Anne-Louise Lateau Eucharistic Fasting and Stigmata

In Belgium, at Bois-d'Haine, the Servant of God Anne-Louise Lateau lived for twelve years without eating or drinking and without sleeping, starting on March 26, 1871. On January 11, 1868, she received stigmata at her feet, hands, head, left side of her chest, and at her right shoulder. She lived in this state, conformed to Our Lord, until the end of her life. Anne-Louise died on August 25, 1883, at age 33. She survived only on the Eucharist during this extraordinary period of fasting.

Scientific analysis

Pope Leo XIII made declarations regarding Anne-Louise's case on April 23, 1873: 'The Bois-d'Haine event is an extraordinary one. You can affirm on my behalf that medical science will never be able to explain such a fact.'

Church recognition

Formal Church documentation has not been located for this event. This means we cannot verify its ecclesial recognition status. The absence of documentation neither confirms nor calls into question the event's authenticity — it simply means the formal record has not been found.

In 1991, the cause for her beatification was officially opened at the diocesan level. Pope Leo XIII acknowledged the extraordinary nature of her case in 1873, stating that medical science would never be able to explain such a fact. However, no formal Vatican decree of heroic virtue, no papal proclamation of Venerable status, nor any officially recognized miracle (including the Eucharistic sustenance) has been issued by the Holy See. The diocesan investigation undertaken after 1991 has not resulted in published documents in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis or other official papal documents accessible in public Church archives.

Recognition status cross-referenced using Magisterium AI, a third-party tool that searches a corpus of Catholic Church documents. This does not constitute official Church verification.

Sources & references

• 1
  Wikipedia - Louise Lateau

  Comprehensive encyclopedic biography with medical investigations

• 2
  Mystics of the Church - Anne Louise Lateau

  Detailed mysticism resource with stigmata documentation

• 3
  Encyclopedia.com - Lateau, Louise

  Religious encyclopedia entry with Church investigation details

• 4
  Cradling Catholic - Servant of God Anna Louise Lateau

  Catholic devotional site with Eucharistic fasting focus

• 5
  National Catholic Register - Meet the Stigmatists

  Major Catholic media article on prominent stigmatists