On June 9, 2022, in the hermitage of the rural community of El Espinal, in the municipality of San Juan (department of Intibucá, Honduras), an extraordinary minister of communion opened the sacrary for the celebration of the Word and found blood-like spots on the body on which the Copon rested with the Most Holy. The case was studied by the Diocese of Graces, recognized by its bishop as an extraordinary sign and referred to the Holy See, which has not yet been pronounced.
Lo que se relata
According to the testimonies collected, lay minister José Elmer Benitez Machado was prepared to distribute communion when, when he opened the sacrary of the hermite, he warned that the body - the liturgical canvas on which the Copon was placed - had red spots. The community of El Espinal is rural and dependent on the itinerant pastoral care of the mountainous area of Intibucá.
In late October 2022, an external forensic expert was commissioned for analysis. According to the ecclesial sources that spread the case, the study would have ruled out the presence of resin, animal blood and an artificial origin, and concluded that it was human blood of the AB Rh positive group. It should be stressed that the coincidence of this blood group with that cited in other historical cases is presented in popular devotion as a pious association, and is not in itself a scientific proof of anything.
The discernment of the Church
In July 2023, Mgr. Walter Guillén Soto, first bishop of the Diocese of Graces, publicly referred to the fact in terms of recognition, describing it as "an extraordinary, visible, tangible, sensitive and verifiable sign" and claiming that it did not question its credibility. It is the most clear episcopal pronunciation among recent cases in Latin America.
However, and in accordance with the present way of proceeding from the Church, documentation and testimonies were sent to the Holy See at the request of the Apostolic Nunciature for further study. According to the current Vatican rules on supernatural phenomena, approved in 2024, the diocesan bishop does not in himself declare the supernatural of a phenomenon, but authorizes or does not authorize veneration and refers the final judgment to Rome. This fact sheet therefore speaks of a sign recognized by the diocesan bishop and being studied by the Holy See, without stating that there is a definitive pronunciation of the universal Church.
Location and veneration
The fact is located in the hermitage of El Espinal, in the municipality of San Juan, department of Intibucá, in the west of Honduras. The sources do not require the exact coordinates of the rural hermitage, so the marker is placed approximately on the municipal head of San Juan and declared as such.
The Eucharistic faith does not depend on a prodigy
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist belongs to the sacramental celebration of the Church and does not depend on accepting an extraordinary phenomenon. When the Church studies such a case, she carefully distinguishes the material fact that is verifiable, devotional interpretation and ecclesial judgment. These memories are fruitful when they lead to mass, worship, reconciliation and charity, and not when they become the object of curiosity or hasty statements.
Sources
- ACI Press: a Eucharistic sign studied in Honduras.
- The Debate: Statements by the Bishop of Graces (2023).
- Aleteia: witness of the lay minister.
- Religion in Freedom: body analysis.
El Espinal, San Juan, Intibucá, Honduras. Approximate location on the municipal header; the case remains under study by the Holy See.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, increases our faith and our reverence before your Body and Blood. Teach us to seek you in the humility of the Mass rather than in the wonders, and make us every communion witnesses to your charity. Amen.