Eucharistic Miracle of Avignon
France (1433)
On November 30, 1433 a small church run by the
Gray Penitents of the Franciscan order was exhibiting
a consecrated Host for perpetual adoration. After
days of rain, the rivers swelled and surprisingly,
Avignon was submerged. By boat, two friars of
the Order succeeded in reaching the church where
the Holy Sacrament had been left for adoration.
When they entered the church, they saw that the
waters were divided to the right and to left,
leaving the altar and the Sacrament perfectly
dry.
The Eucharistic Miracle of Avignon
happened in the church of the Holy Cross, home
of the Gray Penitents of the Franciscan Order,
whose founding goes back to the times of Pious
King Louis VIII. At the time of this miracle,
Avignon was considered the center of Christendom
and the city’s “Palais des Papes”
was home to a series of seven popes.
After several days of heavy rain,
the Sorgue and Rhône rivers rose steadily
and reached a dangerous height. Finally, on November
30, 1433, Avignon, was flooded. The friars were
certain that their little church, which stood
along the Sorgue, had been destroyed by the raging
waters. Fearing that the Blessed Sacrament, which
was on display for perpetual adoration, had been
swept away, the head of the Order and another
friar rowed to the Church. Getting there was difficult,
but when they finally arrived they found a miracle.
Although water around the church was four feet
high, a pathway from the entrance to the altar
was perfectly dry. The Sacred Host was unscathed.
The pathway from the entrance to the altar called
to mind the parting of the Red Sea in Moses' time,
for all along the sides of the Church, water steadily
rose, but the pathway remained completely dry.
Amazed by what they were seeing, the friars had
others from their Order came to the Church to
verify the miracle. The news spread rapidly, and
many people and authorities came to the Church,
singing songs of praise and of thanks to the Lord.
Several hundred people witnessed this miracle.
Later on, the Gray Penitents
determined that the anniversary of the miracle
would be celebrated every year in the church on
the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle. Even
today, every November 30th, the brothers reunite
at the Chapelle des Pénitents Gris to celebrate
the memory of the miracle. Before the blessing
of the Holy Sacrament, the brothers perform a
sacred chant taken from the Canticle of Moses,
which was composed after the parting of the Red
Sea: “I will sing to the LORD, for he is
gloriously triumphant… At a breath of your
anger the waters piled up, the flowing waters
stood like a mound, the flood waters congealed
in the midst of the sea… In your mercy you
led the people you redeemed; in your strength
you guided them to your holy dwelling.”
(Exodus 15, 1-18).
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