A Miracle of the Crown of Thorns

Bishop Beschi announces the miracle

“The Holy Thorn of Jesus has flowered.”

Taken, and translated from Corriere della Sera.

Sprouts on the fragment of the crown of Christ, in Andria, in Puglia. It has not happened since 1932. According to Monsignor Beschi: we observed the phenomenon with seriousness, prudence and competence, the sign is evident

The relic from the Crown of Thorns of Christ, the "Sacred Spine" or thorn, which is conserved at San Giovanni Bianco has sprouted.

“Dear sisters and dear brothers,

the veneration of the relic of the Holy Thorn, kept in the church and by the parish community of San Giovanni Bianco , has historically been nourished by a particular sign, called ‘flowering', which would occur on the occasion of the 25th March, solemnity of the Annunciation of Mary, coinciding with the celebration of Good Friday. With great joy I can announce that the sign has manifested itself .”

That is how the bishop of Bergamo, Monsignor Francesco Beschi, announced on March 28, 2016, that the miracle of the Holy Thorn took place in San Giovanni Bianco. It had not happened since 1932 and before that since 1598. Moreover, the same event occurred simultaneously in Andria, in Puglia, where there is the other fragment of the crown of Jesus preserved in the basilica of San Nicola di Bari.

When Good Friday is March 25

The prodigy, according to the Church, can happen when March 25, the day of the Annunciation of the Angel to Mary, therefore the moment of the Incarnation of the Son of God, coincides with Good Friday, that is, the day of the celebration of the Lord’s Death and our Redemption. The extraordinary coincidence of dates took place in 2005, but then nothing happened. This year, however, two different coloured buds have appeared on the thorn.

The Holy Thorn has flourished: “There is a miracle”

The Bishop of Bergamo continued: “The prudence, the seriousness, the skills of those to whom I have entrusted the task of observing the Relic and the evidence of the sign lead me to confirm that this has happened. The veneration of the sacred relic by the parish community of San Giovanni Bianco, the communities of the Brembana Valley, the Diocese and beyond the borders of the Diocese, is renewed in the light of this sign that leads us back to the Passion and Cross of Jesus and to what that represents for the faith of Christians and for the salvation of humanity.”

“The fact that the sign takes place in conjunction with the celebrations of the Annunciation and the Passion and Death of Jesus and his Resurrection, challenges us to consider with the mind and heart, the manifestation of God’s love which was communicated in the story of Jesus of Nazareth, in the mystery of the Incarnation and of His Passion and Death. Christians testify with their faith, with community life and with their existence that the solidarity of God with men, becomes the source of a stronger hope than all evil and death itself, because they believe that the Crucified One has risen: He is the Living One, who gives life."

Conclusion of the Bishop

"Dear sisters and dear brothers - finally concludes the bishop - I know how many have waited with faith and prayer for this sign : now it has been given to us not only to be revered, but because our eyes open on the many thorns that still pierce the head of the Lord, in the poor, in the suffering, in the forgotten, in the abandoned, in the despised and our hearts are opened so that the strength of love that draws on the supreme gesture of the love of Christ and is manifested towards all our crucified contemporaries that the ‘flowering' Holy Thorn represents in such an engaging way. I join you all in thanking the Lord for this precious sign, aware with you that keeping it means nourishing our faith in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world day by day and witnessing to Him with the gospel transparency of our humble existences."

The Original article in Italian.