On the eve of Pentecost 1608, the Benedictine monks of Faverney prepared their church for the Forty Hours' Devotion — perpetual adoration before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. During the night a candle ignited the altar cloths. By morning the altar, the relics behind it, and the entire reredos had been reduced to a heap of charcoal.
The monks, sifting through the ashes, found the silver monstrance suspended in the air above the empty space where the altar had stood. The two large consecrated hosts within were unharmed. For thirty-three hours the monstrance hung unsupported, while pilgrims gathered from across Burgundy and Lorraine. Then it gently descended on to a newly built altar. One of the two hosts is still preserved at Faverney and is venerated each year on Pentecost weekend.