>Several social media sites have reported that a Eucharistic miracle has occurred at our parish of St. Patrick in Rochelle. While our faith leads us to believe in miracles and the manifestation of Christ’s presence among us, unfortunately this was not one of those times.

The facts of the matter are these: a Communion wafer (unknown if it was consecrated or not) was found and, by holy protocol, the wafer was placed in water to be dissolved for proper disposal according to Catholic norms.  As the wafer dissolved it developed a red coloration which raised hope in a supernatural phenomenon. After careful examination, I determined this transformation part of a natural disintegration by bacterium and mold and the wafer was disposed according to the norms of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, a photo had been taken and posted raising hopes that a miracle had occurred.

The very core of our Catholic faith teaches us that we receive the Real Presence of Christ at each Eucharist so we can never casually dismiss that, throughout history, over one hundred Eucharistic miracles have been formally recognized and we have no reason to doubt that miracles are indeed part of our modern lives.

>Despite the conclusion of this specific case, in no way is our firm belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist diminished and we are pleased and privileged to still be able to receive him every day at Mass in our faithful community of St. Patrick of Rochelle.

Father Johnson Lopez
Pastor, St. Patrick Parish Rochelle