Eucharistic Miracle of

SALZANO

ITALY, 1517

An extraordinary event

occurred in Salzano in 1517.

A priest was called with urgent

haste to bring the Viaticum to

an invalid on the brink of

death. The season and the

time of day were not appropriate

to make a procession, and so the

priest had to be content with

only one altar boy. Upon arrival

at the meadows surrounding

the Muson River, several donkeys

that were grazing faced

themselves in the direction

of the pius convoy and, after

approaching the priest, they

bowed on their knees and then

followed the Most Holy Sacrament

all the way to the home of the

infirm, renewing the genuflection;

and then, always with the

priest, they walked back to

return to the pasture.

hen Saint Ignatius of

Loyola and his companions,

in 1536, paused in Venice and in

the nearby cities, while waiting for

their departure for the Holy Land,

they passed several days by the Episcopal Castle of

Stigliano, and in this way they had the opportunity

to make the acquaintance of and personally evaluate

the Phenomenon that was described in a writing by

the Jesuit Servant of God, Simone Rodriguez. Here

it is narrated about how a certain “Priest by the name

of Lorenzo was called with urgency to administer the

Holy Viaticum on the western confines of the

parish, between Zeminiana and Briana, to a mori-

bund ill person. The season and the hour were not

suited for a procession, so the priest had to be

satisfied with only one altar boy. Arriving at the

meadows surrounding the Muson River, commonly

called Cime, several donkeys that were grazing faced

themselves in the direction of the pius convoy and,

after approaching the priest, they bowed on their

knees and then followed the Most Holy Sacrament

all the way to the home of the infirm, renewing the

genuflection; and then, always with Father Lorenzo,

they returned, stopping in the pasture…. This news

is repeated by the elders to the children, and from

the priests in the religion classes to the parishioners.”

Of the Miracle even the Bollandists speak, L.M.

Gerola in “The Book for All,” P. Beccaro in “Close

to Jesus,” and P. Sanna Solaro, S.I. in a publication

about Eucharistic events that occurred in Italy.

The wondrous marvel was also re-

ferred to the Eucharistic Congress of Milan and it

was also desired to illustrate it in the one of Venice,

according to the correspondence of 1897, preserved

in the parish archive. In the History of the Society of

Jesus, by Nicolò Orlandino, printed in Bologna by

Bartolomeo Zanetti in 1615, again the episode is

recounted. This story was written by the Servant of

God Simone Rodriguez, a man equipped with

extensive knowledge, who died in the odor of sancti-

ty in Lisbon Portugal, on the 15th of July 1579. To

this document the Curia attached also a notice that

confirms the name of the priest spectator of the

Miracle, which served to determine even more the

date of the Miracle. Father Lorenzo was indeed

Chaplain of the Church of Salzano precisely in the

month of August in 1517; and he was summoned to

the Curia to testify on questions about the parish,

which at that time was held by Don Francesco

Artuso, who was the pastor in that place until about

1550. The Miracle was concluded to have occurred

in the year 1517, and Father Rodriguez, who surely

spoke with Don Artuso, was allowed to examine the

verbal proceedings, drafted by the competent autho-

rities of that time.

Fresco that depicts the miracle, painted by Gian Maria Lepscky, Church of St. Bartholomew.

Church dedicated to Saint Bartholomew,

where the fresco of the miracle is preserved.

Museum of St. Pius X in Salzano, where relics, documents, mementos

and precious objects are preserved, among which are the very beautiful

chasubles and stoles donated by the same Pope.