Spain · 13th Century
Daroca
On February 23, 1239, Christian troops from Daroca, Teruel, and Calatayud prepared to retake the castle of Chío from Moorish control in eastern Spain. The Reconquest had been ongoing for 500 years, and Valencia remained under Muslim rule. Before the siege, the army's chaplain, Don Mateo Martinez from Daroca, celebrated Mass and consecrated six Hosts for the six Captains.
About this miracle
During the consecration, the Moorish army suddenly attacked. Don Martinez was forced to hide the consecrated Hosts, wrapped in white linen corporals, in a rocky area nearby. After repelling the initial attack, the priest retrieved the corporals and discovered that the six Hosts had begun to bleed. Despite the gravity of battle, the chaplain and captains received Communion from these bleeding Hosts.
They then tied the blood-stained corporal to a spear, creating a miraculous banner. Carrying this standard into battle against the castle walls, the Christian forces obtained a stunning victory and reconquered the Castle of Chío. Following the battle, the soldiers placed the bleeding corporals on an Arab mule captured in battle—one that had never before tread on Spanish ground—and allowed it to wander freely, trusting God would choose where the relics should remain.
The mule set off on February 24, 1239, and twelve days later, on March 7, it collapsed in Daroca. A beautiful church, Santa Maria Colegiata, was built to house this sacred treasure. A reliquary was created in 1385 and expanded in the 15th and 16th centuries. Pope Urban IV, who instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1264, is believed to have accepted news of the Daroca miracle as a sign from God that this feast should be established. Scientific analysis has confirmed the blood on the corporals is of human origin.
Scientific analysis
Scientific analysis has identified the blood on the linen corporals as human in origin. Even today, it is possible to venerate the blood-stained linens. Ancient reproductions of the miracle from the 16th century are preserved. The relics remain in the Santa Maria Colegiata in Daroca.