Igreja do Santíssimo Milagre

Church dedicated to the Miracle of Santarém, a famous medieval Eucharistic wonder

The Igreja do Santíssimo Milagre is built on the site where, in 1247, the so-called Miracle of Santarém is said to have occurred — one of the most celebrated Eucharistic miracles in Catholic tradition. The church has been a pilgrimage destination ever since, and the reliquary said to contain the miraculously transformed host is still venerated here.

The church interior is Baroque, rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries on the original medieval foundations. The reliquary chapel is the focal point of the space, decorated in marble and gold leaf. The church is central to Santarém's religious identity and is usually open for visits as well as worship.

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A story
In 1247, according to Catholic tradition, a woman stole a consecrated host from the church and carried it home wrapped in cloth, intending to use it in a folk remedy for her unfaithful husband. On the way home the cloth began to bleed. She hid the host in a trunk; it shone through the night. When the local priest was summoned and opened the trunk, he found a glowing monstrance instead of the cloth. The "Miracle of Santarém" became one of the most venerated Eucharistic miracles in Catholicism, drawing pilgrims here for eight centuries.

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