During our trip to Portugal, we were able to stand inches away from a Eucharistic Miracle. It is without a doubt - One of the most Awesome Sites to see!
The story of the miracle centers on an early-13th-century woman with an unfaithful husband. Desperate to regain his faithfulness and save her marrige, she consulted a sorceress. The sorceress said she would cure the husband's infidelity for the price of a consecrated host (Eucharistic wafer). After much deliberation, the woman decided to commit the sacrilege.
The next time she attended Mass at the 12th-century Church of St. Stephen, she took the consecrated wafer from her mouth, wrapped it in a veil and headed quickly for the door. But before she had taken more than a few steps, the host began to bleed. It bled so much that concerned parishioners thought she had cut her hand and attempted to help, but she ran out of the church.
Back at home, she threw the bloody host in a trunk in her bedroom. Her husband did not come home until late, as usual. In the middle of the night, they were both awoken by a mysterious light emanating from the trunk. The woman confessed to her husband what she had done and they both knelt in repentance before the miracle. The next morning, the couple told the parish priest what had happened. The priest placed the miraculous host in a wax container and returned it to the Church of St. Stephen. Word spread quickly, and the townspeople hurried to the church to see the miracle.
The next time the priest opened the tabernacle that contained the miraculous host, another miracle occurred! The wax container was found broken into pieces, and the host was enclosed in a crystal pyx. This pyx was placed in a silver monstrance, where it can be seen today.
After an investigation, the Catholic Church approved the recognition of the miracle. The Church of St. Stephen was renamed the Church of the Holy Miracle, and it is one of Portugal's most-visited pilgrimage sites. St. Francis Xavier visited the Church of the Holy Miracle before setting off for missionary work in India.
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| Our picture kneeling before the altar in the Church of the Holy Miracle |
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| Tabernacle containing the Eucharistic Miracle |
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This is a picture of a postcard of the Eucharistic Miracle -
this is what we really saw when we went behind the altar and climbed a ladder
to stand face-to-Face with Our Lord |
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| Tile mosaic outside the Church of the Holy Miracle |
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| The rain couldn't stop us! |
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| Happy, blessed kids traveling by train from Santarem back to Lisbon |
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| Metro ride from the train back to our rented apartment |
We were certainly blessed to be able to see with our own eyes the Eucharistic Miracle and to offer our prayer petitions before Him. However, the question can be asked - is it really necessary to travel to see these holy places? Not everyone, after all, can see what we're able to see living over here in Europe with the means to go on pilgrimages. Having these thoughts myself - I loved reading the reflection in Magnificat for this month:
