Pacelli Students Experience Eucharistic Miracles of the World

Submitted by JEAN MCDERMOTT

In the entire history of the Catholic Church, there have been numerous eucharistic miracles approved by the Catholic Church as truly worthy of belief. Knowledge of these miracles strengthens our faith in Christ and his Church. They are visible proof of Jesus Christ’s real presence in the Holy Eucharist. The International Exhibition of Eucharistic Miracles faithfully recounts many well-documented miraculous occurrences for us. This collection of miracles attributed to the Eucharist itself was created by Blessed Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who died from leukemia in 2009 when he was just 16 years old, and who was beatified on October 10, 2020.

The special display came to St. Augustine and St. Edwards Catholic churches in Austin in early December. Pacelli Catholic Schools students in grades four through twelve were given the opportunity to attend a presentation, review the collection panels, and venerate relics while the display was in Austin.

Nicholas McGrath, a Pacelli teacher; Jaci Brennan, a parishioner; and Fr. Andrew Beerman, the pastor of St. Augustine and St. Edward parishes, were part of the local effort to bring the International Exhibition of Eucharistic Miracles display to Austin.

A select number of panels were on display between the two churches with availability to the public. A presentation for both the public and for Pacelli Catholic Schools students was given by Patrick Brueggen.

The Eucharist is a commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Eucharist isn’t just a commemoration calling to memory what happened. Rather, the bread and wine are changed through transubstantiation into the sacramental Body and Blood of Jesus. Through that action of Jesus Christ, a miracle is made present at every Mass.

A Pew Research Center poll conducted in 2019 states that only 30% of Catholics believe the Eucharist actually becomes the Body and Blood of Christ. “Everyone else believes it’s just a symbol; that it’s just bread that symbolizes Jesus,” Fr. Beerman said. “The faith of the Church since the very beginning has been that it is actually the Body and Blood of Christ. Throughout history there have been eucharistic miracles where something happens with regard to the Eucharist to illustrate that this is actually the case,” Fr. Beerman said.

Pacelli teacher Nicholas McGrath said that students could come away with a better understanding of the Catholic faith through this display. “It is who we are,” he said. “We pray together, go to Mass together. Eucharist is the core part of Mass for us.

Forty percent of the student body at Pacelli isn’t Catholic, so to give them a much more tangible introduction to what the Eucharist is and how it’s been represented and portrayed over the last 2,000 years - there is something more here,” he said. “God is actually engaged with who we are and what we become.”

Students learned about and were able to venerate a first-class relic of Acutis. “I had never heard of Carlo Acutis,” said freshman Autumn Drennan. “It was cool that we got a prayer card to touch to the relic. Now I have a third-class relic that I can keep. There is a prayer on the back that we all prayed together. Carlo is the first millennial saint. It is neat to relate to a saint who is our own age, who went through the same things we do. It feels more relevant to us.”

“It was a life-changing experience for me,” said freshman Landon Phan, “to be in the presence of the sacred relics of a saint. I could feel the presence. Carlo’s story of being a faithful young teeager making an impact on faith and inspiring other young Catholics to proclaim the miracles to others - really understanding the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic - that is inspirational.”

Sophomore Abby Yepez Ramirez already knew about Acutis. “At Queen of Angels Church we do an All Saints Day celebration," she said. "They put up images of many saints, and he was one of them. I learned more about him at the program. The speaker was very passionate about Carlo. Our class, which is getting confirmed, got another special card to touch to the relic with a prayer specific to confirmation.”

The display, as well as the example set by Acutis, also holds the potential of demonstrating the value of being a virtuous person. “It’s important to see the roles of the saints in all of the churches, that we have good holy role models from every walk of life in every century in recorded history in every continent,” McGrath said. “There are people who live heroic virtue in every day of their life. Students could relate to (Acutis) very deeply.”

Sophomore, Madi Klankowski agrees. “I was especially inspired by Carlo from his great faith in the Lord. He wasn’t scared of his approaching death, because he trusted God’s purpose for his life and felt superior peace only few people experience. He was fearful of the Lord yet had no fear of death as he knew he would have eternal life in heaven.”

Pope Francis has announced that Blessed Carlo Acutis will be canonized on Sunday, April 27, 2025, during the Jubilee of Teenagers in Rome.

“Acutis will be canonized as a saint in April of 2025, and his work in gathering all of these miracles related to the Eucharist is an example of his dedication,” said Brennan.

“I think the goal is to make people more aware of all of these miracles that have existed …I hope there is a growth in faith in Jesus,” said Fr. Beerman.

Jean McDermott is the president of Pacelli Catholic Schools in Austin.

Photos by Laura Sheedy.