Eucharistic Miracle - Ludbreg, Croatia - 1411

Eucharistic Miracle
Ludbreg, Croatia - 1411
Feast Day - First Sunday of September 

Ludbreg is located in northwestern Croatia on the left bank of the river Bednja.  It is said to be one of the oldest villages in Croatia dating to the first millennium BC with Romans having settled here between 6 and 9 AD. 

Eucharistic Miracle 

In 1411 in the chapel of Count Batthyany's castle (today known as Batthyany Castle or Ludbreg Palace) a priest saying Mass doubted the truth of the transubstantiation during the Consecration of the Eucharist.  At the moment of Consecration the wine in the chalice turned to Blood.  Instead of admitting his transgression of doubt and bringing this miracle to his bishop, the priest chose to hide the Sacred Blood in the chalice in a wall of the chapel.  He did not disclose the miracle until he was dying, when the chalice and Sacred Blood were removed from the wall and found intact as if it were the day of the miracle.

Word got out of the miracle and townspeople came to worship the relic of the Sacred Blood.  Miracles began to take place and were recorded.  The Sacred Blood and the testimonies of miracles were sent to Rome for evaluation.   On April 14, 1513, Pope Leo X published a bull permitting veneration of the Sacred Blood relic, and the relic was returned to Ludbreg and retained in the parish Church of the Holy Trinity. 

In 1721, countess Eleonora Strattman donated a reliquary made of gold and jewels to the Church of the Holy Trinity. The Sacred Blood is still kept in the reliquary today.  

In 1739 the Croatian Parliament made a vow to build a new chapel in Ludbreg in honor of the miracle of the Sacred Blood if God would stop the plague that was killing many in the region of Moslavina Croatia. The plague ended shortly thereafter, but because of years of war, the church could not be built.  After the democratic election of 1991, construction began in 1993 and finished in 1994. 

Today 

All three holy sights are within one mile of each other in Ludbreg, Croatia. (A) The Batthyany Castle where the miracle took place in 1400 is located at Trgsvetog Trojstva 25, Ludbreg, Croatia. (B) The parish church of the Holy Trinity, where the reliquary donated by countess Eleonore Strattman and the Holy Blood was kept until 1994 is located at Ul Petera Zrinskog 3, Ludbreg, Croatia. (C) And the current location of the Holy Blood the Sanctuary of the Precious Blood of Christ, is located at Ul. Kardinala Alojzija Stepinca, Ludbreg, Croatia.  I put the letters A, B and C on the locations in the picture below. 

On the 600th anniversary of the miracle a postage stamp was issued in Croatia. 

On the first Sunday of September pilgrims gather at the Sanctuary of the Precious Blood of Christ from Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Germany for a special celebration and venerate this Miracle.

Over 600 years later Our Lords Precious Blood is still visible in the monstrance made for It in 1721. 2000 years ago Jesus paid the ultimate price for our salvation.  In his mercy he continues to show us this miracle in Ludberg so that we too may believe that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  But we don't have to go all the way to Ludberg to see this miracle, Jesus comes to us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity every time we take the Eucharist. Happy are those who are called to the Supper of the Lamb.  

For devotional items related to the Catholic faith, please visit Lynn's Timeless Treasures.  

Index of Eucharistic Miracles 

___
Picture of the monstrance of 1721 that contains the Precious Blood relic from GoinCro
Picture of Batthyany Castle also called Ludbreg Palace from Wikipedia 
Picture of the Holy Trinity Church in Ludbreg from Kraljica Mira.
Picture of the reliquary from Kralijica Mira.
Picture of the Shrine of the Miracle of the Precious Blood from Hannah's Blog