As an 11-year old, Carlo Acutis began to assemble examples of Eucharistic miracles.
At the time of his death from leukemia four years later, the Italian Catholic teen had catalogued more than 100 Eucharistic miracles from around the world, a collection that was turned into a traveling exhibition that has appeared in dozens of countries across five continents, as well as a virtual exhibit available for viewing online.
Later this week, a replica of that exhibit — featuring 126 Eucharistic miracles displayed on story boards — will open at Church of St. Philip in Litchfield.
“I think there’s a real value in actually having the boards here, rather than just saying, ‘Well, everybody go on your computer and look at them,’” said the Rev. Jeff Horejsi, pastor for Shepherd of Souls Area Faith Community, which includes Catholic churches in Litchfield, Darwin, Manannah and Forest City. “Most of us need to take time for that special event. It’s only going to be here a week. And so, it kind of maybe encourages or pushes one to say, ‘OK, can I find an afternoon or morning that I can spare and do this special thing to hopefully revitalize my faith, or our faith in the real presence of the Lord and sacrament of the Eucharist?”
Deacon John Hansen, who saw the miracle exhibit in the Twin Cities area a few years ago, said bringing it to the Shepherd of Souls Area Faith Community was inspired by members of the Knights of Columbus group and other parishioners at St. John’s Church in Darwin, who had heard about it and knew a version of it was available on loan from a metro-area church where it was stored.
“Ultimately, it’s about deepening your relationship with Jesus,” Hansen said of the exhibit. “And I think, especially for us today, it’s a challenge to just slow down enough to (ignore) all the other distractions.”
The historically documented miracles come from more than 20 countries and offer Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist. All of the miracles have been certified by the Vatican, and some also have been verified through science.
Among those scientifically documented is one linked to Pope Francis, current leader of the worldwide Catholic church. In August 1996, at a small church in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a consecrated communion host was found on the ground. Keeping with church practice, the parish priest placed the host in a cup of water to dissolve naturally, and the cup was stored in the church tabernacle. When checked on a few days later, priests discovered the host was not dissolving, and that it was covered with red, blood-colored stains. Eventually, priests brought the host to the attention of the Cardinal Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, who decided to wait until some scientific examinations could be conducted.
Those tests began in 1999, and another — perhaps the most notable — test was done March 26, 2005, by a professor at Columbia University in New York. The professor was unaware where the sample he was examining came from, but he determined it was actually human heart tissue, myocardium tissue from the area of the left ventricle.
The presence of thrombi in the sample indicated it came from the heart of someone who suffered greatly and struggled to breathe every breath and who suffered a strong blow to the side — all factors that would seem to match accounts from the Bible of Jesus’ death on the cross.
Horejsi said even for a priest like himself, miracles like that are awe-inspiring.
“Especially since it’s been so scientifically documented, independent of, you know, faith,” Horejsi said.
The scientist who performed that 2005 examination, Hansen said, was not a believer. But two years later, after learning the reality of his tests, he was Catholic.
Both Horejsi and Hansen think most of those who choose to visit the exhibit over the next week will be believers. And yet, they think even they will be moved in some ways by what they see.
“I would say my goal is for them to realize they don’t understand their faith, and they need to search,” Hansen said. “Because I think today, particularly, when we understand something we tend to put it on the shelf (and say), ‘I’m done with that, you know, I understand it. But if I don’t quite understand it, our natural curiosity is to keep searching. That’s what I would say is I hope it makes people want to keep searching.”
Added Horejsi: “I hope that people would be revitalized and renewed in their faith journey with God and more open to God’s presence in us, especially in the sacrament of the Eucharist.”
