Poland · 14th Century
Poznan
In 1399 in the city of Poznań, Poland, several individuals with intense hatred for the Catholic Church conspired to desecrate the Eucharist. They persuaded a young domestic servant girl with money to steal three consecrated Hosts from the Dominican Church (now a Jesuit church). The desecrators struck the three consecrated Hosts with hole-punchers and pointed instruments in an attempt to destroy them, but Blood began to drip from the Hosts with every strike, and all attempts to destroy them proved futile. Frightened by this supernatural response, the perpetrators threw the bleeding Hosts into a marsh by the Warta River, hoping to dispose of them.
About this miracle
A young shepherd tending his flock near the marsh witnessed an extraordinary sight: three Hosts were illuminated and suspended in the air over the marsh, radiating powerful rays of light. He reported this to his father and local authorities, but the burgomaster was initially indifferent and even ordered the shepherd jailed for what he assumed was a fabrication. The shepherd mysteriously escaped from jail and convinced the burgomaster to visit the site personally. Only Bishop Wojciech Jastrzębiec of Gniezno (who had just been ordained Archbishop on April 26, 1399), after beseeching Heaven with fervent prayers, succeeded in recovering the Hosts. The three miraculous Hosts descended into the pyx (sacred vessel) he held in his hands.
By 1400, a papal bull was issued approving the miracle. King Władysław Jagiełło (1351-1434), upon learning of the miracle, made a pilgrimage to Poznań to venerate the miraculous Hosts. As a sign of his devotion, the king ordered that a church dedicated to the Body of Christ (Corpus Domini/Corpus Christi) be built at the exact spot where the miracle occurred. In 1406, the king granted the foundation charter for this new church. King Jagiełło made many pilgrimages to the church, including before the Polish-Teutonic War in 1409, and returned after the war in thanksgiving, making a votive offering of a monstrance gained from the Teutonic Knights. This monstrance from around 1400 is now the oldest liturgical vessel stored in Poland. Today, over 620 years later, the Miraculous Hosts may still be venerated in the Corpus Christi Church in Poznań. Every Thursday, a procession with the Blessed Sacrament takes place, and the church remains the second biggest Gothic church in Poznań after the Cathedral.