The Catholic Defender: Eucharistic Miracle of Venezuala 1991 and Miraculas Communions
- Jan 16
- 3 min read
Blessed Thomas of Cori (1655-1729) at age 22, entered the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, at the monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Orvieto, Italy. In his apostolate, he was distinguished by his exemplary practice of the Christian virtues.
Several times during Mass, he had various apparitions of the Child Jesus.
One day, Saint Lucia Filippini was making her way to Pitigliano near Grosseto, to supervise a school for craftsmen which she had founded.
First, however, she stopped at the church of the Franciscan Fathers to attend Holy Mass.
So great was Lucia’s desire to receive Jesus in the Eucharist that the Lord wished to reward her with a miracle.
When the priest was breaking the large Host in half to place a small Fragment in the chalice, this very Particle escaped his hand and flew into the air, radiating light, and came to rest on the tongue of the future saint.
Today, the shrine where the miracle took place is under the care of the devout Filipini Sisters.
Blessed Emilia Bicchieri was the foundress of the Dominican Third Order Regular and always nurtured a great love for the Blessed Sacrament.
One day while she was taking care of a fellow Sister who was very sick, she lost track of the time and so arrived at the end of the Holy Mass, thus missing Holy Communion.
At that point, she began to express her regret to the Lord for not having been able to receive Him, and suddenly an angel miraculously appeared to her and gave her Holy Communion.
Blessed Emilia Bicchieri of the Five Wounds, in the last years of her life, was prevented from participating at Holy Mass because of a severe illness that left her bed-ridden.
There were many episodes in which some of the priests, especially Father Bianchi, saw a particle of the consecrated large Host and a small amount of the consecrated wine disappear during their Mass; it was the saint’s Guardian Angel who brought her Communion.
The Eucharistic Miracle of Betania in Cúa, Venezuela, occurred on December 8, 1991, when a consecrated Host began to bleed human blood (type AB+) during Mass, later appearing as a pulsating heart that bled, filmed by a pilgrim in 1998. This event, involving is now venerated at a convent of in Los Teques, Venezuela, and is a known miracle in Eucharistic devotion.
Midnight Mass on December 8, 1991, at the Marian Shrine of Finca Betania in Cúa, Venezuela.
While dividing a large Host into four pieces during the Consecration, Father Otty consumed one and placed the others on the paten. He soon noticed a red substance oozing from one of the pieces, resembling blood from a wound.
Fr. Otty Ossa Aristizabal noticed a red spot on a large Host after consecration; it then began to ooze blood.
The phenomenon was witnessed by numerous pilgrims attending the Mass, who confirmed that the priest had no physical wounds that could have caused the bleeding.
The bleeding Host was preserved overnight in the sacristy.
The next day, blood continued to flow, and later, a pilgrim filmed the Host appearing as a pulsating heart on fire.
Subsequent medical examinations authorized by the Bishop of Los Teques and conducted in Caracas determined the substance was human blood of type AB, consistent with other Vatican-recognized Eucharistic miracles.
Tests confirmed the substance was human blood, type AB+, matching blood found in other Eucharistic miracles like Lanciano, Italy, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Host is now kept for perpetual adoration at the convent of the Augustinian Recollect Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Los Teques.
: In February 1992, Bishop Pio Bello Ricardo of Los Teques officially recognized the event as a miracle, stating there were "sufficiently valid reasons" to admit its miraculous nature.
On November 12, 1998, a pilgrim named Daniel J. Sanford filmed the Host in its monstrance. The video reportedly shows the Host appearing to pulsate like a living heart in flames.
As of early 2026, the shrine in Betania remains a significant pilgrimage site, having reported over 500 alleged miracles and cures since the 1991 event.
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