Discover the Eucharistic Miracle of Ischia di Castro: the Multiplication of Bread on Corpus Christi

In the upper Tuscia of Viterbo, the village of Ischia di Castro guards a Eucharistic miracle that is almost unknown, and all the more precious for it: the prodigious multiplication of bread in the oven of the monastery of the Franciscan Tertiaries on Corpus Christi day 1802, linked to the figure of Blessed Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation, foundress of Perpetual Adoration.

The Monastery Oven

Between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, owning a large oven was a real fortune, especially in small villages. The monastery of the Franciscan Tertiaries of Ischia di Castro, though living in Franciscan poverty, possessed one, and on Corpus Christi day 1802 the store of bread proved wholly insufficient for the community and for the poor knocking at the door.

The sisters entrusted themselves to prayer before the Blessed Sacrament: and the bread, against all evidence, sufficed for everyone with some to spare, multiplying prodigiously in the oven. The Gospel echo of the multiplication of the loaves was renewed in an enclosed monastery of the Lazio Maremma.

Blessed Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation

The miracle is closely linked to the community of Caterina Sordini, in religion Mother Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation (1770-1824), the mystic of Porto Santo Stefano who in those very years was maturing the foundation of the order of the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. The prodigy of the bread is amply documented in the archive of the former curia of Acquapendente, in the file concerning the Blessed.

An “Everyday” Miracle

Unlike the great prodigies of blood, Ischia di Castro tells of a domestic, motherly miracle: bread that does not run out. Herein perhaps lies its relevance: Providence bending over the table of the poor on the very day the Church celebrates the living Bread come down from heaven.

Historical Clues and “Adventurous” Research:

• The Acquapendente file: the Blessed’s dossier in the archive of the former curia is the primary source for the miracle: archival research within everyone’s reach.
• The beatification cause: the acts of the process of Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation (beatified in 2008) contain testimonies about life in the Castro monastery.
• The monastery oven: identify in the village the building of the ancient monastery and the remains of its oven.

Useful Information for Pilgrims

• Address: Ischia di Castro (VT), Italy
• Opening Hours: enquire with the parish or the Diocese of Viterbo.
• Getting There: the village lies in western Tuscia, between Lake Bolsena and the Maremma coast, reached via the SS312 Castrense road.

Historical source: the international exhibition “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World” created by Carlo Acutis (miracolieucaristici.org).