Santarém
- Place today Church of St Stephen, or Sanctuary of the Most Holy Miracle, Santarém, Portugal
- Date Tradition gives 1226, 1247 or 1266, in the 13th century in any case
- What is kept The Host and blood in a crystal vessel, in a gilded silver monstrance, on the throne above the high altar
- Procession Second Sunday of April, from the couple's house to the church
The account
What the tradition tells
This story is told according to tradition. Its details differ a little from one telling to another. We give what the tellings share, and we leave the woman unnamed, as they do.
A young woman of Santarém was unhappy in her marriage. Her husband neglected her or was unfaithful, and some tellings say he mistreated her too. In her pain she went to a local sorceress. The sorceress told her that if she brought a consecrated Host, her husband's love could be won back. Some say the Host was the price, others that it was to make a love potion.
The woman went to the church of St Stephen and received Communion. She took the Host from her mouth and hid it in her linen veil. As she walked away, blood began to show through the cloth. People noticed it and asked her what was wrong. Frightened, she ran home, and she opened the cloth and saw that the blood was coming from the Host itself. She put the Host in a wooden chest in her room.
That night, light came from the chest and filled the room. Her husband saw it. Some tellings add that the couple saw angels adoring. She told him everything. They knelt together and prayed until dawn. So the story of a sin ends with the repentance of two people in their own home, before the Lord.
In the morning they told the parish priest. Word spread, and, one telling says, half the town came to see. The priest carried the Host back to St Stephen's in solemn procession with clergy and people. The Host bled for three days, it is said. It was then placed in a small vessel made from the wax of beeswax candles and kept in the tabernacle.
A second wonder is told of about 1340. A priest opened the tabernacle and found the wax vessel broken in pieces, and in its place a crystal vessel containing the Host and blood mixed with wax. This crystal vessel, enclosed in a monstrance, is what pilgrims see today.
The earliest witnesses, and how late they are
The three years given for the event show how thin the early record is.
- A lost document. According to devotional accounts, several historians of the fifteenth century said they had read an original document, now lost, that gave the date as 16 February 1247.
- 1346. King Afonso IV of Portugal commissioned an account of the event. Only copies are spoken of. The exhibition panel on the miracle, published in 2006 by Edizioni San Clemente, says in its Portuguese text that the copy dates the event to 16 February 1226. Several English writers say that it gives 16 February 1266. We have not seen the document, so we cannot say which reading is right.
- 1612. An engraving of Pedro Crasbeeck of that year shows the small ampoule. It is cited as a witness to its form by then.
The major modern study, which we have not been able to read, is by Martinho Vicente Rodrigues, O "Santíssimo Milagre" de Santarém, published by the Sanctuary in several editions, and in English as The holy eucharistic miracle of Santarém.
One reference work says the church was consecrated in 1241. If so, it is older than the two later dates.
The later history
- Queen St Elizabeth of Portugal. She is said to have visited in 1295 and in 1322. In 1322, in her effort to make peace between her husband, King Denis, and their son Afonso, she is said to have walked barefoot in penance, with ashes and a rope about her neck.
- 1531 to 1547. An earthquake in 1531 badly damaged the church, and it was rebuilt from 1536 to 1547. So what you see is mainly Renaissance, with two pointed Gothic arches left in the transept.
- St Francis Xavier. He is named among those who prayed here before leaving for India. One guide gives 1541.
- The 1600s. Blue and white tiles on the walls, and four large canvases of 1646 showing the story. King Afonso VI visited on 25 January 1664, and he is said to have seen the bloodstained cloth at the convent of St Dominic.
- The couple's house. It became a chapel. Dates given for this differ: 1653, 1663 or 1684.
- The 1700s. The gilded carved altars and the choir. The Eucharistic throne is of this century, and a main reliquary is dated 1782.
- 1810 to 1811. During the French invasions the relic was taken to Lisbon, to the church of Paço, and returned to Santarém on 2 December 1811.
- 1917. The church was classified as a national monument.
- 7 December 1996. Bishop António Francisco Marques of Santarém reopened the restored sanctuary.
What is known
A relic is kept and venerated in the church of St Stephen, Santarém. The church goes back at least to the 1200s and has long been called after the miracle. Popes have granted indulgences and privileges connected with it, including Gregory XIV, who gave a plenary indulgence to the members of the Royal Brotherhood of the Most Holy Miracle. A yearly procession is held. The relic was moved in the French invasions and brought back.
What is less certain
The year is uncertain: 1226, 1247 and 1266 are all given, and the oldest document is lost. We have not seen the inquiries of 1340 and 1612. The story of the wax vessel and the crystal comes from tradition. Devotional writers also speak of the Host bleeding again over the centuries, of images of the Lord seen in it, and of the blood remaining liquid; we could not check these. Some popular articles say that in 1997 scientists found human flesh and blood of group AB positive. None of them names a scientist, a laboratory or a publication, and we found no published study. We give it no weight, and no test here can count as proof. The details of the queen's procession differ between tellings.
How the Church has honoured it
| Pius IV (1559 to 1565) | Granted an indulgence to pilgrims visiting the church of the Most Holy Miracle. |
|---|---|
| St Pius V, Pius VI | Granted privileges to pilgrims. The dates were not given in the sources we saw. |
| Gregory XIV (1590 to 1591) | Granted a plenary indulgence to members of the Royal Brotherhood, on the day they joined and the day they died. |
| Inquiries | 1340 and 1612 are reported by devotional writers as canonical inquiries that found in favour. We have not seen them. |
| Parish and sanctuary | The medieval parish of St Stephen was merged into another in the 19th century. The church remains as a sanctuary in the care of the Diocese of Santarém, and a Royal Brotherhood of the Holy Miracle still looks after the relic. |
| Bishop Marques, 1996 | Reopened the sanctuary after its restoration. |
The fruits
- Prayer in hard times. From early on, kings, nobles, clergy and people are said to have come here in procession in times of sickness, flood or drought.
- Saints at prayer. The memory of St Elizabeth of Portugal, the peacemaker, and of St Francis Xavier, before he left for India, is kept here.
- The procession. Every year on the second Sunday of April the relic goes from the couple's house to the church. One guide also lists the first and second Sundays after Easter and 16 February as feast days, and pilgrims walk the route at other times.
- Art. The tiles, the gilded woodwork, and the four great canvases of 1646.
- A word about repentance. The story is not mainly about a sorceress. It is about a broken marriage, a wrong done in pain, and a husband and wife kneeling together in the night. The Lord she had carried off in secret did not turn away from their home.
If you visit
Santarém is in central Portugal, some 70 to 80 km from Lisbon and not far from Fátima. The sanctuary is at Escadinhas do Milagre 6. One guide gives opening hours of Wednesday to Sunday, 9.30 to 17.30, and says that groups can ask several days ahead for special exposition of the relic, so write first. The sanctuary's own pages are at santissimomilagre.jimdofree.com. The chapel on the place of the couple's house is on Travessa das Esteiras.
Timeline
| 1226, 1247 or 1266 | The event, according to tradition; 16 February in each case. |
|---|---|
| 1241 | The church of St Stephen consecrated, by one account. |
| 1295, 1322 | Visits of Queen St Elizabeth, as reported. |
| About 1340 | The crystal vessel found, according to tradition. |
| 1346 | King Afonso IV commissions an account. |
| 1531, 1536 to 1547 | Earthquake and rebuilding. |
| 1559 to 1591 | Pius IV, St Pius V and Gregory XIV grant favours. |
| 1612 | Crasbeeck's engraving; reported inquiry. |
| 1646 | The four canvases. |
| 1664 | King Afonso VI visits, 25 January. |
| 1782 | A main reliquary. |
| 1810, 1811 | Moved to Lisbon; back on 2 December 1811. |
| 1917 | National monument. |
| 1996 | Sanctuary reopened, 7 December. |
What the Church teaches
Our faith rests on Christ's own words, and not on miracles (Mark 14:22 to 24; John 6:51 to 58). The Eucharist is the real presence of Christ at every Mass and Qurbana, with or without any sign (CCC 1374 to 1376). Santarém adds nothing to what we receive at every Communion. It does remind us of the care we owe him: we receive the Host with faith and reverence, and we never use holy things as charms. No one is obliged to believe this story.
Sources: exhibition panel, "Santarém, Portugal, 1247", Edizioni San Clemente, 2006; Servants of the Pierced Hearts, which gives the 1247, 1266 and 1346 dating, the indulgences and the later history; the Sanctuary's own pages; C. Ruff, Catholic Life, Diocese of La Crosse, 2024; Wikipedia on the miracle and in Portuguese on the church; GCatholic; Via Peregrina guide; Destinationes guide.