1996 Eucharistic Miracle of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Written by Linda Connelly, Parishioner
1996 Eucharistic Miracle of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Written by Linda Connelly, Parishioner
Three Eucharistic miracles occurred in the small church of St. Mary's in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the years 1992, 1994, and 1996.
All three happened under the leadership of Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis.
On August 15, 1996, a Consecrated Host was found discarded in the back of the church. When made aware of this, Fr. Alejandro Pezet picked It up and seeing that It was dirty, placed It in water and put the Host in the Tabernacle to dissolve. This is the proper action in this case.
Twelve days later, when It was checked on to see if the Eucharist had dissolved, It was found to have changed in appearance and had reddish stains. Bishop Bergoglio was notified, and he recommended professional photos be taken. Over time, the Host changed further, and additional photos were taken on September 6.
Three years later, in 1999, after no signs of decay, the Holy See gave permission to Dr. Ricardo Castanon Gomez to lead an investigation into this transformed Consecrated Host. Dr. Gomez was a staunch atheist who converted to Catholicism after investigating this and other miracles.
In October of 1999, Dr. Gomez went to Buenos Aires to interview witnesses and obtain a sample. He intentionally did not tell anyone involved in the testing that this sample came from a Consecrated Host.
His first stop was a Forensics Analytical Genetics lab in Argentina. They concluded that it was human blood, type AB positive, with some fragments of DNA containing the human genetic code. AB positive is the same rare blood type as the Lanciano, Italy miracle of 750 AD. So, Dr. Gomez took It to Dr. Linoli, the man who investigated the Lanciano specimen in 1971.
Dr. Linoli identified White Blood Cells (WBCs) and believed the sample was likely heart tissue. His results matched those he got from the Lanciano Host and he and Dr. Gomez were later convinced that both of these samples were miraculous in origin and that they came from the same person.
Dr. Gomez then took the Particle of Consecrated Host to Prof. John Walker in Sydney, Australia. He confirmed there were muscle cells and intact WBCs. He was surprised that there were WBCs because, "Everyone knows that outside the body they disintegrate after 15 minutes." At this point, 6 years passed since the Host had transformed.
In September of 2003, Dr. Gomez asked Professor Robert Lawrence, a tissue expert, to examine the sample. He concluded that It corresponded to the tissue of an inflamed heart and that this person must have suffered a lot.
Since the doctors agreed that this sample was of heart tissue, in the spring of 1994 Dr Gomez asked Professor Fredrick Zugibe of Columbia University in New York to examine it. Dr. Zugibe was an expert in cardiac pathologies and forensic medicines of the heart. He was not told that this sample came from a Consecrated Host.
Here is what he concluded.
"This sample is human heart tissue of the myocardium (heart muscle), precisely from the left ventricle. This is the part of the heart that pumps blood to the whole body."
"This person suffered a lot."
When asked why this person suffered, he responded, "Because He has some thrombi (blood clots). At certain moments, He could not breathe. Oxygen did not reach Him. He labored and suffered much because every aspiration was painful."
He noted that the heart muscle was inflamed, which meant recent injury, "like those in cases where someone was beaten severely about the chest."
When asked about the WBCs, which he said were many and intact, he noted that they indicated injury and inflammation and added "WBCs can only exist if fed by a living body. This sample was alive at the moment it was collected." He confirmed that outside of a living body they would dissolve.
He added, "WBCs are only transported by blood and thus if WBCs are here, it's because at the moment in which you brought this sample it was pulsating."
Remember, this sample was obtained from a transformed, Consecrated Host that changed nearly 8 years earlier!
Dr. Zugibe then asked where this tissue had come from. When told it was a Consecrated Host, he could not believe it and a stunned silence overcame him. Again, he reiterated, "At the moment in which you brought me this sample, this heart was alive!" He ended by saying, "How or why a Communion Host could change It's character and become living human Flesh and Blood is outside the ability of science to answer."
Three independent standard nuclear DNA analysis were done on the sample. No DNA profile could be obtained. These tests look at segments unique to humans made up from mother and father DNA specifically. These segments did not show up in these tests. In other words, scientists did not see these segments representative of a human having a father and a mother. Due to the inconclusiveness, more studies are needed.
A theologian commented on the above findings. "In this miracle, the Lord wanted to show us His myocardium, which is the muscle that gives life to the whole body, just as the Eucharist gives life to the whole Church, which is Christ's body here on Earth."
"Why the left ventricle? Because, from it comes the purified blood and Jesus purifies His Church from Her sins."
Other theologians speculate that Christ wouldn't have a DNA profile, because Jesus did not have a human father. One could argue that if we did find a human profile identifying a father and a mother, then this would not be the Body and Blood of Jesus.
The scientific conclusions from these investigations confirm what we as Catholics know to be true. The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus are found in the Holy Eucharist. Through the centuries, He continues to give His Church Himself as true physical, and more importantly, spiritual food for our journey back to Him.