LEGNICA, Poland (ChurchMilitant.com) - A eucharistic miracle in Poland is being confirmed as authentic by the local bishop. In a letter read in all the parishes in the diocese of Legnica Sunday, Bp. Zbigniew Kiernikowski announced the formal approval of a eucharistic miracle and granted permission to venerate the relic.
According to the letter:
On December 25, 2013 at St. Jacek parish, while distributing Holy Communion, a Sacred Host fell to the floor, and was picked up and placed in a container of water. After some time it begin give a red appearance. The then-bishop of Legnica, Bp. Stefan Cichy, appointed a Commission whose task was to observe the phenomenon. In February 2014, he removed a fragment of the red matter and deposited it on the corporal. In order to analyze the fragment, the Commission ordered the taking of samples and conducted appropriate tests by different competent authorities.The final judgment of the Department of Forensic Medicine states:"The histopathological tissue fragments were found containing a fragmented part of the skeletal muscle. ... The whole image ... is most similar to the heart muscle ... as it appears under the strains of agony. Genetic studies indicate the origin as human tissue."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. Moreover, I'm ordering that a book be provided to record any graces received or other supernatural events.I hope all of this will serve to deepen veneration for the Eucharist and will profoundly impact the lives of those approaching the relic. We see this marvelous sign as a special expression of God's kindness and love, Who so humbles Himself before man.I cordially ask for your prayers and I bless you,
+ Zbigniew Kiernikowski
Bishop of Legnica
The miracle in Legnica is similar to one that took place in Sokolka in 2008, when a consecrated Host was accidentally dropped on the floor, placed in water, and later observed to start bleeding. Under scientific analysis, the Host was shown to be part of the heart muscle. The head of the archdiocese, Abp. Edward Ozorowski, told Catholics at Mass that the "substance of Christ's Body or Blood has become available to the human senses, and this also happened in Sokolka."
The bleeding Host was displayed in a reliquary during a procession by the town priest, with about a thousand of the faithful following.