Eucharistic Miracle Questions

The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City is investigating an event that some have labeled a miracle.

The incident occurred in late November at the Saint Xavier Church in Kearns, Utah.  During holy communion, a wafer, or "host," as it is known in the church, was returned to the priest overseeing the service.  The priest placed the host in a glass of water near the head of the church.  Usually, these wafers will dissolve within a few minutes.  This one however, did not.

In fact, three days later, the wafer had not only stayed intact, but appeared to be "bleeding."  Rumors of the "bleeding host" began to circulate causing the church to fill with people for the brief time that it was on display.

Catholic officials stepped in and Monsignor Colin F. Bircumshaw, Diocesan Administrator, quickly put together an ad hoc committee of people with various backgrounds to investigate the claims before things got too out of hand.  The church says that the findings of the committee will be presented to the public when the investigation is finished.

While many members of the church view the incident has a miracle, the church itself is refraining from comments until the investigation is complete.

A bleeding host may sound like something paranormal, but people shouldn't get too worked up yet.  There was a similar case in 2011 in Minnesota and analysis of that wafer proved that the so called bleeding was the result of a fungus on the host itself. 

Time will tell if this is another incident that can be explained by science, or if something stranger is going on at Saint Xavier.