GRUARO (VALVASONE)

ITALY, 1294

Eucharistic Miracle of

Among the most authoritative

documents which describe

the Eucharistic miracle which

took place at Gruaro in

1294 is that of local historian

Antonio Nicoletti (1765).

A woman was washing

one of the altar linens of the

Church of St. Giusto in the

public wash house of Versiola.

Suddenly she saw the altar

linen become tinged with

Blood. Observing more

closely, she noted that the

blood was flowing from a

consecrated Particle remaining

among the folds of the cloth.

he relic of this Miracle is kept in the

Church of the Most Holy Body of Christ in

Valvasone, but the miracle happened in

Gruaruo. In 1294, a young housemaid went to

the public wash-house of Versiola to wash the

altar linens of the Church of St. Giusto in

Gruaro. Suddenly, the woman noticed that a

consecrated Host had remained by mistake

among the folds of the cloth and that Blood was

flowing from it. Frightened by this inexplicable

event, she immediately ran to alert the pastor

who then informed the Bishop of Concordia,

Giacomo di Ottonello from Cividade. The

Bishop, having learned the facts, asked to be able

to keep the cloth of the miracle in his Cathedral

in Concordia. However, the pastor of Gruaro and

the family of the Counts of Valvasone, patrons of

the churches of Gruaro and of Valvasone, wanted

to keep the cloth. No agreement was reached,

and so it was decided to seek recourse with the

Holy See. In the end, Rome let the Counts keep

the relic, on the condition that they would

build a church dedicated to the Most Holy

Body of Christ. The construction of the church

was completed in 1483.

The oldest and most authoritative

document describing the miracle is a decree of

Pope Nicholas V written in 1454. The title of

the parish church, formerly St. Mary and St.

John the Evangelist was thereby changed to the

Church of the Most Holy Body of Christ

(March 28, 1454). Today, the cloth is kept in a

crystal cylinder, held by a precious reliquary of

silver made by master craftsman Antonio

Calligari. The celebration of the Holy Cloth is

commemorated on the 5th Thursday of Lent, at

the end of days of adoration of the Blessed

Sacrament, with the participation of the priests

and of the community of Valvasone. During the

celebration of Corpus Christi, the reliquary is

carried in procession with the Most Blessed

Sacrament.

The blood-stained linen cloth is kept in the Church

of the Most Holy Body of Christ in Valvasone

Interior of the Church of the

Most Holy Body of Christ

Large memorial built to recall the miracle and the

reconciliation between Gruaro and Valvasone

Reliquary built by a

Venetian craftsman in 1755

© 2006, Istituto San Clemente I Papa e Martire / The Real Presence Association, Inc.

Notarized copy of Pope Nicholas

V’s decree in 1454 that permitted

the Counts of Valvasone to keep

the relic of the miracle on the

condition that they build a shrine

in honor of the Most Holy

Body

of Christ

Maira Stream

Exact place of the River Maira

where the woman washed the

cloth of the miracle

Church of St. Giusto

in Gruaro

Detail of the corporal

Church of Gruaro. Rose

window depicting the miracle

T