The news was officially announced during a Holy Mass on 31st May 2025. The announcement was made by the Vatican Nuncio to India, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli during the Holy Mass which was attended by 10,000 people. Archbishop Girelli emphasized that what happened in Vilakkannur can be seen as an invitation to deepen our faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

On 15th November 2013, during a Mass celebrated by Father Thomas Pathickal, a spot appeared on the consecrated host and gradually transformed into the image of a human face. Eyewitnesses report that the stain then enlarged, revealing the face of Jesus similar to the one known from the Shroud of Turin.

The Catholic Church allows for the possibility of Eucharistic miracles. Many such extraordinary phenomena have already occurred in history in various parts of the world, including in Sokółka and Legnica in Poland. However, the teaching of the Church states that such events are not necessary, because the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist results from the nature of the sacrament, and not from supernatural phenomena. ‘The real miracle is the one that lasts in the Church every day as the sacrifice of the Cross, the memory of the death and resurrection of Christ,’ the apostolic nuncio said. ‘What happened here, in Vilakkannur, can be considered as an invitation to deepen our faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist,’ he added.

Each alleged Eucharistic miracle is carefully examined, but even if approved by the Church authority, the faithful are not obliged to accept it. They must follow their conscience respecting the teaching of the Church.