PRESSACFRANCE, 1643

In the Eucharistic Miracle of Pressac, a chalice in whicha consecrated Host had beenplaced was completely fusedafter a fire in the parishchurch. The only thingremaining of the chalice wasthe foot of the chalice onwhich had formed a tin bubble under which the Hostwas found completely intact.The Miraculous Host wasconsumed the day after, butthere are many documentswhich testify to this miraclestill in existence today.Among these documents arethe windows of the churchof Pressac which depict the different phases of the miracle.

he miracle occurred on Holy Thursday,1643. After having celebrated Mass andeveryone had received Communion, the

people of the town returned to their jobs and thepriest placed the chalice back into the repository.This was near the altar dedicated to the BlessedVirgin which had four pillars of wood supportinga marble slab on top of which was a corporal.Behind the altar there was a depiction of aEucharistic scene. A veil covered the chalice andtwo large candles were lit at the foot of the repo-sitory. It was mid-day and the sacristan closed thedoor of the church. Two hours later, those nearbynoticed thick black smoke coming from thewindows of the church. Since the windows hadbeen inadvertently left open, this probablyfanned the flames of the candles and acceleratedthe fire. The people called the sacristan to open

the doors and they all entered to assess thedamage. The repository and the painting weredestroyed. What was left were the marble slab,the corporal and the foot of the chalice. Thereport would later say that almost the entire cupwas transformed into “drops of tin.”

Above what was left of the chalicethere formed a bubble of tin under which theHost was found completely intact having with-stood the flames and the fusion of the metal.The vicar, Simon Sauvage, came to the place ofthe miracle and carried the bubbling chalice tothe main altar for all to see. The Host, light redaround the edges, was consumed the nextmorning during the Divine Office of GoodFriday. We should remember that the Liturgyback then held that only one of the consecrated

Hosts should be reserved in the ciborium andplaced in a chalice covered by a simple veil. TheAbbot of Availles-Limouzine, François du Theil,recorded all of the testimony and gave it to theBishop of Poitiers, Henri Louis Chastagnier de laRoche-Posay who authorized the cult of the mira-cle with a solemn act which states: “The SacredMysteries are incomprehensible, if the splendorof grace does not illumine the spirit in order toelevate it to the highest understanding of thewondrous effects of the power of God and toobligate all men to adore Him, who is owed theiradoration. The ineffable goodness of God ismanifested at times in extraordinary ways, work-ing miracles in the Church in order to confirmthe Catholic Faith and to confound the errors ofthe unfaithful spirits.”

© 2006, Istituto San Clemente I Papa e Martire / The Real Presence Association, Inc.

Eucharistic Miracle of

Depiction of the chalice as it appeared after the Miracle of Pressacnext to the account written by François du Theil, curate ofAvailles-Limouzine in the year 1643.

Sculpted mask on the door ofthe Church of St. Just at Pressac

Detail of the window of the Churchof St. Just at Pressac, above the mainaltar depicting the miracle

Foot of the Miraculous Chalice

Church of St. Just, Pressac

View of Pressac

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