On December 8, 1991, during a mass in Finca Betania, the priest Otty Ossa and Minister Guillermo Padron observed a reddish substance in a wild departure. The Agustinos Recoletos reproduce a favourable statement by Bishop Pio Bello of February 1992; the host is currently being held in Los Teques.
The Mass of December 8, 1991
The event is located in the Marian shrine of Finca Betania, near Cúa, in the Venezuelan state of Miranda. Father Otty Ossa Aristizábal celebrated the Mass of the Immaculate Conception. According to his statement and the testimony of William Padron, when he left a large host in four fragments and left them in the patena, a red point appeared from which a blood-like substance began to come out.
The story of the Agustinos Recoletos adds that, moments before, Padron would have observed a white blue light on the host. This detail belongs to devotional testimony and not to the result of an analysis. Ossa reserved the form after the mass and stated that, the next morning, the substance was still fluid before it began to dry.
The performance of Bishop Pio Bello
The case was presented to Monsignor Pío Bello Ricardo, then Bishop of Los Teques. The institutional information of the Agustinos Recoletos states that, in February 1992, the bishop approved the miracle and reproduces this statement: "there are reasons enough to admit the miraculous fact of the bleeding of the host in Finca Betania."
The quote is an important evidence of episcopal reception, but this research has not located a digital copy of the original document, its full date, signatures or protocol. This is why the document attributes the phrase to the religious order that custody the host and does not invent a decree or present a partial transcript as a full file.
The analyses attributed to 1992
The sources point out that the bishop sent a sample to the microanalysis department of the former Judicial Technical Police in Caracas. The biologist Daisy Cañizález would have determined that the substance was human blood. The Agustinos Recoletos speak of three studies and of the blood group AB.
These results are published with attribution. The full reports, chain of custody, methodology, microscopic images and an independent scientific review have not been directly consulted. Nor is coincidence with other religious objects used as automatic evidence: sharing blood group alone does not demonstrate a supernatural origin or a common identity.
From the cathedral to the Agustinas Recoleta
The host was initially moved to the Cathedral of Los Teques. According to the order, the increase of pilgrims made it difficult for a safe reception and the bishop entrusted his custody to the Recoleta Agustinas of the Heart of Jesus. The relationship was close: the religious had prepared the forms used for the mass of Bethany.
It is currently preserved in the general house of the religious, in Los Teques, within the chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The chapel was opened in 2011 and maintains perpetual worship. This data allows to distinguish two places: Finca Betania is the stage of the episode and Los Teques is the place of current custody and veneration.
Marian and Eucharistic Bethany
Finca Betania was already known for the apparitions attributed to María Esperanza de Bianchini. Monsignor Pío Bello declared them credible in 1987 under the title of Mary, Virgin and Mother Reconciliation of all Peoples and Nations. That decision occurred four years before the Eucharistic episode.
Both acts should not be merged. The Marian approval of 1987 did not in advance approve a host of 1991, and the aforementioned Eucharistic declaration of 1992 should be considered separately. This distinction corrects the frequent confusion of presenting everything that happened in Bethany as a single decree.
The testimony of the biologist and the priest
ACI Prensa collects the spiritual transformation of Cañizález and Father Ossa. The priest was going through a vocational crisis; the scientist reports that, years after analyzing the sample and after a painful family loss, he began a way back to the faith and recognized the religious scope of what happened.
Their testimonies have personal and pastoral value, but they do not replace laboratory documents. The conversion experience and evaluation of a sample are different planes. To have them with respect requires not to use a mother's suffering as a scientific argument or to reduce her faith to a material test.
Subsequent details and prudence
The sources mention a 1998 recording in which the host would appear to be surrounded by flames and beating like a heart. The original, camera, lighting conditions or a technical analysis of the video have not been examined. This episode is maintained as a later testimony and not as a second miracle shown.
Christian veneration is addressed to Christ, not to visual effects. The recordings, photographs and comparisons must be discerned. Life worship retains its full value even if the faithful does not accept every extraordinary account.
World map classification
Betania is incorporated as "contemporary Eucharistic phenomenon with a quoted episcopal declaration." The category recognizes the reception attributed to Pio Bello and, at the same time, notes that the original document is missing online. It is not confused with Marian approval and the limits of published analyses are not hidden.
Location and visit
Sanctuary of Finca Betania, near Cúa, Miranda State, Venezuela. The marker uses coordinates 10.0751019, -66.9271355 and points to the place of the 1991 episode. The host is not currently held there: the fountains place it in the chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord of the Agustin Recoleta of the Heart of Jesus, in the Teques. Before travelling it is appropriate to confirm directly times and conditions of access.
Spiritual feeling
Bethany directs the look to Christ who is given in the Eucharist and calls for reconciliation. The sign should not feed morbid curiosity, but worship, conversion and care of those who suffer.
Venezuela & apos; s history also called for peace, separate families, migrants and those suffering from scarcity or violence. Venerating Jesus the Sacrament requires to recognize his face in all of them.
Sources consulted
- Agustinos Recoletos: current custody, testimonies and episcopal declaration cited, main institutional source.
- ACI Press: testimonies of the priest, the biologist and the religious.
- International exhibition associated with San Carlo Acutis: Betania, the source of diffusion which is contrasted.
Para orar
Lord Jesus, present in the Eucharist, reconciles our peoples and strengthens those who suffer. Give us love for the truth, reverence before your Sacrament, and hands willing to serve. Amen.
Image credit
Santuary of Betania, about Cua. RodolfoBarboza / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. File and license in Wikimedia Commons.
