Glancing back to the very early years of Christianity, we get a glimpse of the reality those early Christians had to endure because of their belief in the Eucharist.  Many were sent to their deaths by the Romans because they were accused of cannibalism.  This is testified by Tacitus, a first century pagan historian, in his Annals.  For sure there can be no explanation for this extreme treatment for proclaiming the bread of Life as a symbol.  With all the persecutions Christians faced in the early Church there would surely be the expectation that Church leaders would correct these pagan misunderstandings. But that was not the case.

ST. NICHOLAS PICK, EUCHARISTIC PREACHER, 1572

      Would you defend the doctrine of the Real Presence if doing so would get you killed? In 1572, as Calvinist Protestantism rose in his native Holland, the Franciscan priest Father Nicholas Pick preached against the Protestant rejection of important ancient Christian doctrines. In particular, he defended the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, which he called an extension of the Incarnation into time. When his religious house was taken by Calvinists, attackers targeted Father Nicholas. They hanged him with the cord from his habit. When the cord broke, they put a burning torch to his head and mouth until he was dead.

ST. HERMENGILD REFUSED TO WORSHIP BREAD, 585

      Catholics only recognize properly consecrated Hosts as the body and blood of Christ. This means not receiving communion at a non-Catholic church. And for one saint, that meant death. Visigoth King Leovigild had two sons, Hermengild and Recared. They were all Arians, who didn’t believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ. Hermengild married a Catholic, the daughter of France’s King Sigebert, and her faith converted him. The prince’s father was so enraged, he imprisoned his son to try to force his conversion. He sent an Arian bishop to administer communion to the prince, but the prince refused what St. Gregory later called “the Communion of a sacrilegious consecration.” While any priest, even a priest who is in a state of sin, can consecrate the Eucharist, he is only successful if he intends to do what the Church does. His father had his son killed in his cell in punishment.

ST. TARCISIUS, BRAVE ALTAR BOY, 575

      Last comes the patron saint of altar servers who defended the host with his life. Pope Benedict XVI told his story in the Vatican: Under the persecutions of the Emperor Valerian, Christians had to meet in secret to celebrate Mass, and it became dangerous to take Communion to Christian prisoners, who were plentiful. One day, the boy Tarcisius, an altar server, stood up and said: “Send me! My youth will be the best shield for the Eucharist.” The priest allowed it, saying, “Tarcisius, remember that a heavenly treasure has been entrusted to your weak hands. Avoid crowded streets and do not forget that holy things must never be thrown to dogs.” “I would die rather than let go of them,” said Tarcisius.

      Along his way, pagan kids from his neighborhood saw him and invited him to play. When he refused, they grew suspicious. When they realized he was trying to keep something away from them, they tried to get it from him. The fierceness with which he guarded the Eucharist enraged them. They began kicking him and pummeling him with stones, but he didn’t surrender. He died still clutching the sacrament to his breast.

Source: https://excorde.org/2019/real-presence-real-faith-9-eucharistic-martyrs