On March 28, 1171, Father Pietro da Verona was celebrating Easter Mass with three confreres. At the moment of the breaking of the consecrated Host, Blood gushed forth from the Host and threw large drops on the ceiling of the small crypt above the altar. Histories tell of the “holy fear of the celebrant and of the immense wonder of the people who crowded the tiny church.” There were many eyewitnesses who told of seeing the Host take on a Bloody color and having seen in the Host the figure of a Baby.
Bishop Amato of Ferrara and Archbishop Gherardo of Ravenna were immediately informed of the event. They witnessed with their own eyes the miracle, namely “the Blood which we saw redden the ceiling of the crypt.” The church immediately became a pilgrim destination, and later was rebuilt and expanded on the orders of Duke Ercole d’Este beginning in 1495. There are many sources regarding this miracle. One of the documents which dates to March 6, 1404, is the Bull of Cardinal Migliorati, in which he grants indulgences to “those who visit the church and adore the Miraculous Blood.” Even today, on the 28th day of every month in the basilica, which is currently under the care of Saint Gaspare del Bufalo’s Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, Eucharistic Adoration is celebrated in memory of the miracle. And every year, in preparation for the Feast of Corpus Christi, the solemn Forty Hours devotion is celebrated.
“Eucharistic Miracle of Ferrera, Italy, 1171.” Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association, 2023. http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/english_pdf/Ferrara.pdf
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