Discover the Eucharistic Miracle of Rimini: the Mule that Knelt before the Host

In the heart of Rimini, in Piazza Tre Martiri, an elegant octagonal shrine commemorates one of the most famous miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua: the starving mule which, in 1227, ignored its fodder to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament, converting its unbelieving master and the whole city.

Bonovillo’s Challenge

Rimini was then a stronghold of the Cathar heresy, which denied the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. A heretic named Bonovillo (or Bonvillo) publicly challenged Saint Anthony: he would believe only if his mule, kept without food for three days, when placed before fodder and the consecrated Host, adored the Sacrament. The saint accepted the challenge, trusting in the Lord.

The Prodigy in the Square

On the appointed day, before an immense crowd, the fodder was placed on one side and Saint Anthony with the monstrance on the other. The starving mule ignored the food, approached the Host and bent its front knees, remaining prostrate in an act of adoration. Bonovillo kept his word: he converted publicly, and with him many of Rimini’s Cathars. The Franciscan chronicles count the event among the best documented miracles of the wonder-worker.

The Tempietto of Saint Anthony

On the site of the prodigy, in what was then the market square, first a votive shrine arose and then, in the sixteenth century, the present octagonal temple with its dome, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1672. Next to the nearby church of the Paolotti, the tempietto is the discreet but constant sign of an event that marked the religious history of the Romagnol city.

Historical Clues and “Adventurous” Research:

• The Anthonian sources: the miracle of the mule is narrated in the earliest collections of the saint’s miracles: compare the Rimini versions with those attributed to other cities.
• Cathar Rimini: reconstructing the presence of the heresy in thirteenth-century Romagna helps grasp the significance of the conversion.
• The transformations of the tempietto: follow through prints and documents the monument’s reconstructions from the thirteenth century to today.

Useful Information for Pilgrims

• Address: Piazza Tre Martiri, Rimini (RN), Italy
• Opening Hours: the tempietto is admired from outside; for celebrations enquire at the nearby church of San Francesco Saverio (Paolotti).
• Getting There: Piazza Tre Martiri is in Rimini’s pedestrian heart, ten minutes’ walk from the railway station.

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