BROOKLINE -- St. Mary of the Assumption Parish plans to prepare for the feast of Corpus Christi by hosting the Vatican International Exhibit of Eucharistic Miracles on the weekend of June 15 and 16.

The exhibit is to be presented at St. Mary's by Catholic Quest, a local organization dedicated to educating Catholics on the teaching of the faith. It consists of 159 panels with photographs and descriptions of eucharistic miracles that have taken place in different countries throughout the Church's history. The exhibit will be set up in the school cafeteria to be viewed before or after the weekend Masses, according to the parish's June 9 bulletin.

"It's designed so that people who make the visit can virtually visit the places where the miracles took place. So it's meant to be a prayerful encounter with the Eucharist," Father Jonathan Gaspar, pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, told the Pilot.

In a June 10 interview, Father Gaspar said, "I think for all of us, as Catholics, it's always a good thing to deepen our love for the Eucharist, and to sort of rediscover a eucharistic amazement and awe for this tremendous gift."

He added that hosting the exhibit "would be a wonderful way to prepare" for Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, or the feast of Corpus Christi, which will take place the week after the exhibit is there.

Father Gaspar became the pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish last year. On his first weekend there, which happened to be the weekend of Corpus Christi, he discovered several historic liturgical items in the church's basement. One was a chalice given by Pope Pius IX to the parish's second pastor. Another was a eucharistic canopy for Corpus Christi processions.

"This procession is a tradition that goes back centuries and is a public manifestation of our belief in the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ," Father Gaspar wrote in the parish's June 9 bulletin.

There is to be a eucharistic procession at St. Mary of the Assumption on June 23, following the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass, in observance of Corpus Christi.

"It's a sign, too, of community, of what we believe as Catholics. It's an evangelization for our fellow Catholics and also those who are maybe away from the Church," Father Gaspar said.

The eucharistic miracles exhibit is free and will be open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on June 15 and from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 16.