'Bleeding' communion wafer likely biochemical reaction

After Eric Jacqmin, a priest from Aalst, last week recounted for Het Laatste Nieuws his amazement at the 'bleeding' communion wafer he kept in his home since 7 July, a professor at the University of Ghent took it upon herself to seek out a scientific explanation for the phenomenon.

The 200-year-old wafer, which is packed inside a monstrance that Jacqmin received nine months ago, is originally from a convent in Nivelles. According to professor Liesbeth Jacxsens of the Department of Food Safety and Food Quality at the University of Ghent, the red pigment most likely comes from a bacteria or fungus that thrives on starch-containing products.

“Think of a simple biochemical reaction,” explains professor Jacxsens in a follow-up article in Het Laatste Nieuws. "When foods are dry, very little bacteria, yeasts or fungi can grow on them. However, if the environmental conditions change, such as exposure to moisture or oxygen, any latent bacteria, yeasts or mold can jump back into action."

"A red pigment could come from a number of different bacteria,” she adds.