Marco Carvalho
Inaugurated on June 17th, two days before the Macau authorities declared the state of immediate prevention following the discovery of more than a dozen Covid-19 infections – the international exhibition Eucharistic Miracles of the World will remain open beyond July 31st, Mrs. Joni Cheng told O Clarim.
A member of the Macau Catholic Culture Association, Mrs. Cheng says that Catholics and non-Catholics alike will be able to visit the exhibition beyond next Sunday, although the period for which it will be extended has not yet been defined. “We intend to extend the exhibition period. The concrete dates are still pending. We shall send out the updated information as soon as the details are confirmed,” Mrs. Cheng explains.
In mid-June, Macau became the first Asian diocese to host the international exhibition that Italian teenager Blessed Carlo Acutis created to spread Eucharistic devotion. But the worst Covid-19 outbreak recorded in Macau since the beginning of the pandemic, almost two and a half years ago, caused the exhibition to be effectively open for little more than one day and it was visited by only a few. The decision to extend the exhibition will allow a greater number of residents to properly appreciate an exhibition that has received a warm response from Catholic communities worldwide.
Notwithstanding the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, the exhibition aroused great interest among Macau’s population. Mrs. Cheng maintains, “On the first day before the outbreak, the exhibition was very well received and had a great turn out of visitors, not only from the Catholic community, but also from local citizens.”
The international exhibition Eucharistic Miracles of the World showcases 17 Eucharistic miracles approved by the Church. These include revelations that took place in Lanciano and Bolsena in Italy and, more recently, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Originally conceived for a virtual audience, with photographs and historical descriptions of the main Eucharistic miracles that have occurred over the centuries, the exhibition is considered one of the greatest legacies of Carlo Acutis. Moved by an intense faith, the English-born Italian youth, who died in 2006 at the age of 15, a victim of leukemia, put his extensive computer skills at the service of his faith by creating several electronic websites with the aim of promoting evangelization.
This church-approved international exhibition is being sponsored and promoted globally by the Milan-based Association of the Friends of Carlo Acutis.