The Archdiocese of Trivandrum in India witnessed a remarkable Eucharistic miracle on May 5th, 2001. The miracle was verified by His Beatitude Cyril Mar Baselice, Archbishop of the diocese of Trivandrum, who wrote about the prodigy in awe. The miracle involved the appearance of a likeness of a man, similar to that of Christ crowned with thorns, in the Host.
The Eucharistic miracle took place in the parish church of St. Mary of Chirattakonam during the Novena to St. Jude Thaddeus. The Rev. Fr. Johnson Karnoor, pastor of the church, exposed the Most Holy Sacrament in the monstrance for public adoration on April 28, 2001.
After a few moments, he noticed what appeared to be three dots in the Holy Eucharist.
Fr. Karnoor invited the faithful to admire the three dots, then asked them to remain in prayer and reposed the monstrance in the tabernacle. Two days later, on April 30th, he celebrated the Holy Mass and left for Trivandrum the following day. On May 5th, 2001, he opened the church for the usual liturgical celebrations, vested for Mass, and went to open the tabernacle to see what had happened to the Eucharist in the monstrance.
To his amazement, he saw in the Host the likeness of a human face, similar to that of Christ crowned with thorns. Fr. Karnoor was deeply moved and asked the faithful to kneel and begin praying. He thought he alone could see the face, so he asked the altar server what he noticed in the monstrance. The altar server answered: ‘I see the figure of a man.’
As the minutes went by during Adoration, the image became more and more clear. Fr. Karnoor was overwhelmed with emotion and cried tears of joy. During Adoration, the passage from Chapter 20 in the Gospel of John was read, which narrates the story of when Jesus appeared to St. Thomas and asked him to look at the wounds.
Fr. Karnoor was only able to say a few words in his homily and then left for the nearby parish of Kokkodu to celebrate Mass. He immediately summoned a photographer to take pictures of the Holy Eucharist with the human face on it. After two hours, all the photos were developed, and with the passing of time, the face in every photo became more and more clear.
The monstrance containing the miraculous Host is to this day kept in the church. For believers, this Eucharistic miracle is a clear sign of the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Although no scientific explanation can be provided for the miracle, the faith of those who witnessed it remains unshaken. The miracle is a testament to the power and love of God and continues to inspire the faithful to this day.
There is no official scientific investigation or analysis on this particular Eucharistic miracle. However, the Archdiocese of Trivandrum did form a commission to investigate the occurrence, which consisted of theologians, medical doctors, and experts in the field of photography. According to the commission's report, there was no evidence of any tampering or manipulation of the Host or the photographs. Additionally, the commission examined the photographs taken of the Host and noted that the image was not a natural occurrence, and that it resembled a human face, similar to that of Christ, crowned with thorns. The commission concluded that the image on the Host was a supernatural phenomenon and that it could not be explained by natural causes. While there is no official scientific proof of the miracle, the commission's findings have been accepted by the Catholic Church as valid evidence of the miraculous nature of the event.