The Eucharistic miracle of Avignon occurred at the Church of the Holy Cross, home of the Gray Penitents of the Franciscan Order, whose founding goes back to the times of pious King Louis VIII. At the time of this miracle, Avignon was considered the center of Christendom, and the city’s “Palais des Papes” was home to a series of seven popes.

After several days of heavy rain, the Sorgue and Rhône Rivers rose steadily and reached a dangerous height. Finally, on November 30, 1433, Avignon, was flooded. The friars were certain that their little church, which stood along the Sorgue, had been destroyed by the raging waters. Fearing that the Blessed Sacrament, which was exposed for Perpetual Adoration, had been swept away, the head of the Order and another friar rowed to the church. Getting there was difficult, but when they finally arrived they found a miracle. Although water around the church was four feet high, a pathway from the entrance of the church to the altar was perfectly dry.

The Sacred Host was unscathed. The pathway from the entrance to the altar called to mind the parting of the Red Sea in the time of Moses, for all along the sides of the church, water steadily rose, but the pathway remained completely dry.

Amazed by what they were seeing, the friars had others from their Order come to the church to verify the miracle. The news spread rapidly, and many people, including those in authority, came to the church, singing songs of praise and of thanks to the Lord. Several hundred people witnessed this miracle.

Later on, the Gray Penitents determined that the anniversary of the miracle would be celebrated in the church every year on the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle. Even today, every November 30th, the brothers reunite at the Chapelle des Pénitents Gris to celebrate the memory of the miracle. Before the blessing of the Holy Sacrament, the brothers perform a sacred chant taken from the Canticle of Moses, which was composed after the parting of the Red Sea: “I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant... At a breath of your anger the waters piled up, the flowing waters stood like a mound, the flood waters congealed in the midst of the sea... In your mercy you led the people you redeemed; in your strength you guided them to your holy dwelling.” (Exodus 15, 1-18).

The Eucharistic miracle of Montserrat brings us to reflect on the reality of purgatory and reminds us that every Mass has an infinite value because it makes the unique sacrifice of Christ suffering on Calvary present in our minds. This Eucharistic prodigy is reported by the Benedictine priest R.P. Francio de Paula Crusellas, in his text, New History of the Sanctuary and Monastery of Our Lady of Montserrat.

In 1657, the Most Reverend Father Don Bernardo de Ontevieros, General of the Benedictine order in Spain, and Abbot Don Millán de Mirando, arrived at the Monastery of Our Lady of Montserrat in order to participate in some conferences. During one of the conferences, a woman and her young daughter showed up and the daughter began to beg the Abbot Millán de Mirando to celebrate three Masses in memory of her deceased father, whole-heartedly convinced that with these Masses the soul of her father would be freed from the pains of purgatory. The good abbot, moved to tears by the girl, began to celebrate the first Mass of suffering the next day, and the girl, who was present with her mother, confirmed seeing her father kneeling, surrounded by frightening flames at the step of the main altar during the consecration.

The priest and General, dubious, asked the girl to put a tissue close to the flames that surrounded her father in order to verify her story. Following their request, the girl put the tissue into the fire, which only she could see, and the tissue began to burn with a lively flame. 

During the second Mass, the girl confirmed having seen her father dressed in a vibrantly dressed suit standing next to the deacon. At the third Mass, the father appeared to the daughter dressed in an snow-white suit. As soon as the Mass ended, the girl exclaimed, "There is my father going away and rising into the sky!" The girl then thanked the monks on behalf of her father as he had asked her to do. The Most Reverend General of the Benedictine order in Spain, the Bishop of Astorga, and numerous citizens of the town were present. 

The History of Saint Clare, Virgin, tells of various miracles performed by Saint Clare. There are episodes of multiplications of loaves and of bottles of oil that appeared in the convent when there was none before. But Clare performed the most famous of the miracles in 1240 on a Friday in September, in which she turned away an attack by Saracen soldiers who had broken into the convent cloister by showing them the Sacred Host.

This Eucharistic miracle is cited in The History of Saint Clare, Virgin written by Tommaso da Celano, and describes how Saint Clare of Assisi succeeded, with the Blessed Sacrament, in turning away Saracen troops in the pay of Emperor Frederick II of Sweden.

The history goes like this: “By imperial order, regiments of Saracen soldiers and bowmen were stationed there (the convent of San Damiano in Assisi, Italy), massed like bees, ready to devastate the encampments and seize the cities. Once, during an enemy attack against Assisi, city beloved of the Lord, and while the army was approaching the gates, the fierce Saracens invaded San Damiano, entered the confines of the monastery and even the very cloister of the virgins. The
women swooned in terror, their voices trembling with fear as they cried to their Mother, Saint Clare.
“Saint Clare, with a fearless heart, commanded them to lead her, sick as she was, to the enemy, preceded by a silver and ivory case in which the Body of the Saint of saints was kept with great devotion. And prostrating herself before the Lord, she spoke tearfully to her Christ: ‘Behold, my Lord, is it possible You want to deliver into the hands of pagans Your defenseless handmaids, whom I have taught out of love for You? I pray You, Lord, protect these Your handmaids whom I cannot now save by myself.’ Suddenly a voice like that of a child resounded in her ears from the tabernacle: ‘I will always protect you!’ ‘My Lord,’ she added, ‘if it is Your wish, protect also this city which is sustained by Your love.’ Christ replied, ‘It will have to undergo trials, but it will be defended by My protection.’ Then the virgin, raising a face bathed in tears, comforted the sisters: ‘I assure you, daughters, that you will suffer no evil; only have faith in Christ.’ Upon seeing the courage of the sisters, the Saracens took flight and fled back over the walls they had scaled, unnerved by the strength of she who prayed. And Clare immediately admonished those who heard the voice I spoke of above, telling them severely: ‘Take care not to tell anyone about that voice while I am still alive, dearest daughters.’”

*Information regarding the Euchristic Miracles has been taken directly from the Real Presence Education and Adoration Association. You can access the above and information about numerous Eucharistic miracles by visiting their website: The Real Presence