre-Dame la Blanche, known in all the area for its many miracles. Through her intercession many miracles had in fact been verified, among which was even the returning to life of two infants who were not yet baptized. In 1608, on the Vigil of the Feast of Pentecost, the monks decided to prepare an altar for the exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The lunette of the monstrance was very large, and because of this, they decided to put in two Hosts. When Vespers had finished the monks left the monstrance exposed on the provisional altar. 

On the next morning, the sacristan opened the church and found it full of smoke, with the provisional altar completely reduced to ashes.  He started to yell, and immediately the religious and other people hastened and proceeded to remove the ashes with the hope of finding some part of the monstrance. When the smoke began to clear, they were astonished on seeing that the monstrance was suspended in the air. The multitude increased and crowded to see the Eucharistic marvel, in which the Hosts had remained unharmed regardless of the fire.  The religious were astonished and unable to make a decision. They asked the counsel of the Capuchin friars of Vesoul. The friars immediately prepared a new altar over the burned one and celebrated Holy Mass. During the elevation of the Host, the monstrance slowly descended upon the new altar.

When the canonical process finished, on July 10, the Archbishop of Besançon declared that the miracle was authentic, and on September 13, the Archbishop of Rodi, who was the nuncio in Brussels, made it known to Pope Paul V who granted a Bull of Indulgence. The miracle rekindled the faith of many. In 1862, the Congregation of Rites authorized the celebration of the miracle. In 1908 the third centenary of the miracle was solemnly commemorated with a National Eucharistic Congress. Even today it is possible to see and venerate the relic containing one of the two Hosts which remained unharmed. The other Host, unfortunately, after it was donated to the Church of Dole, was destroyed by the revolutionaries in 1794.

Eucharistic Miracle of Rochelle, France - 1461

During Easter of 1461, Mrs. Jehan Leclerc brought her twelve year old son, Bertrand, to the Church of St. Bartholomew. Bertrand had been paralyzed and mute since the age of seven due to a terrible fall.  When the time for Holy Communion arrived, he indicated to his mother that he also wanted to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Initially the priest did not want to give the young man Communion, because the boy was not able to go to Confession given his muteness. The young man, however, continued to beseech the priest for Communion and, in the end, the priest did permit him to receive the Blessed Sacrament.

From the first moment that Bertrand received the Host, he began to feel shaken by a mysterious force. He was able to move and to speak. He was cured. According to the hand-written document, immediately after the miraculous event Bertrand’s first words were, “Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini!” (“Our help is in the name of the Lord!”) The most authoritative document that visually describes this miracle is the painted manuscript preserved to this day in the Cathedral of La Rochelle. 

Reference: http://www.therealpresence.org/

Eucharistic Miracle Blanot, France 1331

In the 14th  Century, Blanot was a small village in the center of France and part of the diocese of Autun. The bishop of this town, Pierre Bertrand, was involved in certain canonical discussions with an official of his curia, Jean Jarossier, which resulted in documentation that gives us many details about this Eucharistic miracle.

The miracle occurred on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1331, at the first Mass of the day, which was offered by Hugues de la Baume, the vicar of Blanot. One of the last people to receive Communion was a woman named Jacquette, the widow of Regnaut d’Effour. The priest placed the Host on her tongue, turned, and started walking toward the altar. He did not notice that a Particle from the Host fell and landed upon a cloth that covered the woman’s hands. Thomas Caillot, who was assisting at the Mass went to the altar and said: “Father, you must return to the rail because the Body of Our Lord fell from the mouth of this lady onto the cloth.”

The priest immediately went to the woman, still kneeling at the railing, but instead of finding the Host on the cloth, he saw a small spot of Blood. When Mass was over, the priest took the cloth into the sacristy and placed the stained area in a basin filled with clear water.  After washing the spot and scrubbing it numerous times, he found that it had become darker and larger (reaching about the size and shape of a Host). Moreover, the water in the basin turned bloody. The priest took a knife and, after washing the cloth, cut from it the piece bearing the Bloody imprint of the Host. He held up the Sacred Host and said: “Good people: here is the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I sought in every way to wash and to wring the stain from the cloth, and in no way was I able to do so.”

This square of cloth was reverently placed in the tabernacle. Every year, on the feast of Corpus Christi, the relic is solemnly exposed in the church of Blanot.  An additional note: The Hosts that remained in the ciborium after the distribution of Holy Communion on that Easter Sunday were alsoreturned to the tabernacle, never to be distributed.  Hundreds of years later they were found to have been perfectly preserved.

Reference: http://www.therealpresence.org/