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A fungus - not a miracle from above - caused a Communion host to turn red this past summer at a South St. Paul church, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Wednesday.
The archdiocese began an “exhaustive biological analysis” of the consecrated host after it was found on the floor of St. Augustine Church following Holy Communion.
Rev. John Echert reported to archdiocese officials that it turned “blood red” after being placed in a cup filled with water. It also did not fully dissolve over several weeks.
“It appeared to be like the blood red of tissue,” Echert told the Pioneer Press in July. “If I had not known what it was, I would have thought that there was maybe a small bloody piece of tissue. It was striking enough that there was no way I could have disposed of the remains of the host at that time with good conscience.”
The wondrous wafer caused Catholics to speculate on Internet blogs, and led the archdiocese to turn it over to an independent scientific laboratory for examination.
“This incident was the result of natural biological causes and should not be considered in any other way,” the archdiocese said in a Wednesday statement.
The decision to examine the host was made by Vicar General Rev. Peter Laird, with the consent of Archbishop Rev. John C. Nienstedt, according to spokesman Dennis McGrath.
“It’s important to make sure when there’s a question like that,” McGrath said. "We can’t assume anything, it requires some investigation.
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You can’t just make an assumption. I mean…it isn’t beyond the realm of probability for a faith that believes in miracles."
McGrath said he could not specifically name the fungus that caused the host to turn red because he has not seen the lab report.
One web blogger pointed to the red bacterium, Serratia marcescens, as a possible explanation.
According to Microbe Zoo, a website developed by the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University, the bacterium grows on bread and communion wafers that have been stored in a damp place.
The site goes so far as to cite Serratia marcescens as the probable cause of the bloodlike substance that a priest discovered on communion bread in 1263, referred to as “The Miracle of Bolsena.”
More recent incidents have pointed to fungal and bacterium contamination, including a highly publicized instance in 2006 when people flocked to a Dallas-area church after a host turned red in a glass.
According to a report on Texas Catholic Online, the Dallas Diocese had the host analyzed by two University of Dallas biology professors who concluded it anything but a miracle.
In a letter to the parish priest, Dallas Bishop Charles Grahmann wrote “… the object is a combination of fungal mycelia and bacterial colonies that have been incubated within the aquatic environment of the glass during the four-week period in which it was stored in the open air.”
H. Corby Kistler, a mycologist and adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, said Wednesday that Fusarium fungus may have caused a red pigment on the St. Augustine host.
“Fusarium species are common environmental contaminants and often infest wheat and wheat products,” Kistler said.
Echert declined to comment Wednesday on the specifics of the lab result.
He did say he has heard firsthand from curious Catholics since word spread about the host.
“A number parishioners were excited about the possibility,” Echert said. "I received numerous calls from newspapers and radio programs and web sites about the matter. So there was a lot of interest, curiosity, enthusiasm and locally and nationwide, thanks to the web.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed and we hoped that God had provided us with a miracle here but our faith remains steadfast regardless.”
A fungus - not a miracle from above - caused a Communion host to turn red this past summer at a South St. Paul church, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Wednesday.
The archdiocese began an “exhaustive biological analysis” of the consecrated host after it was found on the floor of St. Augustine Church following Holy Communion.
Rev. John Echert reported to archdiocese officials that it turned “blood red” after being placed in a cup filled with water. It also did not fully dissolve over several weeks.
“It appeared to be like the blood red of tissue,” Echert told the Pioneer Press in July. “If I had not known what it was, I would have thought that there was maybe a small bloody piece of tissue. It was striking enough that there was no way I could have disposed of the remains of the host at that time with good conscience.”
The wondrous wafer caused Catholics to speculate on Internet blogs, and led the archdiocese to turn it over to an independent scientific laboratory for examination.
“This incident was the result of natural biological causes and should not be considered in any other way,” the archdiocese said in a Wednesday statement.
The decision to examine the host was made by Vicar General Rev. Peter Laird, with the consent of Archbishop Rev. John C. Nienstedt, according to spokesman Dennis McGrath.
“It’s important to make sure when there’s a question like that,” McGrath said. "We can’t assume anything, it requires some investigation.
Advertisement
You can’t just make an assumption. I mean…it isn’t beyond the realm of probability for a faith that believes in miracles."
McGrath said he could not specifically name the fungus that caused the host to turn red because he has not seen the lab report.
One web blogger pointed to the red bacterium, Serratia marcescens, as a possible explanation.
According to Microbe Zoo, a website developed by the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University, the bacterium grows on bread and communion wafers that have been stored in a damp place.
The site goes so far as to cite Serratia marcescens as the probable cause of the bloodlike substance that a priest discovered on communion bread in 1263, referred to as “The Miracle of Bolsena.”
More recent incidents have pointed to fungal and bacterium contamination, including a highly publicized instance in 2006 when people flocked to a Dallas-area church after a host turned red in a glass.
According to a report on Texas Catholic Online, the Dallas Diocese had the host analyzed by two University of Dallas biology professors who concluded it anything but a miracle.
In a letter to the parish priest, Dallas Bishop Charles Grahmann wrote “… the object is a combination of fungal mycelia and bacterial colonies that have been incubated within the aquatic environment of the glass during the four-week period in which it was stored in the open air.”
H. Corby Kistler, a mycologist and adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, said Wednesday that Fusarium fungus may have caused a red pigment on the St. Augustine host.
“Fusarium species are common environmental contaminants and often infest wheat and wheat products,” Kistler said.
Echert declined to comment Wednesday on the specifics of the lab result.
He did say he has heard firsthand from curious Catholics since word spread about the host.
“A number parishioners were excited about the possibility,” Echert said. "I received numerous calls from newspapers and radio programs and web sites about the matter. So there was a lot of interest, curiosity, enthusiasm and locally and nationwide, thanks to the web.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed and we hoped that God had provided us with a miracle here but our faith remains steadfast regardless.”
