Eucharistic Miracle of Brussels.

In the Cathedral of Brussels there are many artistic testimonies
to a Eucharistic miracle verified in 1370. Desecrators stole
Hosts and struck at them with knives as a way of showing their
rebellion. From these particles came a flow of living blood.
This miracle was celebrated up until some decades ago.
There are many reliquaries of different eras that were used to contain the miraculous Hosts of the miracle of the Blessed Sacrament. They have been
kept to this day in the museum close to the cathedral in an
ancient chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. There are tapestries
of the 18th century which represent the miraculous event. The five stained glass windows that grace the side nave of the cathedral take us through
stages of the Eucharistic miracle. They were installed at various times from 1436 to 1870. The Kings of Belgium, Leopold I and Leopold II, presented the first windows on the lower level.The others were gifts from various noble families
of the country.
The first ten windows represent the story as it came
to Brussels in the middle of the 15th century. The
ancient document reads : “In 1369 a rich merchant
from Enghien who hated the Catholic religion,
had some consecrated Hosts stolen. He worked
with a young man from Louvain (on windows 1-3).
The merchant was assassinated mysteriously a few
days later. His widow, surmising it was a punishment from Heaven, got rid of the Hosts by givingthem to friends of her husband. These friends
were filled with hatred of things Catholic.
“On Good Friday 1370, the friends met and
began to slash the Hosts with knives, and the
Hosts began to bleed! The desecrators were
badly frightened and entrusted the Hosts to an
important Catholic merchant.
“This merchant revealed the
whole story to the curate of the Church of
Notre Dame. The curate took possession of the
Hosts and the desecrators were condemned to
death by the Duke of Brabant. The Hosts were
taken in procession to the cathedral of St.
Gudula”. The Eucharistic miracle remains an
important part of the traditions of Brussels and
is something of a national symbol.