| Eucharistic miracle of Legnica | |
|---|---|
 Church of Saint Hyacinth | |
| Information | |
| Type | Eucharistic miracle |
| Date | 25th December, 2013 |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Location | |
| Location | Church of Saint Hyacinth in Legnica |
| Country | Poland |
| City | Legnica |
| Diocese | Diocese of Legnica |
The Eucharistic miracle of Legnica is an Eucharistic miracle that took place on December 25th, 2013. A red substance appeared on a consecrated Host that was in a dish with water.
In 2013, on Christmas day, around 8:45AM, a vicar administering communion to an altar server accidentally dropped a consecrated Host on the floor. The Host, was quickly picked up from the floor and was placed in a dish with hot tap water. After two weeks, priest Tadeusz Kisiński noticed that the Host partially dissolved and a red discoloration sized roughly 1.5x0.5cm appeared on it [1] [2] . Parish priest Andrzej Ziombra informed Stefan Cichy of the event. On 16th January, 2014, a committee was appointed to study the event. 2 days later, the committee arrived in Sokółka, where a similar miracle took place. [2] On 21th January, the Diocese of Legnica commissioned a scientific study of the material. The results of the study ruled out bacterial and mycological contamination. [2] Further studies were commissioned on 25th of June, 2015. The presence of human tissue was confirmed on 9th of December, 2015. [2]
In 2014, a piece of the supposedly miraculous Host was subjected to scientific analysis. The report of the analysis concluded that the analysed substance is cardiac muscle tissue and that the DNA found on the Host is human. [3] [4] [5]
First, the Host underwent analysis in Wrocław. The results from Wrocław revealed only that "the fiber structures are most similar to human heart tissue" and were otherwise inconclusive [6] . A second study was then performed by the Forensic Medicine Establishment in Szczecin (pl. Zakład Medycyny Sądowej w Szczecinie). It was said that the images were very hard to study, but it was also confirmed that the red substance is in fact heart muscle tissue. One of the methods used to confirm that the substance is heart muscle tissue was observation under a UV microscope with an orange filter. [7] Mitochondrial sequencing revealed that the DNA found is human. [2]
In the opinion of the Forensic Medicine Establishment in Szczecin:
The histopathological image revealed tissue fragments containing fragmented parts of striated muscle. [...] The overall image [...] is most similar to cardiac muscle“ [...] with changes that ”often accompany agony." Genetic testing indicates that the tissue is of human origin. [8]
Sceptics have argued that the red substance may not be human tissue but Serratia marcescens, a species of very common bacteria that has the ability to grow on bread and produce a red pigment. Microbiological testing revealed only the presence of normal environmetal bacteria. [2] Martyna Franczuk, a biotechnology expert, said: [6] :
I find it hard to believe that an experienced histopathologist could confuse Serratia marcescens bacteria cells with very distinctive human cells, which are also much larger.
She also noted that Serratia marcescens can only produce red pigment in temperatures above 30 degrees Celcius. [6]
Fr. Andrzej Ziombra, parish priest of Church of Saint Hyacinth in Legnica, said that the miraculous event led to many conversions. He said that people from all over the world now make pilgrimages to Legnica because of the miracle. He also said that a man from his community, who he said was hostile to the Church for his whole life, and even fought against it, was converted in an unexplained extraordinary way, radically changed his attitude towards the Church and God and went to his first Holy Confession and Holy Communion after 50 years. [9]