Eucharistic Miracle of Scala

The Story

The Eucharistic Miracle of Scala is a Catholic tradition associated with the small hill town of Scala, which overlooks the Amalfi Coast opposite Ravello in southern Italy. The event is connected with the Monastery of the Most Holy Redeemer, home to the community of nuns later known as the Redemptoristines, and is dated to the autumn of 1732. According to the traditional account, beginning on September 11, 1732, and recurring over about three months, signs of the Passion of Christ — including the cross and instruments of the Passion — reportedly appeared in the consecrated Host during solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The phenomenon was said to have been seen not only by the nuns but also by townspeople and visiting clergy, and the Bishop of Scala described the events in correspondence with the apostolic nuncio in Naples. Among those who testified to witnessing the phenomenon was St. Alphonsus Liguori, later a bishop and Doctor of the Church. The timing is significant in Catholic memory: it was at Scala in November 1732 that St. Alphonsus founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists, and the reported signs in the Host were received by those involved as an encouragement in that work. St. Alphonsus went on to become one of the Church's great teachers of Eucharistic devotion, above all through his 'Visits to the Blessed Sacrament.' The spiritual meaning of the Scala tradition lies in the link it draws between the Eucharist and the Passion: the Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Today Scala remains a quiet place of prayer connected with the origins of the Redemptorist family, and the memory of the events of 1732 continues to invite pilgrims to adoration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

Church Recognition

A recognized devotion attested in the correspondence of the Bishop of Scala with the apostolic nuncio in Naples and in the testimony of St. Alphonsus Liguori, who was later canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church.

Catholic Teaching

The tradition underscores the bond between the Eucharist and Christ's Passion: the Mass makes present the one sacrifice of the cross, and Christ is truly present in the consecrated Host (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1362–1381).

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A recognized devotion near the Amalfi coast.

Go Deeper

The Scala events are documented in the 'Eucharistic Miracles of the World' exhibition compiled by Blessed Carlo Acutis (miracolieucaristici.org) and in the biographies of St. Alphonsus Liguori; his 'Visits to the Blessed Sacrament' remains a classic of Eucharistic devotion. See also Catechism of the Catholic Church 1373–1381.