Eucharistic miracle of Offida, Italy in 1273

Jesus said “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. (John 6 : 51)

In the year 1273 in Offida, a woman named Ricciarella, the wife of Giacomo Stasia was unhappy in her marriage. Despite all her attempts to please her husband, she failed to win his love and respect. Finally, someone advised her to receive the consecrated Holy Eucharist, bring it to her kitchen and heat it over the fire until a powder was obtained. This she was to put in the food or drink of her husband, who would then lavish on her the love and respect that she greatly desired. In her desperate attempt to improve her sad state she agreed to do so.

She attended Holy Mass and received the consecrated Eucharist and let the Host fall out of her mouth into the top of her dress. After taking it home she placed the Host on a tile over fire. As soon as the sacred Host was heated, instead of turning into powder it began to turn into a piece of bloody flesh. Horrified at what was taking place, she attempted to stop the process by throwing ashes and melting wax onto the tile but without success. The tile soon bore a huge smear of blood and the flesh remained perfectly intact. In her distress to hide her sacrilege she took a linen tablecloth decorated with silk embroidery and lace and wrapped it around the tile and the bloody Host and ran to the stable and buried it deep in the garbage heap.

That evening when her husband Giacomo returned home, his horse refused to enter the stable. After severe beatings, the animal entered sideways, facing the heap of garbage until at last it fell on its knees. On seeing this strange behaviour, Giacomo became angry and accused his wife of casting a spell on the stable. Ricciarella remained silent and bore the accusations. For seven years the Blessed Sacrament remained hidden in the heap beneath the garbage. The strange behaviour of animals at the stable continued all through these years. Ricciarella too was tormented by guilt at her sacrilege. Finally she could bear it no longer and decided to confess her sin to a priest - Prior Giacomo Diotallevi, from the monastery of St. Agostino in Lanciano.

Kneeling for confession and filled with remorse and crying she could barely express her sin. In his attempt to help her, the priest suggested all the possible sins she could have committed. When she did not admit to any of it, the priest acclaimed, “I have told you all the sins that can be committed. I do not know what your fault could be unless you killed God!” To this Ricciarella, said “This is my sin! I have killed God!” She then related the story of her sacrilege. Fr. Giacomo absolved her of her sin and immediately arranged to have the Host removed from the garbage pile. He journeyed to the stable and began to remove the garbage and filth. To his surprise, he found the tile and the bloody Host and the tablecloth were intact and appeared as though they were just buried!!

He carried the tile, the table cloth and the bloody Host back to the monastery. A few days later with the permission of his superior, he travelled to Offida and showed the miraculous host to Fr. Michele Mallicano and a few illustrious citizens there. They all agreed that it was a miracle which deserved the highest honor. They decided to have a special reliquary made in Venice to place the Sacred Host alongwith a piece of wood from the Cross of Christ.

Fr. Michele alongwith another priest carried the Host in a chalice to Venice. There he commissioned a jeweller to fashion a special reliquary and asked him to maintain secrecy of the matter. When the jeweller accepted the Chalice, he was struck with fever. Soon it was revealed that he was in a state of mortal sin and when he made a confession of his sins, he was cured. When the jeweller completed the reliquary in the shape of an artistic cross, he placed the Sacred Host and the piece from the wood of the Cross of Christ in it under separate crystals and entrusted the treasure back to Fr. Michele.

Today the reliquary with the miraculous Host is kept exposed in the Sanctuary of St. Augustine in Offida, Italy. The tile on which Riccirella heated the Host, still showing the smear and splotches of blood is kept in a rectangular glass sided case. The tablecloth in which the tile and the bloody Host were wrapped is also kept in a glass case. Paintings depicting the events can also be seen in the Sanctuary. In 1973, solemn services were held to mark the seventh centennial of the translation of the miraculous Host. Every year the people of Offida celebrate May 3 as the anniversary of the miracle. There are many documents which describe this miracle, among which is an authentic copy on a parchment of the 13th century, written by the notary Giovanni Battista Doria dated April 18 1788. There are also many official decrees of the Popes beginning with that of Pope Boniface VIII dated September 20, 1295 to that of Pope Sixtus V in 1585, discourses of Roman congregations, Episcopal decrees, communal statutes, votive gifts, memorial stones, frescoes and testimonies of notable historic figures.

Why should we receive Holy Communion?

Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins and preserves him from grave sins. Receiving this sacrament strengthens for each of the communicant, their bond of love with Jesus Christ, and this collectively also results in reinforcing the unity of the Church which is the Mystical Body of Christ.

What are the essentials for receiving Communion?

1. The Communicant should be baptized in the Catholic Church and be a member of any Catholic Church which is in communion with the teachings of the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Church.

2. The Communicant should be in a state of grace, i.e should have confessed all mortal sins

3. The Communicant should have abstained from food and drink (except water) one hour before receiving Communion. This does not apply to the sick.