The accusation of host desecration gradually ceased after the Reformation when first Martin Luther in 1523 and then Sigismund August of Poland in 1558 were among those who repudiated the accusation. However, sporadic instances of host desecration libel occurred even in the 18th and 19th century.
As the Reformation took hold, the accusation that Catholics were defiling the host gradually lost steam, with notable figures like Martin Luther in 1523 and Sigismund August of Poland in 1558 publicly disavowing it. Nevertheless, accusations of libel against individuals for desecrating the host persisted sporadically throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.