THE MIRACLE OF BOLSENA

A REFLECTION FOR THE OCTAVE OF CORPUS CHRISTI

Whenever I used to make the journey between Rome and my former home in the medieval mountain village of Panicale, one of my favorite places to stop on the way was in the cathedral town of Orvieto.  Towering above the Autostrada del Sole, the main highway connecting the north of Italy with the south, this hilltop town is visible for miles in both directions, with its cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin dominating the skyline.

The Cathedral was ordered to be built by Pope Urban IV in the 13^thcentury to house the renowned Corporal of Bolsena.  A German priest, Fr. Peter of Prague, had stopped at the village of Bolsena during a pilgrimage to Rome.  Despite being a devout priest, he had doubts about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  While saying Mass in Bolsena, as soon as he had completed the words of consecration, he was astonished to see blood seeping from the Host and spreading over his hands before falling in droplets on to the corporal laid out on the altar.

He interrupted the Mass and rushed to the papal palace in nearby Orvieto, recounting the incident to Pope Urban IV, who instituted an immediate investigation.  The Host and Corporal were carried in procession from Bolsena to Orvieto, where they were met with great pomp and ceremony by the Pope, accompanied by bishops, cardinals and other Church dignitaries.  Eventually, the linen corporal, still stained with the drops of blood, was enshrined in a special chapel of the cathedral, where it remains to this day.

Prompted by this miracle, Pope Urban commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas to compose a proper Mass and Office honoring the Holy Eucharist as the Body of Christ. A year later, the same pope introduced this new Mass and Office into the Missal and Breviary, and wrote a papal bull instituting a new feast to be called Corpus Christi.

If you go to Orvieto on the Feast of Corpus Christi, you can still witness the traditional solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament from the cathedral through the streets of the city.  Accompanying the sacred Host, proudly carried high in this annual veneration, is the miraculous Corporal, which to this day continues to bear witness to the Real Presence of our Lord in the sacred species at Mass.