The Indiana "Bleeding Host" That Turned Out to Be Bacteria
Red spots on a consecrated host at a small Indiana parish in February 2025 raised hopes of a Eucharistic miracle, but laboratory analysis commissioned by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis found common bacteria and fungus from human handling — and no human blood — leading the archdiocese to conclude on March 24, 2025 that the cause was natural, not miraculous.
Red spots on a consecrated host at a small Indiana parish in February 2025 raised hopes of a Eucharistic miracle, but laboratory analysis commissioned by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis found common bacteria and fungus from human handling — and no human blood — leading the archdiocese to conclude on March 24, 2025 that the cause was natural, not miraculous.
A fuller write-up of the documentation and analysis is in progress.
Sources
Tagged by proximity to the event. Primary sources are direct or contemporaneous; tertiary are downstream retellings.
- 1.Secondarynews
"No Eucharistic miracle in Indianapolis, archdiocese confirms after lab tests", OSV News, 2025
Reports the March 24, 2025 verdict: fungus and three bacterial species common on human hands, no human blood, cause natural not miraculous.
- 2.Secondarynews
Documents the initial claim, timeline (hosts fell Feb 21, spots reported Feb 22, investigation confirmed Mar 3), witness description, and Sally Krause statement.
- 3.Secondarynews
Corroborates the March 24, 2025 archdiocese statement and exact wording: 'No presence of human blood was discovered'; cause natural, not miraculous.