By UCA News Reporter
Some 10,000 Catholics gathered in a tiny village parish in southern India recently to witness the official declaration of a Eucharist miracle, billed as the first such Vatican-approved miracle in India.
The May 31 event came more than 11 years after the miracle: the face of Christ appearing in the holy host during a Eucharistic celebration occurred at Christ the King Church in Vilakkannur parish, in Thalassery archdiocese on Nov 15, 2013.
The Vatican approved the miracle two months ago, following a theological analysis and scientific evaluation, which allowed the archdiocese to install the miraculous host in the parish.
Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, joined the ceremonies, where Archdiocesan Chancellor Father Biju Muttathukunnel read in the local Malayalam language the official approval of the Vatican, declaring the incident a miracle.
The declaration and installation of the host were “a blessed moment for us as Catholics. The Eucharistic miracle will help strengthen the faith of our people more,” Father Thomas Keezharathil, the parish priest, told UCA News Jun 2.
More than 10,000 Catholics from across the archdiocese attended the ceremonies in the village parish of some 700 members, he said.
The parish, on its social media page about the miracle, claimed it was “India’s first Vatican-approved Eucharistic miracle” and the first in the Eastern Rite Syro-Malabar Church based in southern India.
“The parish has now been declared a pilgrimage center,” the priest said.
“The miracle host was installed on a specially designed pedestal inside the church to enable Catholics to adore it,” the priest added.
Decade-long studies
The official declaration came after prolonged studies, both theological and scientific.
In March, the Dicastery of Doctrine of Faith declared that “nothing prevented the declaration of the Vilakkannur Eucharist as an extraordinary event.”
The incident was first studied by a doctrinal committee of the Syro-Malabar Church, and its report was submitted in Dec 2013.
Following further studies, the Dicastery of the Doctrine of Faith in 2018 requested that the consecrated host be sent to the Vatican through the nuncio for closer examination.
In Sep 2023, the Vatican sought to conduct scientific studies on the host to establish that no foreign substance was present, forming the image of Jesus on it.
Following the Vatican’s instructions, the host was taken to Bangalore’s Christ University for scientific studies in Jan 2024.
A team of theologians and scientists at the university, which is run by the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate priests, conducted the studies.
The studies in India and abroad “have established that the sacred image was formed by the same substance as that of the host and there is no other trace of any other material,” archdiocesan chancellor Muttathukunnel told local media. – UCA News
