In every Mass, the bread changes into the body of Jesus during the consecration and is no longer bread although keeping the appearance of bread and the wine changes into the blood of Jesus and is no longer wine although keeping the appearance of wine. Many times in the history of the Church, to prove to us that the Eucharist really is Jesus, a Eucharistic miracle occurred when the bread changed its appearance to look like what a doctor would describe as heart muscular tissue and the wine changed its appearance to look like human blood. Whenever one of these miracles occurred, the local bishop requested a full and complete scientific and medical analysis of the flesh tissue that had been bread and an analysis of the blood.
An Italian cardiologist, Dr. Franco Serafini (in Bologna), has written a fascinating book on these miracles in five locations around the world that have been subjected to medical and scientific examination in recent years. (Dr. Franco Serafini A Cardiologist examines Jesus: the stunning science behind Eucharistic miracles) He travelled to examine the medical notes of the hospital consultants/professors who performed the laboratory tests on these Eucharistic miracles. Last year I shared his thoughts on two Eucharistic miracles, Lanciano in Italy and Buenos Aires in Argentina. Now I want to share his thoughts on three Eucharistic Miracles: Tixtla in Mexico, and two in Poland.
The eucharistic miracle in Tixtla occurred in October 2006 when a nun was distributing Holy Communion during Mass. The nun was seen to pause, turn pale, and she returned the ciborium to the altar. One of the hosts was stained with blood. The bishop set up a commission of enquiry. The bishop had a particular request—to examine if the blood had been added to the host from the outside, which could indicate fraud, or if the blood originated from inside the host. The investigations concluded that it was blood containing red blood cells, hemoglobin, white blood cells, and that the blood group was AB. All these Eucharistic miracles find the blood to be AB and the blood on the Turin Shroud is also AB. The host contained cellular fibers that resembled heart muscular tissue in a state of suffering. Two separate studies concluded that the blood came from within the host and had not been added to it from the outside and it seemed to be coming from a wound. The blood showed signs of degrading over time with the exception of the white blood cells which is extraordinary since they die a few hours after death. There was no explanation why they were still living. One of the white blood cells, doing its job as it ought, swallowed fatty debris on a glass slide, proving they came a living organism and were trying to repair it. In October 2013, the bishop recognized it as supernatural and declared it a miracle.
At Sokółka in Poland in October 2008, a host was dropped to the floor during distribution of Holy Communion. As it was dirty, the priest decided not to consume it but put in the vasculum in the tabernacle, a bowl with water, to allow it to dissolve because when it would no longer be in the form of bread it would no longer be Jesus. Later that day it was transferred to the safe. The following Sunday, when a nun opened the safe, there was a red stain, like a blood clot, on part of the host. The bishop advised that the blood clot be removed and placed on a small white corporal. By January the clot had fully dried out, and the bishop asked two professors from a nearby university, anatomical pathologists, to carry out investigations. They discovered that it was heart tissue showing signs of suffering (segmentation resulting from spasms of the heart muscle facing imminent death and can only happen in living heart muscle in agony). The following year the diocese gave permission to venerate the relic. Unfortunately, the two professors were reprimanded by some colleagues in the scientific community who apparently were embarrassed that science proved our faith. A tabloid claimed it was only bacterial contamination, and a group of atheists wrote to the district attorney saying the tissue must have been taken from the heart of a corpse and it could not be ruled out that murder had been committed. The attorney general responded that no one in the town had gone missing and no homicide had been committed.
Five years after the miracle at Sokółka, a similar miracle took place in Legnica on the opposite side of Poland. Tests on the part of the host that turned red showed it to be heart muscular tissue displaying changes that accompany a state of agony. Following investigations, in 2016 the bishop declared that the event had the qualities of a miracle. The relic is in a monstrance in a side chapel.
This is an extremely brief summary of the examinations on Eucharistic miracles in three of the five locations written by the Italian cardiologist, Dr. Serafini, who travelled to see the medical notes recorded by the consultants/professors. The heart of Jesus was under stress in each miracle because it was the heart of Jesus undergoing the agony of his passion for us. We also see that in each miracle the heart muscular tissue in some strange way is still living. God, in his mercy, has given us these Eucharistic miracles to prove to us that Jesus really is present in the Eucharist. (158 Eucharistic Miracles listed by country in the Vatican International Exhibit)
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2026
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for Corpus Christi
Eucharistic Miracles: Lanciano and Buenos Aires 2025
The Eucharist: the greatest gift 2023
The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and Eucharistic Miracles
Year A: Meet Jesus in his Real Presence in the Eucharist 2008
Year B: Hungry for Jesus 2024
Jesus’ continuing presence with us in the Eucharist 2021
Year C: Is Jesus in the Eucharist the center of your life? 2007
Related Homilies: Homilies on the Eucharist