Dijon

In 1430, during the Burgundian period in France, a consecrated Host was stolen and came into the possession of a woman who, according to historical accounts, was unfamiliar with Catholic teaching about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The exact circumstances of how she obtained the Host remain historically unclear, though some accounts suggest it may have been purchased from someone who had stolen liturgical items.

About this miracle

The woman, not understanding the sacred nature of what she possessed, attempted to remove the Host from the metal or glass container (pyx or monstrance) in which it was housed. Using a knife, she cut into the Host to extract it.

As the blade touched the Host, living blood began to flow from the wound—as if she were cutting into living flesh rather than bread. The woman was horrified and terrified by what she witnessed. As the blood dried on the surface of the Host, it left behind an image: Jesus seated on a throne, surrounded by instruments of the Passion (the cross, nails, crown of thorns, lance, and other symbols of His crucifixion).

Overwhelmed by the supernatural event and fearing divine punishment, the woman brought the Host to Church authorities and confessed what had happened. The bleeding Host with its miraculous image was examined by ecclesiastical officials and was eventually enshrined in the city of Dijon, in the Duchy of Burgundy (in present-day France).

The Host remained perfectly preserved for 361 years, displayed for public veneration in Dijon. According to local tradition, Pope Eugene IV (1431-1447) learned of the miracle and personally gifted the miraculous Host to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy in 1433, though official Vatican documentation of this papal involvement has not been verified.

The miraculous Host was venerated in Dijon until 1794, when French revolutionaries destroyed it during the violent anti-Catholic persecutions of the Revolution. Despite the Host's destruction, the memory of the miracle was preserved through various means, including a stained glass window in the Cathedral of Dijon depicting the scene of the woman cutting the Host and the blood flowing forth.

The miracle powerfully demonstrates the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist—that what appears to be bread is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus. When the Host was cut with a knife, it bled as living flesh would bleed, confirming the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.