Eucharistic Miracle of Tixtla

The Story

The Eucharistic Miracle of Tixtla is a recent Catholic devotion connected with the parish of St. Martin of Tours in Tixtla, a town in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, within the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa. It concerns events reported on October 21, 2006, during a parish retreat. According to the account gathered by the diocese, while Holy Communion was being distributed at Mass, a religious sister serving as an extraordinary minister noticed that a consecrated Host in her possession appeared to be exuding a reddish substance. The celebrant and the faithful present observed the same phenomenon, and the Host was reserved for examination. Bishop Alejo Zavala Castro of Chilpancingo-Chilapa established a theological commission to investigate, and from 2009 to 2012 a team of researchers coordinated by Dr. Ricardo Castañón Gómez conducted scientific studies of the Host. According to the findings presented to the diocese, the reddish substance corresponded to human blood, and the researchers reported that they found no natural explanation for its origin or persistence. On October 12, 2013, the bishop announced in a pastoral letter his recognition of the event as a Eucharistic miracle for the local Church, inviting the faithful to renewed Eucharistic devotion. As with all such reported phenomena, the Church proposes them with care: diocesan recognition expresses the local bishop's judgment that the event may be venerated and is consistent with the faith, while any judgment for the universal Church is reserved to the Holy See. Catholic faith in the Real Presence does not depend on extraordinary signs, but rests on the words of Christ and the constant teaching of the Church. Today the parish of St. Martin of Tours in Tixtla receives pilgrims who come to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, and the reported miracle has become a focus of Eucharistic renewal in the region, encouraging reverence, adoration and more faithful participation in the Mass.

Church Recognition

Recognized at the diocesan level by Bishop Alejo Zavala Castro of Chilpancingo-Chilapa in a pastoral letter of October 12, 2013; judgment on behalf of the universal Church remains reserved to the Holy See.

Catholic Teaching

The devotion points to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1373–1381); reported signs of this kind are understood as invitations to deeper faith and reverence, not as the foundation of that faith.

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Recognized by the Bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa in 2013.

Go Deeper

The 2013 pastoral letter of the Bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa presents the diocesan recognition, and the 'Eucharistic Miracles of the World' exhibition compiled by Blessed Carlo Acutis (miracolieucaristici.org) documents the Tixtla case. For the Church's teaching on the Eucharist, see Catechism of the Catholic Church 1373–1381.