“At first I was convinced that it was a blood clot” – said Professor Sobaniec-Łotowska. But the truth was much more surprising! The two scientists of Białystok, who for their own independent investigations, made use of the most modern optical microscopes and the transmission electronic microscope, have reached the same conclusion (Professor Sulkowski, did not know that the sample which he was examining came from a Host): the sample examined was neither a clot, nor blood … it was a human cardiac muscle tissue still alive. And, something even more incredible, it was a cardiac muscle with typical indications of the final phase that precedes death.
Category: Europe
Belgium: Herkenrode-Hasselt
In the Cathedral of St. Quintinus in Hasselt is exposed the relic of the Eucharistic miracle that took place in Herkenrode in 1317. During the course of the centuries, many tests were done to ascertain the miraculous preservation of the consecrated Host from which blood came forth. We recall the one done in the 18th century by the Apostolic Nuncio Carafa and the Bishop of Liège or the one done by the Archbishop of Malines during a visit of the Archduchess Isabel. In the cathedral we also find numerous paintings depicting the miracle, done by a pupil of Jordaens, Jan.
Austria: Weiten-Raxendorf
In fifteenth-century Austria there were a number of thefts of consecrated Hosts, so Church authorities took to keeping the Hosts in the sacristy. Despite these precautions, a thief succeeded in 1411 in stealing a consecrated Host from the parish church in Weiten. The Host slipped unnoticed to the ground during his journey and was discovered several days later by a pious woman. The Host glowed brilliantly, divided in two pieces but united by threads of bleeding flesh.