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 he pronounced the words of the Consecration, the faithless priest was astonished to find that the Host in his hands had perceptibly changed into flesh, drops of blood falling from his fingers and staining the corporal, while the wine in the chalice had been visibly transformed into blood.

Terrified and overwhelmed with remorse for his lack of faith, he fell to his knees before the altar and exclaimed like St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” The faith of the humble Juan had been confirmed, his devotion rewarded, and the monk cured of his disbelief.

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.

Source: Fear Not