Eucharistic Miracle of Ettiswil, Switzerland, 1447

At Ettiswil, there is a shrine dedicated to a Eucharistic miracle that happened in 1447. The most important document that describes the miracle is the “Protocol of Justice”. This was compiled on 16 July 1447 by Hermann von Russeg, Lord of Buron. Its translation reads: “On Wednesday, 23 May 1447, the Blessed Sacrament was stolen from the parish Church of Ettiswil, and soon after it was found by Margaret Schulmeister, a young lady and a swineherd. It was not far from the parish church close to the fence, thrown on the ground among nettles. It looked like a bright flower.” After close investigation, the police arrested the young lady, Anna Vögtli from Bischoffingen, a member of a satanic sect, who soon of her own accord confessed everything: “Having slipped my hand in the narrow iron gate, I got hold of the large Host. But as soon as I went beyond the cemetery wall, the Blessed Sacrament became so heavy that I was unable to carry it any longer. Being unable to go forward and to go backward, I get rid of the Host by throwing it close to a fence, in the nettles”. The sacred Host was discovered by Fraulein Margaret Schulmeister, a swineherd. She stated that “Once I arrived with my pigs close to the place where the Blessed Sacrament had been thrown, my animals did not want to go further. I asked the help of two men who were passing by on their horses. The two men saw in the grass the stolen Host divided in seven sections. Six of them were forming a flower similar to a rose and a great light was surrounding them.” The local parish priest was informed. He, at once, together with all the parishioners, went there to pick up the Host and to bring it back to the church. He picked up the six sections, but when he wanted to pick up the main central section, this stuck to the ground before everybody’s eyes. This partition was interpreted as a sign and it was decided to build a chapel precisely at that place where the Host had disappeared. The six sections were kept in the church of Ettiswil and became object of great veneration by the inhabitants of the village and of foreigners. God did many miracles there. The chapel and the altar were consecrated on 28 Dec 1448: a year and half after the events. Many Popes granted indulgences to the shrine's visitors. The great feast of the miracle’s chapel takes place on the Laetare Sunday and on the two following days.