EUCHARISTIC MIRACLE - 1010 A.D. IVORRA, Spain

The parish priest of this town doubted the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. One day in the year 1010, while celebrating Mass, the miracle occurred: the wine contained in the chalice was converted entirely into live Blood. At present, the Sacred Relics are preserved in a gothic reliquary from 1426 that contains the altar cloth spotted with Blood, and other relics given from Pope Sergius IV to Saint Ermengol.

The heretical doctrines that denied the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist began to spread throughout all of Europe in the eleventh century. The priest of Ivorra, Bernat Oliver, also doubted the reality of transubstantiation. While he celebrated Mass, a miracle suddenly occurred: the wine in the chalice was converted into Blood and poured onto the altar cloth, flowing onto the ground. The Bishop of Urgell, Saint Ermengol, informed of what happened, was immediately brought to Ivorra to confirm the facts in person, which were then reported directly to Pope Sergius IV in Rome. He then signed a Pontifical Bull in which it was certified that a true miracle occurred. The relics of the miracle and the pontifical document were placed under the high altar of the parochial church of Ivorra, titled to San Cugat, and inaugurated in the year 1055 from the Bishop Guillem de Urgell. At present the sacred relics are preserved in a gothic reliquary from 1426 that contains the altar cloth stained with Blood and other relics given from Pope Sergius IV to Saint Ermengol.

In 1663, to satisfy the requirements of the great number of pilgrims that went to venerate the miracle every year, the present sanctuary was built. Even today, after all of these years, on the second Sunday of Easter, an important feast is celebrated, known by the name “la Santa Duda” in reference to the “doubt” of Bernat Oliver, the priest of Ivorra, and the great miracle.