By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Polish Archbishop Edward Ozorowski led the faithful in a special Mass on Sunday to celebrate a Eucharistic miracle that occurred in 2008.
According to the Associated Press (AP), the Archbishop of Bialystok celebrated a Mass during which time the miraculous host was carried in procession and put on display in the church of St. Anthony in Sokolka, where the miracle occurred in 2008.
Eyewitnesses say the host was dropped by a priest during distribution of communion and was placed in water to dissolve, which is common Church practice for the handling of fallen hosts. However, a few days later, a nun discovered that the wafer had not dissolved, and found a red mark on it. Church officials later confirmed that two medical doctors analyzed the spot and determined that the spot was comprised of muscle tissue of the heart.
Atheist groups objected to the commotion over the host, claiming a murder or some other crime committed in the church could be behind the finding of human flesh. However, police have not yet found any evidence of a crime committed on the premises or connected to the incident.
The discovery caused a shockwave of excitement throughout the country as large numbers of pilgrims began to flock to Sokolka to see the miraculous host.
During Sunday’s Mass, Archbishop Ozorowski rejoiced in the prospect of history taking place in Poland, saying that the “substance of Christ’s body or blood has become available to the human senses, and this also happened in Sokolka.”
He added: “For God, nothing is impossible.”
This is not the first time a host has manifested human heart tissue. A similar miracle occurred in Lanciano, Italy in 700 A.D. when a host turned to flesh in the hands of a priest during the consecration of the Mass. The miraculous host along with a chalice of wine that turned into blood at the same time, remain incorrupt to this day. In 1970, a team of scientists analyzed the substances and discovered that the flesh was comprised of the muscle tissue of the myocardium of the heart and the blood was of the human type AB.
Andrzej Debski, a church spokesman, said the Vatican is still examining the Sokolka case and has not yet officially ruled it to be a miracle.
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Photo of the miraculous host of Sokolka being carried in procession is by Michal Kosc.
