Italy · 15th Century
Bagno di Romagna
In 1412, the prior of the Basilica of St. Mary of Bagno di Romagna, Father Lazzaro da Verona, was celebrating Holy Mass when he was assailed by doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament. He had just pronounced the words of consecration over the wine when it miraculously transformed into living blood. The blood began to flow from the chalice and fall upon the white corporal below.
About this miracle
Father Lazzaro, profoundly moved and filled with repentance, confessed his unbelief to the faithful present at the celebration. He openly acknowledged the profound miracle that the Lord had worked before his eyes in response to his doubt. The historian Fortunio describes the miracle in his noted work Annales Camalduenses, providing contemporary historical documentation. The monk Lazzaro was subsequently transferred to Bologna, where he served as chaplain of the female Camaldolese convent of St. Christine. He died there in 1416, four years after the miracle.
In 1958, His Excellency Domenico Bornigia, recognizing the importance of scientific verification, arranged for a chemical analysis of the marks on the corporal at the University of Florence. The analysis confirmed them to be of an ematic (blood-related) nature, providing scientific corroboration of the miracle. Every year during the Feast of Corpus Christi, the corporal is carried in solemn procession through the streets of the city. It is also exposed on every Sunday of the temperate season, which lasts from March to November, at the Mass celebrated at 11:00 AM. The relic of the 'Holy Cloth Soaked by Blood' is preserved in the Basilica of St. Maria Assunta in Bagno di Romagna.
Scientific analysis
In 1958, His Excellency Domenico Bornigia arranged for a chemical analysis to be performed on the marks of the corporal at the University of Florence. The analysis found that the marks are of a hematic (blood-related) nature, consistent with the traditional account. The analysis was conducted at the University of Florence using mid-20th century analytical methods.