Blessed Carlo Acutis had conceived and created a beautiful traveling exhibition on Eucharistic Miracles. This exhibition continues to tour Italy and the world; all the Eucharistic miracles featured in the exhibition have been collected in the book Eucharistic Miracles in the World, from which this text is taken.
The Eucharistic miracle of Santarém, together with that of Lanciano, is considered among the most important.
Canonical analyses and numerous studies have been carried out on the relics. The host was transformed into bleeding flesh, and blood flowed from it.
Both relics are still preserved in Santarém, in the Church of Santo Stefano.
The spouses' house has been a chapel since 1684.
Several popes granted plenary indulgences for this Eucharistic miracle: Pius IV, Saint Pius V, Pius VI, and Pope Gregory XIV. Even today, these precious relics can be admired in the Church of Santo Stefano in Santarém. According to the date recorded in the copy of the document commissioned by King Alfonso IV in 1346, on February 16, 1266, in Santarém, a young woman, consumed by jealousy of her husband, turned to a sorceress, who suggested that she go to church and steal a consecrated host to use as a love potion. The woman stole the host and hid it in a linen cloth, which immediately became stained with blood. Terrified, she rushed home, where she opened the handkerchief to see what had happened. To her great amazement, she saw that blood was flowing directly from the host. Confused, the woman placed the host in a drawer in her bedroom, but during the night beams of light began to emanate from it, illuminating the room as if it were daylight. Her husband also noticed the strange phenomenon and began questioning his wife, who was forced to tell him everything.
The following day, the couple informed the parish priest, who went to their home to retrieve the host and carry it back to the Church of Saint Stephen in a solemn procession, accompanied by many religious and laypeople. The host bled for three consecutive days. It was later placed in a magnificent reliquary made of beeswax. In 1340, another miracle occurred. The priest opened the tabernacle and found the wax container broken into many pieces; in its place was a crystal vessel containing the blood of the host mixed with the wax. Today, the sacred particle is kept in an 18th-century Eucharistic throne above the high altar. The Church of Saint Stephen is known as the Sanctuary of the Holy Miracle. The host has dripped blood on several occasions over the centuries, and various images of our Lord Jesus Christ have been seen to appear in it. Among the witnesses to the prodigy was Saint Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the Indies, who visited the sanctuary before departing on his mission. Since the miracle occurred, every year, on the second Sunday of April, the precious relic has been carried in procession from the couple’s home to the Church of Saint Stephen.
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