A comparative study of the blood present in Christ's relics

Synthèse :

Some people have doubts about the authenticity of the Passion relics (the Shroud of Oviedo, the Tunic of Argenteuil, the Shroud of Turin) and the Eucharistic miracles (including that of Lanciano, which dates back to the 8th century). Sceptics claim that these relics must have been created out of thin air by medieval forgers. However, following the scientific analyses carried out on these objects, focusing in particular on the question of blood type, it turns out that the hypothesis of fraud can be refuted in several ways.

Let's take a quick look at what the analyses say about these different objects.

Lanciano (8th century, analysed in 1970-1971)

The miracle of Lanciano dates back to the 8th century in Italy. The priest celebrating Mass was struggling in his faith and had doubts about transubstantiation and the truth of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist. At the very moment that he spoke the words of consecration, the host in his hands suddenly changed and became flesh. The remains of the host have been preserved and displayed in a monstrance in the church of San Francesco in Lanciano. In 1970, the Vatican authorised a precise medical examination of the host in order to verify the authenticity of the miracle. The task was entrusted to Dr Edoardo Linoli, professor of anatomy, histology, chemistry and clinical microscopy and head of department at Arezzo Hospital. Samples of the old host were taken to the laboratory for scientific analysis, which lasted several months. The detailed report, presented on 4 March 1971, is absolutely striking:

"1) The "miraculous flesh" is really flesh, made up of striated myocardial muscle tissue. 2) The 'miraculous blood' is real blood. Chromatographic analysis demonstrates this with absolute and indisputable certainty. 3) The immunological study shows that the flesh and blood are indeed human in nature and the immuno-haematological proof allows us to state with complete objectivity and certainty that both belong to the same blood group AB. 4) The proteins contained in the blood are normally distributed in a percentage identical to that of the serum-protein pattern of normal fresh blood. 5) No histological section has revealed any traces of infiltration of preservative substances, formerly used for mummification purposes."

Tixtla (2006)

In the case of the Tixtla miracle, which took place during a mass on 22 October 2006, scientists were able to detect human haemoglobin (present only in blood cells). All in front of a working camera. In 2009, Dr Castagnon Gomez took on the task of observing the investigations on the host that had started bleeding three years earlier. He sent the samples he had collected to two different laboratories, and the results simultaneously concluded that the blood was also type AB. This was later confirmed in 2010 by the Gene-Ex laboratory (Bolivia), under the direction of Dr Susana Pinelle Prado, from La Paz (who did not know where the sample she was analysing had come from). Better still, Dr Pinell Prado discovered during these laboratory tests that the blood Rhesus (Rh) was negative.

The Shroud of Turin

As for the Shroud of Turin, scientists John Heller and Alan Adler carried out tests between 1980 and 1981. These tests immediately showed that the blood was of human origin. Professor Pierluifi Baima Bollone confirmed in 1982, after analysing twelve different pieces recovered on 9 October 1978, that the blood was indeed of AB origin.

In 1984, Pr. Bollone was able to confirm this result with an even more rigorous method of analysis, using the immunofluorescence technique with specific antibodies (anti-A, anti-B and then anti-O). In 1998, AB blood was again confirmed by Dr Leoncio Garza-Valdes at the University of San Antonio (Texas).

The Shroud of Oviedo

As for the Shroud of Oviedo, it was also Dr Baima Bollone who determined that it was AB blood, using seven different samples and a technique similar to that used on the Shroud of Turin. This same result was confirmed by independent analyses carried out in 1993 by Dr Villalain Blanco and Dr Heras Moreno, and confirmed again by haematologist Dr Carlo Goldoni a few months later on an independent analysis.

The Tunic of Argenteuil

Finally, for the Tunic of Argenteuil, Professor Gérard Lucotte, a brilliant geneticist and expert on the Tunic, carried out two different investigations to determine the blood group present on the relic. The first was carried out in 1985 during a study conducted by Dr Saint Prix: it confirmed that the blood was type AB. The second was carried out by Professor Lucotte in the 2000s: using a genetic test on white blood cells, Dr Saint Prix was able to show that all the red blood cells did indeed belong to the same person (red blood cells do not contain DNA, but white blood cells do, and if the DNA is identical in each case, then they do belong to the same person).

In short, in every case where a blood test has been carried out (Lanciano, Tixtla, the Shroud of Turin, the Shroud of Oviedo and the Tunic of Argenteuil) the result has always been type AB blood. This result is absolutely phenomenal! These independent objects come from different places at different times. All this has statistical implications.

In 1954, the scientist Arthur Mourant published the results of a study of the statistical distribution of blood groups carried out on more than 500,000 people around the world. The results were as follows: group AB is the rarest, accounting for less than 5% of the population. According to Dr Franco Serafini, in today's world population, the distribution proportions would be as follows:

O: 40-45%
A: 35-40%
B: 4-11%
AB: 1-5%

In other words, the probability of an average human being having blood group AB is less than one in twenty!

The fact that each of the three Passion relics and the two hosts from Lanciano and Tixtla are AB blood makes the hypothesis of fraud immensely unlikely. Indeed, even if we were to imagine a gigantic conspiracy in which forgers had decided to put blood on the hosts and relics, it would be highly unlikely that they would all manage to find AB blood. Besides, apart from the case of Tixlta, the other samples date from a time when nobody knew that blood groups existed! As a result, forgers could never have chosen AB blood specifically because they didn't know it existed.

A simple mathematical calculation shows just how inconceivable it is that all this happened by pure chance. Given that the probability of a person having type AB blood is approximately 0.05 (1 chance in 20), the probability of obtaining type AB blood twice is 1/(20*20) = 1/400= 0.0025.

Similarly, the probability that medieval fabricators succeeded in falsifying the Shroud of Turin, the Shroud of Oviedo and the Tunic of Argenteuil by adding type AB blood is (1/20)³, i.e. 1/8000 = 0.000125. And let's not forget that these three forgers would have had to carry out these "stroke of luck" operations several centuries apart and thousands of kilometres apart, without even knowing about the existence of the different types of blood groups!

An interesting detail: in the case of the Tixlta host, the rhesus (Rh) was tested for the first time and found to be negative, which should further reduce the likelihood of fraud. Indeed, as cardiologist Franco Serafini points out: "I should remind you that only 15% of people on earth are Rh negative. After calculations, the probability of a human being having blood group AB and Rh-negative at the same time is only (0.05*0.15 = 0.0075), i.e. only 1 person in 133!

So, taking this last figure into account, the probability of obtaining such results by pure chance is actually ((1/20⁾⁴)*(1/133) = 0.000000046875, i.e. 1 chance in 21,333,333.

Aller plus loin :

Franco Serafini, A Cardiologist Examines Jesus, Sophia Institute Press, 2019.

En savoir plus :

• The various 1000 Reasons to Believe articles published in the "Eucharistic Miracles" and "Relics" sections, in particular the Eucharistic miracle of Buenos Aires.