Santarem, Portugal
Mid-13th Century
Most Holy Eucharist
A woman of Santarem, upset by the perceived infidelity of her husband, desperately sought the counsel of a sorceress. In exchange for a consecrated Host, the sorceress promised to restore the affections of the woman's wayward husband. Although the woman was distressed by her marital situation, she realized that such an action was dreadfully wrong, and a sacrilege against the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist. Despite her trepidation, the woman went to Mass and received, but did not consume, the Sacred Host.
After hurrying from the church, she placed the Most Blessed Sacrament in her kerchief. Intent on her mission, the woman did not notice that the Host had started to bleed profusely. Another villager worried that the woman herself was injured, and drew the blood to her attention.
Horrified that the Host was bleeding, she rushed home and placed the Blessed Sacrament in a trunk. In the middle of the night, the woman and her husband were awakened by the rays of bright light emanating from the trunk. Other townspeople came to the house and also beheld the miracle. The parish priest brought the miraculous Host back to the church in a wax container and placed it in the tabernacle. This was not the end of the miracle of Santarem, however: when the priest again opened the tabernacle, the wax container was broken, and instead a crystal container held the Blood of the Host! The church which contained the Sacred Host has been re-named the Church of the Miracle.