The Vatican is investigating a possible miracle at a church in Connecticut.
Back in March, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, a layperson allowed to assist the priest in distributing Communion, was running low on Hosts, which Catholics believe becomes the actual body and blood of Jesus at the Consecration, when more appeared in the vessel.
Rev. Joseph Crowley, pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, was saying Mass at one of the parish’s three churches, St. Thomas in Thomaston, and announced the occurrence to the congregation.
“Today not only did we have the miracle of the Eucharist, we had a bigger miracle,” Crowley said.
A possible Eucharistic miracle in Connecticut is now under investigation by the Vatican https://t.co/IeGGEwP1sL
— Our Sunday Visitor (@OSV) May 8, 2023
The Archdiocese of Hartford investigated the possible miracle and forwarded their results to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome. Archbishop Leonard Blair had previously said that the outcome of their investigation would determine if they would sent it up the ladder.
Michael O’Neill, author of a book on how the Catholic Church investigates claims of miracles, speculated that there was a lot of testimony but not much hard evidence. While the Mass was live-streamed, O’Neill said it’s unlikely it would show one way or another.
In many Eucharistic miracles, such as recent ones in Poland, the Host often turns into heart tissue or bleeds. Some events also turn out to have natural explanations, for instance, a Host was dropped on the floor at a church in Minnesota in 2011 and appeared to begin bleeding after being placed in the cup of water. However, when the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis investigated, they found the coloration was due to mold.
St. Thomas Church was the final assignment of Michael McGivney, the priest who founded the Knights of Columbus fraternal society in New Haven, Conn in 1882. A cause for his canonization was opened by the Archdiocese of Hartford in 1996. He was declared Venerable in 2008 and a first miracle was attributed to his intercession in 2020, allowing him to be beatified.
“Roman Catholics experience a daily miracle because every time Mass is celebrated what was bread becomes the Body of Christ and what was wine becomes his Blood,” Hartford Archbishop Leonard Blair said in a statement.
