Shrine of the Eucharistic Miracle (Church of San Francesco)

The wonder of the 8th century

Lanciano, in the province of Chieti, keeps the memory of one of the oldest Eucharistic miracles. The event is placed in the 8th century, probably between 720 and 750, in the church of San Legonziano. Its protagonist was a Basilian monk beset by doubt about the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist: during the celebration, before his eyes, the bread turned into a piece of flesh and the wine into blood.

The testimonies of that wonder are now kept in the church of San Francesco, which John Paul II called 'an artistic Basilica'. The shrine, attached to the convent of San Francesco, is entrusted to the Conventual Friars Minor.

The city's Eucharistic vocation has been recalled by popes more than once: in 1999 Lanciano hosted the Regional Eucharistic Congress of the Churches of Abruzzo and Molise, and John Paul II recalled having personally visited the church of San Francesco while he was still a cardinal in Kraków.

Sources: Miracoli eucaristici, faro di fede anche nei momenti di crisi - Vatican News · Giovanni Paolo II, Messaggio all'Arcivescovo di Lanciano-Ortona per il Congresso Eucaristico Regionale (6 agosto 1999) · Giovanni Paolo II, Lettera a Mons. Carlo Ghidelli, Arcivescovo di Lanciano-Ortona (4 ottobre 2004) · Comunità Religiose Maschili | Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona

A place for those who doubt

The heart of the devotion is the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and the story of the miracle starts precisely from a doubt. The shrine's rector, Father Fabrizio De Lellis, sums it up by saying that here one can touch God's presence among people, and that the Lord also uses our doubts to convert the heart.

John Paul II wrote that Lanciano guards two Eucharistic miracles, very dear to the faithful of the Frentani area and the goal of many pilgrimages from Italy and from around the world. The relics have been venerated for almost 1,300 years, and the shrine stays in touch with pilgrims and the faithful even at a distance, gathering their prayer requests.

Sources: Miracoli eucaristici, faro di fede anche nei momenti di crisi - Vatican News · Giovanni Paolo II, Lettera a Mons. Carlo Ghidelli, Arcivescovo di Lanciano-Ortona (4 ottobre 2004)

The relics and the city

In the church of San Francesco the relics of the miracle are venerated: the piece of flesh and the blood that, according to tradition, came from the consecrated bread and wine. The Franciscan convent beside it looks onto Corso Roma, in the centre of Lanciano.

The visit can continue to the Cathedral Basilica of the Madonna del Ponte, dedicated to the city's patroness: the name comes from the unusual position of the building, and the dedication of the renewed church dates from 1905, as recalled by the 1905-2005 centenary proclaimed by the archdiocese.

Sources: Miracoli eucaristici, faro di fede anche nei momenti di crisi - Vatican News · Giovanni Paolo II, Lettera a Mons. Carlo Ghidelli, Arcivescovo di Lanciano-Ortona (4 ottobre 2004) · Comunità Religiose Maschili | Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona

Visiting the shrine

The shrine and the convent of San Francesco are on Corso Roma in Lanciano and are run by the Conventual Friars Minor. The archdiocese also points to the 'Chiese Aperte' (Open Churches) project, promoted by the volunteer association La Santa Casa to welcome the many pilgrims who come to the city for the Eucharistic Miracle and to train volunteers who keep the churches open.

For tourist information the Municipality of Lanciano runs the INFOPOINT – Informazioni e Accoglienza Turistica, in Piazza Senatore Errico D'Amico; its official page is on the Municipality's website (comune.lanciano.ch.it).

Sources: Comunità Religiose Maschili | Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona · Chiese Aperte 2019 | Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona · Sede Infopoint - Comune di Lanciano

Walks that reach it