Eucharistic Miracle of Alatri, Italy, 1228

In Alatri’s Cathedral of Saint Paul the Apostle, there is kept even today the reliquary of the Eucharistic miracle that occurred in 1228 and consisted in a fragment of the Host turning into flesh. A young woman, in an effort to regain the love of her sweetheart, consulted a sorceress who ordered her to steal a consecrated Host to make a love potion.

During Mass, the young woman hid a Host in a cloth. But when she got home, she realized that the Host had been transformed into bleeding flesh.

This miracle has extensive documentation, including from Pope Gregory IX. The most authoritative testimony regarding this miracle is found in the Bull Fraternitas tuae (March 13, 1228) written by Pope Gregory IX in response to Bishop Giovanni V of Alatri. The text reads: “Gregory, Bishop and Servant of the Servants of God, to Venerable Brother Bishop of Alatri, greetings and Apostolic blessing. We have received your letter, dearest brother, in which you informed us of a certain young woman misguided by an evil woman, who, after having received from the priest the Most Holy Body of Christ, held the Sacred Host in her mouth until the right moment to conceal the Holy Eucharist in a cloth. After three days, she discovered the same Body which she had received in the form of bread transformed into flesh, as everyone has been able to verify with their own eyes.