Discover the Eucharistic Miracle of San Mauro La Bruca: the Incorrupt Hosts of Cilento

In the heart of the Cilento National Park, the small village of San Mauro La Bruca guards the most recent recognised Eucharistic miracle in Italy: the consecrated Hosts desecrated by unknown thieves in 1969 and found intact, which for over half a century have remained incorrupt in the parish church of San Mauro Martire.

The Night of the Sacrilege: 25 July 1969

On the night of 25 July 1969, unknown thieves, scorning every sense of the sacred, broke into the parish church of San Mauro La Bruca. They stole the relics of the patron saints, sacred objects and the golden chalice containing the consecrated Hosts kept in the tabernacle. As soon as they left the church, the thieves threw the Sacred Hosts onto a low wall by the side door, keeping only the precious metal.

Gerardina’s Discovery

The following morning, the desecrated Hosts were found by little Gerardina Amato, who at once alerted the parish priest, Don Pasquale Allegro. The Hosts were gathered with veneration and brought back into the church. They were not consumed: the community decided to preserve them in reparation for the sacrilege. Against every natural law, the Hosts have never decomposed and have remained intact for more than fifty years.

A Sign for Our Time

The case of San Mauro La Bruca is striking for its closeness to us: not a medieval tale, but a twentieth-century event with direct witnesses, photographs and diocesan documentation. The incorrupt Hosts, kept in an artistic monstrance, are today the destination of pilgrimages and adoration, and the little Cilento village has become a shining point on the Eucharistic map of Italy.

Historical Clues and “Adventurous” Research:

• The direct testimonies: collecting the memories of the village elders — many of whom lived through those days — is research still possible, and urgent.
• The diocesan documentation: the diocese has closely followed the preservation of the Hosts: its records are the documentary backbone of the miracle.
• The comparison with Siena: as with the Sacred Hosts of Siena of 1730, the prolonged incorruption defies the natural decay of unleavened bread: two cases to be studied side by side.

Useful Information for Pilgrims

• Address: Church of San Mauro Martire, San Mauro La Bruca (SA), Italy
• Opening Hours: enquire with the parish or the Diocese of Vallo della Lucania.
• Getting There: the village lies in southern Cilento, between Pisciotta and Futani, about 20 km from Palinuro.

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