The True Blood is on the altar and appears as Wine

Last Skylab Day, SWMBO and I were treated to an impromptu tour of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls by Prof. Lorenzo Bianchi. We were there on pilgrimage; he, to photograph an inscription that may be the earliest known epigraphical evidence of the doctrine of transubstantiation.

Last Saturday, a package arrived in the mail from Italy. Prof. Bianchi had mailed me a couple of his books and a few articles, including an off-print of the preliminary article (March 2006) to the scholarly publication for which he and his crew were shooting pictures (forthcoming).

The earlier article (March 2006) is available online.

The slab in question is directly over these men’s heads as you head into the lower crypt:



One of our pictures of the thing (to give you an idea of position and scale) is here:



Prof. Bianchi’s text and Italian translation are here:

1. (Adsp)ICE QUI TRANSIS QUAM SIT BREVIS AC(cipe vita)
2. (Atqu)E TUAE NAVIS ITER AD LITUS PARAD(isi)
3. (Der)EGE QUO VULTUM DOMINI FACIAS TIBI PO(rtum)
4. (Dica)T IAM QUISQUIS HAEC SACRA PERH(auriat ore)
5. (Glor)IA SUMMA DOMINUS LUMEN SAPIENTIA VIR(tus)
6. (Cui)US [o: (Ver)US] IN ALTARI CRUOR EST VINUMQUE (videtur)
7. (Qui)QUE TUI LATERIS PER OPUS MIRAE (pietatis)
8. (Omni)POTENTER AQUAM TRIBUIS BAPTI(smate lotis)

1. Guarda, tu che passi, intendi quanto sia breve la vita,
2. e raddrizza il viaggio della tua nave all’approdo del Paradiso,
3. là dove il tuo porto sarà vedere il Signore.
4. Dica ormai chiunque beve queste specie consacrate:
5. “Tu sei la somma gloria, il Signore, il lume, la sapienza, la virtù,
6. il cui [o: vero] sangue è sull’altare e sembra vino;
7. tu, che nella tua onnipotenza concedi con un’opera di mirabile misericordia
8. l’acqua scaturita dal tuo fianco a coloro che sono stati purificati nel battesimo”.


I eagerly await the full publication.