Eucharistic Miracles of Peru

The Eucharistic Miracle of Eten took place over 350 years ago in the coastal Peruvian town of Puerto Eten. In the consecrated Host exposed for public adoration, the Child Jesus appeared alongside three luminous, interconnected white hearts. Each year, the solemn festivities in honor of the Miracle Child commence on July 12 with the translation of the statue of the Infant of the Miracle from His sanctuary to the main church of Eten, concluding on July 24.

The first apparition of the Divine Child in the Blessed Sacrament occurred on the evening of June 2, 1649, during the chanting of solemn Vespers and Eucharistic exposition for the feast of Corpus Christi. As the ceremony concluded, Franciscan Friar Jérôme de Silva Manrique was preparing to repose the monstrance in the tabernacle when he suddenly stopped: in the consecrated Host, the radiant face of a Child had appeared, surrounded by brown curls falling gently upon His shoulders. All the faithful present in the church beheld the identical vision.

The second apparition took place several weeks later, on July 22, during the patronal festivities of Saint Mary Magdalene. According to the official deposition of Friar Marco López, superior of the Franciscan convent of Chiclayo, during exposition of the Blessed Sacrament "the Divine Child Jesus appeared anew in the Host, clothed in a purple tunic. Beneath the tunic He wore a native shirt reaching to mid-chest, according to the local costume of the indigenous people". Through this loving sign, the Divine Child identified Himself with the Mochica native people of Eten to assure them of His divine love. During this apparition, which lasted fifteen minutes, many witnesses also beheld three small white hearts appearing on the Host, joined together, symbolizing the three divine Persons of the Most Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—present in the Eucharistic mystery. To this day, the annual feast of the Miraculous Child of Eten draws thousands of pilgrims from across South America.

Text and photographs: international exhibition «The Eucharistic Miracles of the World», by Saint Carlo Acutis. Original panel at miracolieucaristici.org.