Lanciano is really a small, medieval town , nestled in from the coast of the Adriatic Sea in Italy, halfway between San Giovanni Rotondo and Loreto. Everything about Lanciano smacks of the Eucharistic Miracle. Even the name of the town was changed from Anxanum (in ancient times), to Lanciano, meaning "THE LANCE." a course in miracles
Tradition has it that the centurion, named Longinus, who thrust the Lance into the side of Jesus, striking Him in the Tip of His Heart that He shed blood and water, (in the Gospel account of the Crucifixion (Mk 15:29)) was out of this town. After seeing the events which followed the piercing of Jesus'heart, the darkening of sunlight, and the earthquake, he believed that Christ was the Savior.
A more physical sign, however, was that Longinus had had poor eyesight, and after having touched his eyes with the water and blood from the side of Jesus, his eyesight was restored. Exactly what a perfect parallel those things of the Centurion were to the Eucharistic Miracle. He touched the Heart of Jesus, was healed, and converted. He quit the Army, visited Cappadocia, and was martyred for the faith. He is known now as Saint Longinus.His feast day is celebrated on March 15.
The church of the Eucharistic Miracle is situated in the middle of the town. But what exactly is the middle of the town today was the outskirts of the town back in the Eighth Century, once the Eucharistic Miracle occurred. At the time, it was called the Church of St. Legontian and St. Domitian, and was under the custody of the Basilian Monks, of the Greek Orthodox Rite. This is prior to the Great Schism of 1054.
A Basilian monk, wise in the ways of the world, but not in the means of faith, was having a trying time along with his belief in the real presence of Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist. He prayed constantly for rest from his doubts, and worries he was losing his vocation. He suffered through the routine of his priesthood day after day, with these doubts gnawing at him.
The problem in the world did not help strengthen his faith. There were many heresies cropping up constantly, which kept chipping away at his faith. They were not all from away from church either. Brother priests and bishops were victims of those heresies, and they certainly were being spread throughout the church. This priest, being a very intelligent person, couldn't help but be much more and more convinced by the logic of those heresies, especially the main one concerning his particular problem, the physical presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Human logic has always been a good enemy of the soul, when we make an effort to understand the Divine.
One morning, while he was having a powerful attack of doubt, he began the Consecration of the Mass for the individuals of the town. He used the exact same size host which will be used in the Latin Rite masses today. What he beheld as he consecrated the bread and wine caused his hands to shake, indeed his whole body. He stood for quite a long time with his back to the folks, and then slowly turned around to them.
He explained: "O fortunate witnesses to whom the Blessed God, to confound my disbelief, has wished to reveal Himself in this Most Blessed Sacrament and to render Himself visible to the eyes. Come, brethren, and marvel at our God so close to us. Behold the Flesh and Blood of our most beloved Christ."
The host had converted into Flesh. Your wine had turned into Blood.
The folks, having witnessed the miracle for themselves, started to wail, seeking forgiveness, crying for mercy. Others began beating their breasts, confessing their sins, declaring themselves unworthy to witness such a miracle. Still others went down on their knees in respect, and thanksgiving for the gift the Lord had bestowed on them. All spread the story throughout the town, and surrounding villages.
Jesus even allowed Himself to be crucified again. Following the miracle, the Host was pinned down to a wooden board, so that when it dried, it would not flake out, as scabbed flesh does. So here He was again, with nails in His Body, nailed to a bit of wood.
The miracle that occurred in 700 was just the beginning. That has been 1250 years ago. Had that miracle taken place, and then your flesh and blood disintegrated, as would have been normal, the miracle could have been nevertheless a miracle. The priest's faith had been renewed. The entire town, the complete country for instance, became conscious of the miracle. Pilgrims flocked to Lanciano to venerate the Host turned flesh. Belief in the Eucharist had been reborn. The gift from the Lord was complete.
But that's not all. The Miracle is ongoing. The Host-turned- Flesh, and the wine-turned-Blood, without the use of any kind of preservative, continues to be within the reliquary. In 1574, testing was done on the Flesh and Blood. An unexplainable phenomenon was discovered with the Blood. The five pellets of coagulated Blood will vary sizes and shapes. But any combination weighs exactly like the total. Put simply, 1 weighs just like 2, 2 weigh the same as 3, and 3 weigh exactly like 5.
From the very beginning, the neighborhood church accepted this miracle as a real sign from heaven, and venerated the Eucharistic Flesh and Blood in processions on its feast day, the last Sunday of October. The fame of the shrine spread through the entire region quickly, and soon all Italy stumbled on the Church in Pilgrimage.
Many writings authenticating the Eucharistic Miracle took place within the years. Because it has been this kind of important local miracle, the backdrop and history of the events were carefully recorded.
There had been a manuscript written in both Greek and Latin, attesting to the Miracle. It absolutely was said to own been written and certified during the time of the Miracle. In a Chronology of the City of Lanciano, historian Fella wrote that in early 1500, two Basilian Monks came to the Church, that has been now in the custody of the Franciscans, and asked to remain overnight. Additionally they asked to start to see the parchment which told the story of the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano. The Franciscans allowed them to study the parchment overnight.
But another morning, the Basilian Monks left very early, prior to the Franciscans had awakened, and took the manuscripts with them. The motive, it had been thought, was that the Basilian Monks were ashamed that one of their own had lost his faith in the Eucharist, and hoped that by stealing the original document attesting to the big event, it would go away. The Church of the Miracle remained in the custody of the Monks of St. Basil, until 1176, when the Benedictines took over. However, the building had become very run down, and the Benedictines were not overly worked up about taking care of it.
The Franciscans, however, did want custodianship of the Shrine. When one of their benefactors, Bishop Landulfo, was made Bishop of Chieti, he gave them the Shrine to be mindful of. So, in 1252, the Benedictines left, and the Franciscans took over. What they were not conscious of until they really stumbled on Lanciano, was that the church was a disaster. They surmised that this is why the Benedictines so easily turned it to them. In 1258, the Franciscans built a new church on the site of the first Church of St. Legontian.
In 1515, Pope Leo X made Lanciano an episcopal See, directly responsible to Rome.
In 1562, Pope Pius IV wrote a Papal Bull raising it to an Archepiscopal See.
In 1666, the Franciscans found themselves in the center of a legal struggle with what was called the "Raccomandati", or Select number of the town. Today's Italians might call them "I Superbi ".They thought these were a lot better than everyone else. The Raccomandati tried to take the church away from the Franciscans by laying claim to the ORIGINAL CHURCH of St. Legontian, upon which the Franciscan church was built.
If they had won, they'd have experienced both churches. Nevertheless the Lord intervened through the high ranking Cardinal Giannetti, of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Religious, and the Franciscans won the case. You can be sure that they immediately applied for a deed, and 18 years later, in 1684, it absolutely was granted them. During Napoleon's time, in 1809, the Franciscans were driven from the town. Nevertheless they returned in solemn triumph on June 21, 1953.
On June 25, 1672, Pope Clement X declared the altar of the Eucharistic Miracle a privileged altar on the Octave day of the deceased and on all Mondays of the year.
In 1887, the Archbishop of Lanciano, Monsignore Petarca, obtained from Pope Leo XIII, a PLENARY INDULGENCE in perpetuity to those that venerate the Eucharistic Miracle throughout the 8 days preceding the feast day.
The Eucharistic Miracle was put into different locations within the Church of St. Francis within the years. At one time, in 1566, the threat of the Turks became imminent along the Adriatic Coast. It had been thought that Lanciano will be a straightforward target for them to invade. As a matter of security, the Eucharistic Miracle was obtained from its chapel, and walled up on the other side of the Church.
It surely got to a point, however, that the threat of the Turks became an excessive amount of a reality. On August 1 of the year, a Friar Giovanni Antonio di Mastro Renzo lost his faith, not in the Eucharist, but either in God's ability, or God's desire to truly save him and his little band of Franciscans from the onslaught of the Turks. Using the requirement to save the Eucharistic Miracle from the Infidels, he took the reliquary containing the Flesh and Blood, and himself and his friars, and fled the city. They walked through the night. Prior to dawn, Friar Giovanni felt they had put enough distance between them and the enemy, and ordered his friars to rest. As the sun came up, they found that these were back at the gates of the city.
Believing that the Lord had intervened, and that He wanted His Sacred Sign as an assurance to the folks of the city of Lanciano that He had not abandoned them, the friars were full of the Holy Spirit. They acquired the courage of lions. They vowed to stay in the Church, and protect the Eucharistic Miracle using their lives. As it proved, the Lord kept them from harm, along with the town of Lanciano, and the Eucharistic Miracle.
The Flesh and Blood were kept walled until 1636, even though threat of the invading Turks had long since disappeared. In those days, the Eucharistic Miracle was utilized in the proper side of the altar, encased in a metal tabernacle, behind iron doors. There were four keys to the vault, each held by different people in the town. This was called the Valsecca Chapel, in honor of the benefactor. The Miraculous Flesh and Blood were kept in this chapel until 1902. The faithful were only able to venerate the Eucharistic Miracle on special occasions, the Monday after Easter, and the final week in October, the week of the feast. The Plenary Indulgence was offered to the people through the feast.
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