Eucharistic Miracle of Bagno di Romagna

The Story

The Eucharistic Miracle of Bagno di Romagna is a Catholic tradition connected with an event reported in 1412 in the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Bagno di Romagna, a small spa town in the Apennines of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, then served by Camaldolese monks. According to the traditional account, the prior of the basilica, Fr. Lazzaro da Verona, was celebrating Mass while troubled by doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. After he pronounced the words of consecration over the chalice, the wine is said to have taken on the appearance of living blood, boiling up and overflowing onto the corporal, the linen cloth spread beneath the chalice. Moved and repentant, the priest is said to have confessed his unbelief openly to the faithful present. The bloodstained corporal was preserved and became the object of a devotion that has continued for six centuries. In 1958 an analysis carried out at the University of Florence, commissioned by church authorities, reported that the ancient stains were blood-like in nature — a finding received by the faithful as a quiet confirmation of the old tradition, though the Church does not rest her Eucharistic faith on such examinations. The meaning of the tradition lies in the Catholic teaching on the Real Presence: at every Mass, the Church believes, the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ while their outward appearances remain. Reported miracles like that of Bagno di Romagna are understood as extraordinary signs pointing to this ordinary, hidden reality — an invitation to reverence, not a substitute for faith. Today the sacred corporal is kept in a chapel of the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, where it is honored especially on the feast of Corpus Christi, and the town remains a quiet destination for Eucharistic pilgrims traveling through Romagna and Tuscany.

Church Recognition

A recognized devotion honored for six centuries; the stained corporal is preserved in the basilica, and a 1958 analysis commissioned by church authorities reported the stains to be blood-like in nature.

Catholic Teaching

A traditional sign strengthening faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (CCC 1373–1381), especially for those who struggle with doubt.

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Practical

1 Additional Information ▾

The Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta preserves the memory of the event.

Go Deeper

See the International Exhibition of Eucharistic Miracles (miracolieucaristici.org) and CCC 1373–1381 on the Real Presence; the town of Bagno di Romagna publishes visitor information for the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta.