Eucharistic Miracle of Legnica

The Story

The Shrine of St. Hyacinth (Sanktuarium św. Jacka) in Legnica, Poland, is the home of one of the most recent Eucharistic events to receive a bishop's public recognition. The parish church, in the Diocese of Legnica in Lower Silesia, has drawn pilgrims from across Poland and beyond since 2016. On December 25, 2013, during the distribution of Holy Communion at Christmas Mass, a consecrated Host fell to the floor. Following liturgical practice, it was placed in a vessel of water so that it would dissolve. In the weeks that followed, red discoloration appeared on the Host instead. Bishop Stefan Cichy of Legnica appointed a commission to examine the phenomenon. Samples were taken in 2014 and studied by forensic medicine specialists, whose reports, as communicated by the diocese, described tissue fragments most resembling human heart muscle under strain. The findings were presented to the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. On April 17, 2016, his successor, Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski, announced in a public communiqué that the event had the signs of a Eucharistic miracle and, following the Holy See's guidance, authorized public veneration. On July 2, 2016, the Host was solemnly enshrined in a reliquary at St. Hyacinth's church, with thousands of the faithful taking part. Today pilgrims visit the shrine for adoration and Mass. As with all such events, the Church presents Legnica not as a new revelation but as an invitation: to renewed faith in the Real Presence and to greater reverence in receiving Holy Communion.

Church Recognition

Recognized at the diocesan level: in April 2016, after a commission's studies and consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Legnica stated the event bears the signs of a Eucharistic miracle and authorized public veneration of the Host.

Catholic Teaching

Legnica draws attention to the Church's faith that Christ is wholly present in every fragment of the consecrated Host (CCC 1377), and to the care and reverence owed to the Blessed Sacrament.

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Practical

1 Additional Information ▾

Recognized by the Bishop of Legnica in 2016, who authorized veneration of the relic.

Go Deeper

Visit the official website of the Shrine of St. Hyacinth in Legnica (https://jacek-legnica-sanktuarium.pl), read Bishop Kiernikowski's 2016 communiqué as published by the Diocese of Legnica, and consult the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1373–1381 on the Real Presence.