Camila Creamer’s Argentine heritage is a key element of her zeal for her Catholic faith. Argentina is the location of three of the most compelling eucharistic miracles in the history of the Catholic Church. These eucharistic miracles have influenced the faithful throughout the world.
“It is amazing to know that Argentina’s heritage has a special place in Church culture,” says Camila.
The eucharistic miracles occurred in 1992, 1994 and 1996 as fragments of consecrated hosts contained droplets and stains of blood. The 1996 miracle underwent extensive scientific investigation that left leading medical experts speechless because it had cardiac tissue emerging from the Eucharist.
Santa Maria Church
Mariana Creamer, Camila’s mother, explains, “In preparation for Camila receiving her sacraments this past spring, we took a month-long trip to Buenos Aires to visit family and Santa Maria Church, which is where the miracles took place.”
“Each child receiving first Communion picked an eucharistic miracle to learn about and created a poster board presentation,” shared Debra Blodgett, the family and faith formation instructor at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Suttons Bay. “Camila’s maternal family is from Argentina, so she chose to learn about the three eucharistic miracles at Santa Maria.”
Debra told Camila there were three miracles that took place in Argentina. This sparked an interest with Camila to read about each miracle.
Mariana recalls Camila’s initial reaction to the miracles: “Camila realized that Christ is with us all the time. She became very interested in eucharistic miracle stories and was eager to learn more.”
“It was very exciting to go to the place where the eucharistic miracles happened so I could see the place for myself,” explains Camila. “It made me believe in miracles more."
“My trip helped me understand more what Debra was teaching us in class. My mom sent a note to Debra with photos of the church that we visited (to share them with parishioners). I hope that my experience helps spread the good news.”
Camila’s firsthand accounts of the miracle stories in Buenos Aires have enriched her parish community. “Camila’s witness is extra special because her efforts have been impactful to other youth in her faith program class, encouraging other families to take pilgrimages to worship sites,” Debra adds.
Christ in the Eucharist
Camila’s story is an authentic testament to the Church’s teaching of Christ in the Eucharist.
“This is the takeaway I desire for all students because it is the teaching of our Catholic faith. Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is ‘real, true, and substantial,’” reflects Debra.
She adds: “When we receive the body and blood of Christ, he is in us, and since Jesus is in us, we are to go out into the world to be Jesus. This is the understanding I work to instill in my young students as they prepare to receive their sacraments.
“Once they receive their sacraments, they are called to serve and be Christ to the world by giving of their time, talents and treasures through parish and community involvement, which includes corporal works of mercy.”
Time, Talent and Treasure
As part of confirmation studies at St. Michael Parish, each child learns about giving of their time, talent and treasure; Camila picked singing in the choir as her time and talent.
At the St. Michael's first Communion Mass, Camila had the opportunity to share her singing talents. “I sang in Spanish, ‘Lord you have come,’ which is a traditional Argentinian song,” shares Camilia. “Having part of the Mass in Spanish was a very nice surprise from our church for my grandparents, Ricardo Ortiz and Alcira Vega — it made them feel at home.”
Through translation, Camila’s grandmother and confirmation sponsor Alcira Vega adds, “The universality of the Catholic Mass and the liturgical celebration was easy to follow despite the language differences, and it brought such warmth to our hearts as grandparents to see our granddaughter receive Christ in the Eucharist for the first time and to hear her sing at the Mass.
Parish, Father Leonard and Bishop Walsh were so nice and welcomed us into their faith community. We felt right at home and it was with such joy to see Camila receive her sacraments. While the trip from Temperley — roughly 20 miles outside of Buenos Aires — to Santa Maria Church was long, it was a beautiful experience.”
“I am very happy my grandparents and my parents could come and be part of this special day for me
and the other kids receiving their sacraments,” ends Camila. “Through this whole experience, I learned a lot about Christ and eucharistic miracles.”
