SANTAREM

PORTUGAL, 1247

Eucharistic Miracle of

The Eucharistic Miracle of

Santarem, together with that

of Lanciano, is considered

among the most important.

Numerous studies and

canonical analysis were

carried out on the relics.

The Host changed into

bleeding Flesh and Blood

flowed out of it. Both relics

are preserved to this day in

the Church of St. Stephen

in Santarem.

ome Popes granted plenary indulgences to

this Eucharistic miracle: Pius IV, St. Pius V,

Pius VI, and Pope Gregory XIV. Still today,

in the Church of St. Stephen of Santarem, it is

possible to admire these precious relics.

According to the date recorded in the document

commissioned by King Alfonso IV in 1346, on

February 16, 1266, in Santarem, a young woman

overcome with jealousy for her husband, consulted

a sorceress who told her to go the church and

steal a consecrated Host to use for a love potion.

The woman stole the Host and hid it in a linen

cloth that immediately became stained with

Blood. Frightened by this, she ran home and

ope

ned the kerchief to see what had happened.

To her amazement, she saw that the Blood was

gushing from the Host. The confused woman

stored the Particle in a drawer in her bedroom.

That night the drawer began to emit brilliant

rays of light which illuminated the room as if it

were daytime. The husband, also aware of the

strange phenomenon questioned his wife, who

was obligated to tell him everything.

The next day,the couple informed the

pastor, who went to the home to remove the

Host and return it to the church of St. Stephen

in solemn procession, accompanied by many

religious and lay people. The Host bled for

three consecutive days. It was then placed in a

beautiful reliquary made of beeswax. In 1340

another miracle occurred. When the priest

opened the tabernacle, he found the beeswax

vase broken into many pieces: in its place was a

crystal vase containing the Blood mixed with

the wax. The Sacred Host is now preserved in an

18th century Eucharistic throne, above the main

altar. The Church of St. Stephen is now known as

the Shrine of the Holy Miracle. Throughout the

centuries, on various occasions, the Host gave

new emissions of Blood and in some cases various

images of our Lord were seen in it. Among the

witness of this prodigy is also

St. Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies, who

visited the shrine before going on the missions.

Every year, since the miracle occurred, on the

second Sunday of April, the precious relic is

pro

cessed from the home of the couple to the

Church of St. Stephen. The couple’s home

became a chapel in the year 1684.

Interior of the Shrine of the Most Holy Miracle

Church of the Most Holy Miracle, Santarem

Cruet containing the

Blood from the Host

House where the miracle

occurred

Altar where the relic

of the miracle is preserved

Interior of the church

Pedro Crasbeeck,

Print of 1612 that shows

exactly the glass ampulla in

which was miraculously

found the Host of the miracle

Relic of the miraculous Host

SANTAREM

PORTUGAL, 1247

The woman

stole the Host

and hid it in a

linen cloth that

immediately

became stained

with Blood.

Commemorative medallion of the Miracle of Santarém

The woman who went to the witch who counseled her to

steal a consecrated Host

The woman takes communion and steals the Host without

realizing it

The local authorities rush to return the miraculous Host to

the church

The husband of the woman discovers the theft noticing that rays of

light were emanating from the kitchen cupboard. He opened the

cupboard and saw a bloody Host which had changed into Flesh

The home of the sacrilegious woman who was converted

in the small chapel, Santarem

Eucharistic Miracle of

Pedro Crasbeeck, Print of 1612 that shows exactly the glass ampulla

in which was miraculously found the Host of the miracle