The Eucharistic Miracle Cloth in the Cathedral of Orvieto
There are two seasons in the Catholic calendar that give you the opportunity to venerate the Corporal of Bolsena, the miraculous altar cloth in the Umbrian town of Orvieto. The altar cloth contains blood stains from a host that bled during the Consecration. The miracle happened in 1263 in Bolsena, Italy. A priest who had doubts in the Real Presence was celebrating Mass when the host began to bleed, leaving blood stains on the cloth, as well as the floor of Santa Cristina church. The priest brought the host and the cloth to Orvieto where the Pope was staying at the time and it remains here today.
The stunning Cathedral in Orvieto, which was built in honor of the Corporal, allows visitors to visit the Corporal at no cost for veneration in the Chapel of the Corporal on the side of the Cathedral during the Christmas and Easter seasons.
The city also commemorates the Miracle of Bolsena and the feast of Corpus Christi every year with a procession and medieval costume parade. That day the Corporal is exposed, as it also is on the Feast of the Assumption. Visit HERE for more information.
Orvieto is in the Province of Terni, in southwestern Umbria, and is 75 miles from Rome, 50 miles from Assisi, and about 100 miles from Tuscany.