Camino Photo of the Day: Eucharistic Miracle

Enshrined above the tabernacle in the little church of Santa María la Real in O Cebreiro is a chalice, a paten, and six reliquaries containing bloody altar cloths, corporal, and purificators. These are the relics of a Eucharistic miracle that occurred in the harsh, snowy winter of the year 1300.

A peasant named Juan Santín made his way to the church for Mass in the midst of a driving snowstorm. The priest, who had lost his faith in the Real Presence, mocked him for being out in the weather, but gamely celebrated the Mass anyway. Following the consecration, the host turned into a lump of muscle, and blood burbled out of the chalice, staining the altar cloths. The nearby statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary turned her head as if to gaze upon the miracle.

Following the evening Mass on the Feast of Saint Mark, I spent quite a bit of time in this little side chapel in contemplation of the Eucharist.

Date: 25 April 2016
Place: O Cebreiro (Galicia, Spain)