God's Love for You - Sunday 10th August 2025
Eucharistic Miracle of Alcoy, Spain 1568
On the 29th of January in 1568, a citizen of Alcoy by the name of Juan Prats, who needed money, secretly entered the parochial Church and stole many sacred objects, among which was a precious silver box containing three consecrated Hosts. Juan consumed the three Hosts immediately and then hid the box in his stable underneath a pile of wood. The next day, the Parish Priest, Don Antonio, found out about the sacrilegious theft. Distressed, he sounded the Church bells to let the people know of the horrendous act. Soon after, all of the people of Alcoy were assembled in prayer in front of the Church. The searches began immediately, but were in vain. Near Juan's house lived a pious widow, María Miralles, who had a statue of the Holy Child. The woman, profoundly disturbed by the profane act, began to pray intensely in front of the statue of Jesus, pleading for the consecrated Hosts to be returned to the citizens of Alcoy. Few hours had passed when she started her fervent prayer when María saw the little hand of the statue of Jesus point its finger to the house of her neighbour, Juan Prats. The woman, suspicious, decided to tell the civil authorities of what had taken place. In that moment the pastor of the Church, moved by a mysterious force, went to the garden of the house of Juan and entered the stable. He rummaged through the pile of wood and immediately recovered the silver box with the three consecrated Hosts. Juan, not under-standing how the three Hosts were inside the silver box again, (as he remembered consuming them) repented deeply and confessed the misdeed. The miracle is still remembered every year by the inhabitants of Alcoy in a festival that is celebrated on the feast of Corpus Christi. The house of Juan was turned into an oratory and can be visited to this day. The documents relative to the miracle and the statue of Baby Jesus are still kept today in the monastery of the Holy Sepulchre of Alcoy.
(Reference: www.miracolieucaristici.org)
