The Eucharistic Miracle in Lanciano

CEBU, Philippines - It was a cool late September last year in Italy when my family, close friends and I took a four-hour road trip from Rome to San Giovanni Rotondo, to visit the incorrupt remains of St. Padre Pio. We rented a van driven by a Filipino driver for the 380-kilometer trip.

Halfway from Rome, as we drove the Autostrada, we passed by a sign that said “Lanciano,” but we just passed it by. When we got to San Giovanni Rotondo, my sister asked me about the sign and I told her that there was only one place in Italy I knew that was called Lanciano.

At around 5:30 p.m., we left San Giovanni Rotondo on our way back to Rome; and halfway through, we saw the “Lanciano” sign again and decided to find out how far this place was. Then we saw another sign that declared, “Eucharistia Milagrosso 6-kilometers.” After a short drive, we found ourselves in the Church of San Francesco, Lanciano.

We got to the church at 6:45 p.m., and closing time was 7 p.m. We took it as a minor miracle for our family because a visit to Lanciano was not in our itinerary. Yet the Lord gave us precious 15-minutes to worship and adore this Holy Eucharist. While this trip was solely for St. Padre Pio, there was now this opportunity given to us by the Lord to visit the first-ever Eucharistic Miracle in Lanciano.

Legend has it that the Centurion who was featured in the gospels pierced the side of our Lord Jesus Christ with his “Lance” from which blood and water gushed forth from his side (Mark 15:29). The Centurion’s name was Longinus, who had poor eyesight from his services in the wars that Rome fought. When his lance pierced the side of Jesus, water and blood from his side touched Longinus’ eyes and his sight was restored. Thus, he declared, “Truly, this man was the Son of God!” Then he was converted and became one of the early Christians, went to Cappadocia and eventually settled in Lanciano. He was martyred for his faith and is now known as St. Longinus, whose feast day is March15.

In the 8th century A.D., a Basilian monk who entertained doubts in his head about the real presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, raised the Sacred Host during Consecration, and the Host was changed into live flesh and the wine turned into blood, which coagulated into five globules in different sizes. The Host-turned-flesh can still be seen today as fresh as it was on the day it changed its substance.

A scientific investigation in the year 1970-71 revealed that the flesh is real flesh, which is myocardial in nature and the blood is real blood that belonged to human species. Today, scientific and religious people alike believe that the Host-turned-flesh and wine-turned-blood are ongoing miracles because after centuries of being kept in the same monstrance and without the use of any preservatives, these still look fresh in the reliquary.

Since the Eucharistic Miracle in Lanciano, there have been numerous Eucharistic Miracles, the more famous ones were in Orvieto, Italy; in Santarem, Portugal; and the miraculous hosts of Sienna.