LANCIANOITALY, 750 A.D.

Eucharistic Miracle of

An inscription in marble fromthe 17th century describesthis Eucharistic miracle whichoccurred at Lanciano in 750at the Church of St. Francis.“A monastic priest doubtedwhether the Body of OurLord was truly present in theconsecrated Host. He celebratedMass and when he said thewords of consecration, he sawthe Host turn into Flesh andthe Wine turn into Blood.Everything was visible tothose in attendance. TheFlesh is still intact and theBlood is divided into fiveunequal parts which togetherhave the exact same weight as each one does separately.

n 1970, the Archbishop of Lanciano and the Provincial Superior of the ConventualFranciscans at Abruzzo, with Rome’s appro-

val, requested Dr. Edward Linoli, director of the hospital in Arezzo and professor of anatomy, histology, chemistry, and clinical microscopy, toperform a thorough scientific examination on therelics of the miracle which had occurred twelvecenturies earlier. On March 4, 1971, the professorpresented a detailed report of the various studiescarried out. Here are the basic results:1. The “miraculous flesh" is authentic fleshconsisting of muscular striated tissue of the myocardium.2. The “miraculous Blood" is truly blood. Thechromatographic analysis indicated this with absolute and indisputable certainty.3. The immunological study shows with certi-

great interest in the scientific world. Also, in 1973,the chief Advisory Board of the World HealthOrganization appointed a scientific commission tocorroborate Linoli’s findings. Their work lasted 15months and included 500 tests. It was verified thatthe fragments taken from Lanciano could in noway be likened to embalmed tissue. As to thenature of the fragment of Flesh, the commissiondeclared it to be living tissue because it respondedrapidly to all the clinical reactions distinctive ofliving beings. Their reply fully corroboratedProfessor Linoli’s conclusions. In the extract sum-marizing the scientific work of the MedicalCommission of the WHO and the UN, publishedin Dec. 1996 in New York and Geneva, declaredthat science, aware of its limits, has come to a halt,face to face with the impossibility of giving anexplanation.

I tude that the flesh and the blood are human, andthe immuno – hematological test allows us toaffirm with complete objectivity and certitudethat both belong to the same blood type AB, thesame blood type as that of the man of the Shroudand the type most characteristic of MiddleEastern populations.4. The proteins contained in the Blood havethe normal distribution, in the identical percen-tage as that of the serous-proteic chart for normalfresh blood.5. No histological dissection has revealed anytrace of salt infiltrations or preservative substancesused in antiquity for the purpose of embalming.Professor Linoli also discarded the hypothesis ofa hoax carried out in past centuries. This reportwas published in The Sclavo Notebooks inDiagnostics (Collection #3, 1971) and aroused

© 2006, Istituto San Clemente I Papa e Martire / The Real Presence Association, Inc.

Monstrance containingthe Holy Relics

Relic of the wine whichwas transformed into Blood

Painting located in the Valsecca chapel which depicts the miracle

Stone tablet from 1631which describes the miracle

LANCIANOITALY, 750 A.D.

The Fleshand the Bloodof Lancianotherefore are justthe same as theywould be ifthey had beendrawn that very day from a living being.

Graph of the electrophoresis of the proteins of the Blood ofthe Miracle. The profile of the protein fractions from the serum

could be superimposed on a standard specimen of fresh blood

The reliquary from the 18th century containing the Host andthe coagulated Blood, gift of the generous citizen Domenico Coli

The flesh consists of part of themyocardium, more precisely of theleft ventricle. The arteries and veinscan be easily identified, as well as adouble, slender branch of the vagusnerve. At the time of the miracle,the flesh was living and thensubmitted to the law of rigor mortis.

The 5 clots of Blood as seen with amagnifying glass. In the blood ofthe Miracle can be recognized allthe components present in freshblood, and the miracle within themiracle, each of the 5 clots ofBlood weighs 15.85 grams, whichis the identical weight of the 5clots weighed together !

Analysis of the Host.Endocardiac structuresA vagus nerve

A small lobe of adipose tissue

Cubical lattice in gold-platedcast iron in which the relics werepreserved for almost 266 years,today returned to the Valseccafamily chapel

The miracle was the object ofseveral official acknowledgementson the part of the ecclesiasticalauthorities between 1574 and1886, not to mention mostrecently, in 1970, when it wassubjected to a scientific examina-tion carried out by professors fromthe University of Siena, whichconcluded:“The flesh is truehuman flesh (formed by musculartissue from the heart); that theblood is true blood (belonging tothe same blood type AB as theflesh); that the componentsubstances are those of humantissues, normal and fresh; that theconservation of the flesh and theblood, left in their natural state fortwelve centuries and exposed tothe influence of atmospheric andbiological elements, remains anextraordinary phenomenon”(The Linoli Report 4131971).

The Church of St. Francis wasconstructed almost 500 years later,in 1258, above the chapel wherethe miracle took place

An antique painting depicting the Miracle

The muscular fiber cells

Histological view of the Flesh

Eucharistic Miracle of

© 2006, Istituto San Clemente I Papa e Martire / The Real Presence Association, Inc.