Blanot Miracle of the Eucharist
Blanot Miracle of the Eucharist
In our travels through the small villages of Europe, especially those of France and Italy, we have been amazed to find that many of these quaint little hamlets are complete worlds of their own.
There may be as few as 1,000 inhabitants in these little towns, and yet they are completely sufficient unto themselves.
They have all their own little shops, as well as a police department, post office, town hall, mayor, and on and on. In the United States, half of these villages would be considered Ghost Towns. When the highway takes the flow of traffic away from a given road, all the locals pack up their homes and move to a larger city. It’s not that way in France and Italy. They maintain the flavor and charm of Old Europe.
Background information for the Blanot Miracle
Blanot is such a village, tucked away in the heartland of France, in a province called COTE D’OR, (the Gold Coast).
It’s not listed on the map of France. It probably never has been. And yet, it was important enough for the Lord to pick this unknown place to manifest Himself in a way that would catapult Blanot into fame, on a level with Siena and Bolsena for the next 600 years.
The bright sun that rose on Blanot on Easter morning of 1331 did not warm the countryside. Winter had taken its toll, and spring was long in coming.
The members of the congregation who braved the cold to attend the first Mass in Celebration of the Ressurection of Our Lord were making a particular sacrifice. They were snapped out of their early morning sleepiness by the biting gusts of bitter wind. There was not much respite inside the church. Though the stone walls of the building blocked the cutting wind, it did not help with the cold. These early morning worshippers were true Christians. Nothing could stop them from praising their Lord in thanksgiving for the gift of their Redemption.
It was Six in the morning.
The priest, Hugo de Baulmes, was celebrating the Mass. His demeanor reflected the attitude of his parishioners. He was cold, not quite awake, but gloriously happy to be celebrating the end of Lent, and the beginning of Easter.
Although it required sacrifice, celebrating the First Mass on Easter Sunday was a great honor, for which the Vicar was most appreciative. He led his congregation in songs of praise of Our Lord, chanting “ALLELUIA” many times, after 40 days of not having been able to say that word.
The highlight of this special Easter celebration, as in all celebrations of the Mass, was, naturally, the reception of the Eucharist. As the priest consecrated the bread and wine, he remembered the past two days, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, when the Church as he knew it, didn’t exist. He took Lent very seriously.
On Good Friday, when Our Lord Jesus died on the Cross, the Church went into a limbo state, from which it did not come out until this time, early in the morning of the third day.
THE BLANOT MIRACLE
At Communion time, the congregation knelt at the Altar Rail, anticipating Our Lord Jesus in the Sacred Host.
Fr. Hugo began to distribute the Eucharist.
One of the communicants, the widow d’Effours, did not get the entire Host into her mouth.
She bit down hard, to avoid letting Our Lord Jesus to fall onto the ground.
A fragment of the Host broke off, and began plummeting to the floor.
The altar server, Thomas Caillot, caught the small piece on the pall, (PALL: A Linen cloth, about 5 inches square, folded two or three times, highly starched, which was normally placed on top of the chalice.
It was also used to place under the chin of communicants, in the event the Host dropped from their mouth) which he used to protect the Eucharist from falling.
Fr. Hugo did not see what had happened.
He continued distributing Communion, and was about to return the Ciborium to the Tabernacle, when Thomas brought his attention to the fragment that had fallen onto the Pall. Thomas called out:
“Father, Father. Come around to this side. Here, on the Pall, a piece of the Body of Our Lord has fallen from the mouth of this woman”
The priest quickly moved towards the altar server holding the Pall. His intention was to consume the fragment of the Host.
As he took the Pall, the Host disappeared, and in its place, a small drop of blood appeared.
It did not, however, penetrate the Pall, as is normal with a blood stain. IT SAT ON TOP OF THE CLOTH. It was three dimensional, more of a small mound of blood than a stain.
Fr. Hugo took the blood stained cloth into the Sacristy, and began washing it with lukewarm, pure water.
He rubbed it many times, five or six at least. The stain became wider. It did not wash out, though the water that dripped from it into the washbasin was blood red.
Finally, when the priest realized the Blood was not about to leave the Pall, he cut off the bloodstained part, and went back into the body of the Church.
All the members of the congregation had witnessed the miracle. They were not about to leave the Church while the Miracle took place.
They waited for the drama to unfold. Fr. Hugo brought the bloodstained cloth out from the Sacristy with much reverence.
He called for a monstrance to be brought to him. He solemnly placed the Miraculous Pall into the monstrance, and exclaimed to the people:
“Good people, you can believe it. This is truly the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Notwithstanding my having given It a good washing and scrubbing, there was no way of separating It from this Pall.”
Word of the Blanot Miracle spread quickly throughout the region.
The Bishop of Autun, the nearest Diocesan seat, sent a representative to Blanot on the Sunday after the Fifteenth day of Easter.
He brought a retinue of priests and notaries with him to help determine the authenticity of the alleged Miracle. Fr. Hugo brought eyewitnesses of the Eucharistic Miracle before the investigating committee. They described the events of the early morning Easter Celebration, when the Host had turned into Blood.
At the end of the inquiry, the committee sent by the Bishop agreed unanimously that the Lord had visited the people of Blanot in a special way, through the Eucharistic Miracle.
Based on their findings, the bishop gave his approval, also.
The following year, Pope John XXII bestowed special indulgences on those who celebrated Mass at the Church of Blanot.
He also awarded indulgences on those who would donate vestments in honor of the Blanot Miracle, and on anyone who followed the Eucharistic Miracle in procession. Pilgrims flocked to Blanot.
The Blessed Pall was placed in a permanent Crystal Reliquary. Blanot became the focal point of many Parish Pilgrimages.
Banners of the various parishes led the procession of the Eucharist. At times, there were as many as 12 or more Parish banners at the head of the Pilgrim Processions.
The Miraculous Pall of the Blanot Miracle was investigated again in the 18th Century by the Bishop of Autun. He verified that it was still perfectly preserved, that the color of the Blood was rich red, and that the threads of the cloth had not disintegrated over the more than 400 years from the time the Miracle had happened.
Prior to the French Revolution, the pilgrimages and processions were stopped by the priests of the parish. Relations between the people and the Church were at a bad state in France.
In 1831, the 500th anniversary of the Miracle, solemn festivities took place at the Church of Blanot.
A permanent place of veneration was dedicated in the Church for the Sacred Pall of the Blanot Miracle.
It is always to be found in that part of the church, year round.
Today, more than 650 years after the miracle, the Cloth is still in good condition.
The Blood Stains are still visible. During the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Miraculous Cloth is allowed to process after the Blessed Sacrament. France.)
The dvd on the Blanot Miracle gives some very good scenes of this little town in addition to the expanation and views of the Church and Miracle. 
Miracles of the Eucharist Miracles of the Eucharist books and dvds
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