The Vatican is investigating claims by parishioners that a miracle occurred at a Connecticut church that multiplied the number of communion wafers distributed.
The event, which was about communion, reportedly happened during a March mass at St Thomas’ Catholic Church – and the Holy See in Rome was made aware of it last week.
The incident was first investigated by the Archdiocese of Hartford after Rev. Joseph Crowley said, “God doubled in the ciborium.”
But author Michael O’Neill, who goes by the nickname “The Miracle Hunter,” says that without physical evidence, it will be difficult to prove a real miracle happened.
“I would be very surprised if they had enough evidence to declare it a true Eucharistic miracle,” O’Neill told the Hartford Courant.
The incident was first investigated by the Archdiocese of Hartford after Rev. Joseph Crowley said, “God doubled in the ciborium.”
The Vatican is investigating claims by parishioners that a miracle occurred at a Connecticut church that multiplied the number of communion wafers distributed
Author Michael O’Neill, who goes by the moniker “The Miracle Hunter,” believes that without physical evidence, it will be difficult to prove a real miracle happened
During the March 5 service, Rev. Crowley claimed that the hosts of communion, often referred to as communion wafers, were multiplied in the ciborium.
The “miracle” occurred at Thomaston Church and was witnessed by a person who was helping with communion.
Rev. Crowley then addressed the crowd and spoke through tears.
“One of our Eucharistic celebrations ran out of hosts and suddenly there were more hosts in the ciborium. “God just duplicated himself in the ciborium,” he said.
“It’s really, really cool when God does these things, and it’s really, really cool when we recognize what He’s done,” the shocked minister said.
According to the Courant, Hartford Archbishop Leonard Blair subsequently told reporters that he had appointed a priest who was knowledgeable about canon law.
The priest was tasked with investigating the “miracle” and deciding whether or not to inform the Vatican.
A spokesman for the archdiocese told the Courant that “reports such as the alleged miracle at Thomaston require a referral to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome.”
“The Archdiocese has acted accordingly and will await a response in due course,” spokesman David Elliot said.
According to the Vatican, the Dicastery was created to protect the Catholic Church from heresy website.
“The Archdiocese has acted accordingly and will await a response in due course,” Elliott told the Courant.
The so-called Eucharistic miracles are extremely rare, only 152 of them have ever been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. Pictured: St Thomas Church in Thomaston
“The Archdiocese has acted accordingly and will await a response in due course,” spokesman David Elliot said
During the March 5 service, Rev. Crowley claimed that the hosts of communion, often referred to as communion wafers, were multiplied in the ciborium
Archbishop Leonard Blair issued a statement to the Couran confirming the investigation
Despite loud testimonies from Rev. Crowley and parishioners, O’Neill said the church faces an uphill battle to have the incident considered a genuine miracle.
“I think they have the testimonies of numerous people who could have said they saw something and understood that it must have been a miracle,” O’Neill said.
“So I guess they’re a bit in the middle because they don’t have the hard evidence but they have good evidence,” he added.
The Miracle Hunter added that he believed the archdiocese looked to the Vatican for “guidance” going forward, and that it did
