You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today!

LEGNICA, Poland (ChurchMilitant.com) - After approving the investigation of a eucharistic miracle, Bp. Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Legnica, Poland has placed what appears to be a bleeding Host into a reliquary for public veneration at St. Hyacinth's Shrine, where the eucharistic miracle occurred.

As reported by ChurchMilitant.com, on Christmas Day 2013, a priest accidentally dropped a consecrated Host on the floor at St. Hyacinth Shrine (St. Jacek) in Legnica. The Host was placed in holy water to dissolve per Church guidelines. After two weeks, instead of dissolving, the Host appeared to bleed.

The former bishop of Legnica, Stefan Cichy, suspected the phenomenon to be a eucharistic miracle, whereby the Host takes on the appearance of what it actually is — the Body and Blood of Christ.

Bishop Cichy enlisted the aid of two independent forensic medical departments — one at the university of Wroclaw, and the other at Szczecin. They both found the samples to resemble heart muscle tissue. Szczecin even found that the sample was "most similar to the heart muscle ... as it appears under the strains of agony."

Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski, who replaced Bp. Cichy in June 2014, commented, "When I learned that my predecessor, Bishop Cichy, had formed a diocesan committee and asked forensic medicine departments to study this, I confirmed the committee's members, and everything took its course. Then we had the results from Szczecin and Wroclaw."

On April 10, Bp. Kiernikowski shared the positive results of the investigation.

In January this year, I presented the whole matter to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Today, according to the Holy See, I recommend that the parish priest, Andrzej Ziombrze, prepare a suitable place for the Relic so that the faithful might give it honor. I also ask for visitors to be provided relevant information and to offer thorough catechesis to help properly form the faithful in their understanding of eucharistic worship.

The Host was placed in a reliquary on the main altar of St. Hyacinth church July 2 during Mass offered by Bp. Kiernikowski in the presence of 3,000 people.

Bishop Kiernikowski said recently, "Now we will have to wait for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's decision before officially calling it supernatural."

He added, "We interpret this amazing sign as an expression of the generosity and love of God, who stoops so low to be with man."

If approved by Rome, it will be the 134th eucharistic miracle to be officially recognized by the Holy See.

Have a news tip? Submit news to our tip line.