Blessed Carlo Acutis had conceived and created a beautiful traveling exhibition on Eucharistic Miracles. This exhibition continues to travel throughout Italy and the world; all the Eucharistic miracles featured in the exhibition have been collected in the book Eucharistic Miracles Around the World, from which this text is taken.
The Eucharistic miracle of Daroca occurred shortly before one of the many battles fought by the Spaniards against the Moors. The Christian commanders asked the camp priest to celebrate Mass, but a few minutes after the consecration, a sudden enemy attack forced the priest to suspend the Mass and hide the consecrated hosts wrapped in the linens used for the celebration. The Spaniards emerged victorious from the battle, and the commanders asked the priest to give them Communion with the previously consecrated hosts. However, they were found completely covered in blood. Even today, it is possible to venerate the bloodstained linens.
In 1239, the Christian cities of Daroca, Teruel, and Calatayud (in Aragon) joined forces to recapture the castle of Chio Luchente from the Moors. The chaplain, Don Mateo Martínez of Daroca, celebrated Holy Mass before the battle, during which he consecrated six hosts intended for Communion for the six captains leading the troops: Don Jiménez Pérez, Don Fernando Sánchez, Don Pedro, Don Raimundo, Don Guillermo, and Don Simone Carroz. A sudden enemy attack forced the chaplain to stop the Mass immediately and wrap the six consecrated particles in the corporal, which he hid beneath a stone. The enemy troops were driven back, and the commanders asked the priest to allow them to receive Communion as a sign of gratitude for the victory they had achieved. Don Mateo therefore went to the place where he had hidden the corporal and found the hosts soaked in blood. The commanders, interpreting this event as a great sign of God's favor and a good omen, received Communion and tied the blood-stained corporal to a lance to use it as a standard. They then went into battle against the Moors with this standard and recaptured the castle of Chio, thereby achieving a resounding victory.
Main altar of the church in Daroca.
The merit for this triumph was attributed to the Eucharistic miracle. The six commanders all came from different regions of Spain, and each of them began arguing that the corporal should go to his own city. A heated discussion began. Three times, the city of Daroca was chosen as the place where the miracle would be kept. A compromise was reached: the corporal would be placed on the back of a mule allowed to wander freely; the city where the mule stopped would be the one divinely chosen to preserve the holy corporal. The mule wandered for twelve days, covering about 200 miles, until, exhausted, it collapsed in front of the Church of San Marco in Daroca. Later, a church dedicated to Saint Mary was built, where a precious reliquary containing the blood-stained corporal was placed; it can still be venerated today.
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