Diocese of St. Rose of Lima investigates host with reddish stains

The Diocese of St. Rose of Lima in Guatemala has formed a multidisciplinary team to investigate a consecrated host that failed to dissolve in water and developed reddish stains. Bishop José Cayetano Parra assembled the group to determine if the stains are blood and to examine why the bread exhibited certain human characteristics.

The investigation follows an event on July 30 during a Mass at a school in Cuilapa. A priest intervened when a teenager removed the Eucharist from his mouth to prevent him from dropping it on the floor. The priest placed the host in a glass vessel of water in the chapel of the Cathedral of the Child Jesus rectory, intending for it to dissolve naturally. On August 6, observers noted the host had not dissolved and showed red spots.

The investigative team includes a biologist, a physician experienced in similar cases, a psychologist, a nurse, a layperson from the community, and a priest from outside the local parish. Father José Alejandro García, the cathedral parish priest, stated that scientific studies may take several months. The diocese has asked the faithful to remain prayerful and patient, noting that only the Holy See has the authority to recognize a Eucharistic miracle.