It was early morning in France in 2018. The Catholic Church of Saint-Eustache was quiet, almost suspended in silence, when something wholly unexpected occurred. The heavy doors opened—and a deer stepped inside.

Not startled, not frantic, the animal moved slowly down the central aisle. Witnesses later said there was something strikingly calm about it, as though it understood where it was. The deer paused near the tabernacle, the place Catholics believe holds the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It stood still, gazing quietly, before turning and walking back out the way it came.

What makes the moment extraordinary is the name of the church itself. Saint Eustace is the patron saint of hunters, a Roman soldier who, according to ancient Christian tradition, saw a vision of Christ crucified between the antlers of a stag. A deer entering a church named in his honor—and stopping before the tabernacle—felt to many like more than coincidence. It felt like a whisper of meaning.

That moment was not alone.