Daroca is about 50 miles from Zaragoza, Spain. It was late 1238 and early 1239. The Muslims were conquering Spain and now an important battle was to be fought. As the soldiers were attending Mass, word came that the Muslims had begun to attack. The priest wrapped the consecrated Hosts in a corporal and hid it under a rock. The Catholic Soldiers were victorious and came back to receive Holy Communion. When the priest took the corporal with the Hosts from under the rock, he found that they had started to bleed. Blood was on the corporal (altar cloth).
The commanders interpreted this event as a great sign of predilection on the part of God and of good auspices. They received Communion and tied the Blood-stained corporal to a spear to make a banner. In this way, they brought the banner into battle against the castle walls and reconquered the Castle of Chio, obtaining a miraculous victory.
Now a question arose. To which Church in Spain should the corporal go? They decided to put it on a mule and whereever the mule stopped, that is where the corporal would be preserved. This was February 24, 1239. The mule walked over 200 miles in 12 days and finally fell from exhaustion in the city of Daroca. Pope Urban IV acknowledged that it was an authentic miracle.
A church dedicated to Our Lady was constructed along with a precious reliquary where, even today, it is possible to venerate the Bloodstained corporal.
This miracle shows us:
Jesus keeps His promises that He would give us His Flesh to eat and His Blood to drink (John 6:48-59).
At every Mass, for the last 2,000 years, when the priest says the words of consecration (this is My Body and this is My Blood) the bread and wine are changed into the Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity of Jesus Christ. All Christians believed this miracle happens at Mass for the first 1,500 years until the Protestant Reformation.
The red blood cells in fresh blood break down over time (24 to 48 hours) without refrigeration.
Information from: CD by Fr. John Noone, Miracles of the Eucharist
Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association 718 Liberty Lane Lombard, IL 60148 Phone: 815-254-4420 Contact Us Internet: www.therealpresence.org
or Carol J. Seydel The Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association Phone: 815-609-7331 - [email protected] - http://www.therealpresence.org