When Eucharistic miracles draw us closer to Christ

Long before the panels were set up in St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish Hall, a teenager in Italy was gathering the stories behind them. Blessed Carlo Acutis, who had a gift for technology and a deep devotion to the Eucharist, created the online catalogue that became the foundation for the Eucharistic Miracles Exhibition held here at St. Mary's Parish Hall, from Aug. 10–13, 2025.

Born in 1991, Carlo was a tech-savvy Italian teenager who loved computers, animals, and video games. From a young age, he had a deep devotion to the Holy Eucharist and a desire for others to come to know and love it as he did. Carlo researched Eucharistic miracles from around the world and created a website to catalogue them, complete with maps, photos, and explanations. His work became the foundation for the travelling Eucharistic Miracles Exhibition, now displayed in parishes across the globe.

It was this very exhibition, rooted in Blessed Carlo’s research, that filled St. Mary’s Parish Hall for four days. People from across the Diocese came, assisted by enthusiastic volunteers who clearly loved the Eucharist.

​Visitors also had the special opportunity to venerate the sacred relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis, on loan from Clearwater Academy in Calgary, just weeks before his canonization which is scheduled to take place on Sept. 7, 2025.

Sacred Relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis

A call she couldn’t ignore

​The exhibition’s coordinator, Rita Shank, first saw it in Maui in 2023, and she couldn’t get it out of her mind. 

“I’m a cradle Catholic. I’ve always believed in the Real Presence, but when I saw this exhibit, it really registered,” Rita shared. “Some miracles show scientific studies of the consecrated Host; even 50 years later, the red and white blood cells are still alive. I got chills. The Holy Spirit just kept nudging me to bring it to Calgary.”

She brought the idea to her pastor, Fr. Arjay Abanto, at Sacred Heart Parish in Calgary, and soon the first Calgary exhibit was underway. St. Mary’s Cathedral was their eighth showing, with more already planned, including Holy Spirit Parish later this year.

​“Volunteers are never hard to find,” she said. “People want to help. They see the value in sharing the truth, that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, and that He invites us to be with Him and in Him.”

Stories that stay with you

​For Fr. Niwton Rodrigues, pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Carstairs, the exhibition felt like a pilgrimage. He brought parishioners, including RCIA members whose curiosity about the faith began with reading about Eucharistic miracles online.

One story that stayed with him was from Lanciano, Italy, where testing confirmed the consecrated host had transformed into living heart tissue. Another, from Argentina, showed the same results, right down to the blood type.

Fr. Niwton also told the story of St. Anthony of Padua, challenged to prove the Real Presence, St. Anthony presented the Eucharist to a donkey that had been kept from food for three days. Ignoring the food placed before it, the donkey knelt before the host. 

“These miracles give me goosebumps,” Fr. Niwton said. “They remind us that Jesus is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist.”

An invitation to encounter

​Walking through the rows of panels, visitors read about bleeding hosts, incorrupt fragments, and conversions sparked by the Eucharist. Even beyond the stories, the exhibit offered something deeper, a quiet invitation to meet Christ in the Eucharist in a more personal way.

“Once you understand that it is in the Eucharist that Jesus unites Himself most intimately to us, you can’t help but want to share it,” Rita said. “This is how He loves us.”

The Eucharistic Miracles Exhibition will continue travelling throughout the Diocese and beyond. For Rita, it’s a mission from which she can’t walk away. “Every time we set it up, I see people touched in new ways. That’s what keeps me going.”

Through the vision of a modern teenager, the relic of a soon-to-be saint, and the generosity of those who share this work, the Eucharistic Miracles Exhibition offered more than information; it offered an encounter.
​
For many, that encounter may be the beginning of a deeper love for Jesus in the Eucharist.

---

Parishes or Catholic organizations interested in hosting the display are welcome to contact Rita Shank at the Exhibition, or contact Sacred Heart Parish at 403-244-2741.