Ludbreg, 1411
In Ludbreg in 1411, a priest celebrating Holy Mass experienced doubts regarding the real presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the consecrated Eucharistic species. Immediately following the words of consecration, the wine in the chalice visibly transformed into living Blood. This miracle continues to draw thousands of pilgrims each year.
Since 1721, the sacred Relic has been preserved in an exquisite monstrance crafted by the master goldsmiths of Augsburg, commissioned by Countess Eleonora Batthyány-Strattmann, who presented it to the church of Ludbreg. Every year in early September, the faithful celebrate a solemn week-long festival known as «Sveta Nedilja» (Holy Sunday) in honor of the Eucharistic Miracle of 1411. In 1411, in the private chapel of the castle of the Batthyány counts in Ludbreg, a priest was celebrating Holy Mass. During the consecration of the wine, doubts concerning transubstantiation assailed his mind.
At that very moment, the wine in the chalice transformed into visible, fresh Blood. Overwhelmed by confusion and fear, the priest hid the Relic behind a wall of the main altar, binding the mason who performed the work to absolute secrecy. The priest guarded the secret faithfully until shortly before his death, when he solemnly revealed the miracle. Following his deathbed confession, news spread rapidly, and pilgrims began flocking to the castle chapel. In the early 16th century, during the pontificate of Pope Julius II, a papal commission was convened in Ludbreg to rigorously investigate the events surrounding the Eucharistic miracle.
Numerous sworn testimonies of miraculous healings obtained through prayer before the Relic were documented. On April 14, 1513, Pope Leo X issued a Papal Bull authorizing public veneration of the holy Relic, which he himself had carried in solemn procession through the streets of Rome on multiple occasions. Shortly thereafter, the Relic was solemnly returned to Croatia. When a devastating plague later ravaged northern Croatia, the people turned to God for deliverance, and the Croatian Parliament (Sabor), convening in Varaždin on December 15, 1739, made a national vow to erect a votive chapel in Ludbreg in honor of the miracle if the plague ceased.
The plague was stayed, but the national vow was fully fulfilled only in 1994, with the restoration of Croatian independence and democracy. In 2005, in the votive sanctuary, artist Marijan Jakubin painted a monumental fresco of the Last Supper wherein, in place of the Apostles, renowned Croatian saints and blesseds surround Christ. In the place of Saint John rests Blessed Ivan Merz, who was recognized among the 18 most prominent Eucharistic saints during the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist held in Rome in 2005.
Castle chapel of the Batthyány family where the miracle occurred. Interior of the castle chapel. Marijan Jakubin, The Last Supper, Sanctuary of the Miracle of the Most Precious Blood, Ludbreg. Annual procession organized each September during the solemn week celebrating the miracle known as Sveta Nedilja.
Source
Text and photographs: international exhibition «The Eucharistic Miracles of the World», by Saint Carlo Acutis. Original panel at miracolieucaristici.org.