The miracle of Bolsena-Orvieto/Italy
In 1263 a German priest, Peter of
Prague stopped at Bolsena while on a pilgrimage to Rome. He is described as
being a pious priest, but one who found it difficult to believe that Christ was
actually present in the consecrated Host. While celebrating Holy Mass above the
tomb of St. Christina (located in the church named for this martyr) he had
barely spoken the words of Consecration when blood started to seep from the
Consecrated Host and trickle over his hands onto the altar and the corporal.
The priest was immediately
confused. At first he attempted to hide the blood, but then he interrupted the
Mass and asked to be taken to the neighboring city of Orvieto, the city where
Pope Urban IV was then residing.
The Pope listened to the priest's
account and absolved him. He then sent emissaries for an immediate
investigation. When all the facts were ascertained, he ordered the Bishop of
the diocese to bring to Orvieto the Host and the linen cloth bearing the stains
of blood. With archbishops, cardinals, and other church dignitaries in
attendance, the Pope met the procession and, amid great pomp, had the relics
placed in the cathedral. The linen corporal bearing the spots of blood is still
reverently enshrined and exhibited in the Cathedral of Orvieto.
It is said that Pope Urban IV was
prompted by this miracle to commission St. Thomas Aquinas to compose the Proper
for a Mass and an Office honoring the Holy Eucharist as the Body of Christ. One
year after the miracle, in August of 1264, Pope Urban IV introduced the saint's
composition and by means of a papal bull instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi.
After visiting the Cathedral of
Orvieto, many pilgrims and tourists journey to St. Christina's church in
Bolsena to see for themselves the place where the miracle occurred. From the
north aisle of the church one can enter the Chapel of the Miracle, where the
stains on the paved floor are said to have been made by the blood from the
miraculous Host. The altar of the miracle, which is surmounted by a 9th century
canopy, is now situated in the grotto of St. Christina.
In 1964, on the 700th anniversary
of the institution of the feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Paul VI celebrated Holy
Mass at the altar where the holy corporal is kept in its golden shrine in the
Cathedral of Orvieto.
Pope Paul VI later spoke of the
Eucharist as being ...."a mystery
great and inexhaustible."
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