O’Cebreiro is in a hilly region of northwest Spain. In the very cold winter of 1300 a miracle occurred. Snow was falling hard one day, and the wind was harsh and piercing. In the convent chapel, a priest was due to celebrate Mass. He had thought, perhaps even hoped, that no one would come for the Mass, but one man did. A farmer named Juan Santin arrived.
The priest did not wish to celebrate Mass that day, he no longer believed in the Real Presence of Jesus, his faith was weak.The priest reluctantly offered the Mass; in his heart he despised the farmer’s faith and piety, which had caused him to venture out on such a harsh day to attend the Mass.
Jesus was about to change the heart of this priest: As the priest said the prescribed words of consecration, the Host immediately changed into real flesh and the wine changed into real blood. The Blood then overflowed the chalice and stained the corporal.
For almost two hundred years, the miraculous Host-flesh was kept on the paten right there in the chapel until one day Queen Isabella happened to pass through the town on her way to Santiago de Compostela. She had learned of the miracle which had happened and she ordered a special crystal shrine to be custom-made to hold the Host-Flesh and chalice.
To this day, they can be viewed in the church.
Every year on the feast days of Corpus Christi, August 15th and September 8th, the relics are taken in a solemn procession to remember the wondrous event.
