Scientific Analysis of Eucharistic Miracles: Importance of a Standardization in Evaluation

Numerous instances of consecrated communion wafers turning into human tissue and blood have been reported throughout history and the contemporary international media, referred to as Eucharistic miracles. Various suggestions have been put forth to explain such phenomena, ranging from miraculous to natural. Here, a novel demonstration is provided showing that the appearance of a bleeding host can occur by placing ordinary, non-consecrated wafers under similar conditions as described for many of these events. Using basic forensic methods, distinctions between ensuant reddish areas and genuine blood were noted. In previous studies with miracle wafers, isolated DNA was resistant to amplification with human-specific primers, which has been attributed to its divine nature. The current study shows that multiple types of non-human DNA existed in unconsecrated wafers, providing an alternative explanation for such findings. Finally, a minimal protocol of scientific examination is outlined to aid in the standardization of such investigations in the future, including a distinctive approach to authenticate the genuine shared origin of such occurrences.