Every night for 11 months, Paul Gannucci prayed the Rosary with his family and then practiced receiving Holy Communion. He received the Eucharist for the first time on June 3, a few days before his 21st birthday. Unlike for other first Communicants, the Host is the only solid food he has ever consumed.

Gannucci was born with Noonan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects a person’s physical development and often includes heart defects. Because he was too weak to eat on his own as a baby, doctors inserted a feeding tube into Paul’s stomach when he was 3 months old. He underwent heart surgery at 6 months and then received a heart transplant shortly after his first birthday. 

Gannucci has attended Mass with his family all his life, and over the years, he repeatedly expressed his desire to receive the Body of Christ.

 

Overcoming Physical Limitations

Father Richard Kunst, pastor of Paul’s parish, St. James in Duluth, Minnesota, has known the young man since he was born. Although aware of the daunting challenge his parishioner faced, he decided to help him receive the Blessed Sacrament.

“I knew Paul’s faith was strong and his desire was strong,” Father Kunst said in a telephone interview with the Register.

Gannucci, who also has a learning disability, impressed the priest with his powerful longing to receive Holy Communion and with his grasp of the Real Presence of Jesus in the consecrated Host. In addition, Father Kunst prepared Paul for the sacrament of reconciliation two years ago. 

The third of four children, Gannucci had been accompanying his parents and siblings to church when the family went to confession each month. His hunger for Jesus in the Eucharist continued to grow after he, too, received the sacrament of reconciliation, and he redoubled his pleas when his niece made her first Communion.

Speaking with the Register by phone, Paul’s parents, Annette and Rob Gannucci, said their family had fully supported their son in his determination to receive the Eucharist.

“Paul has a very simple faith,” Rob Gannucci said. “He has great trust. We had been wanting Paul to receive all the sacraments for years, and we put it in God’s hands to determine when that time would come. Our whole family trusted that Jesus would make this happen.”

Fearing a negative reaction to the strong anti-rejection medication Paul needs because of the heart transplant, the Gannuccis did not want him to receive the Eucharist under the species of wine. Instead, Father Kunst gave them sleeves of unconsecrated hosts so Paul could practice receiving in that form. Night after night, Rob Gannucci gave his son a little water and a small fragment of a wafer. 

“Initially, it was really hard for him,” Rob Gannucci said. “He would gag and retch even over that tiny piece.”

Paul stoically bore this discomfort and doggedly persisted in his practice.

“Paul never gave up,” Rob Gannucci said. “We did it every single night, and, eventually, over the weeks and months, he got a little better at it.” 

Paul gradually trained himself to swallow bigger and bigger pieces — until he could consume a host roughly the size of a quarter. To ensure that Paul wouldn’t gag on a consecrated Host, Father Kunst directed him to continue practicing for another three months.        

  

Inspiring Others

Meanwhile, Paul asked to be confirmed, too, and so Father Kunst sought permission from Bishop Daniel Felton of Duluth to administer this sacrament.

“He gave me the faculties to confirm Paul, who was already a baptized Catholic,” Father Kunst explained. “Paul was the driving force for all these things.”

Paul easily chose a patron saint. At the end of their nightly family Rosary, the Gannuccis routinely request the intercession of holy men and women. Paul wanted to learn more about one of these, “Padre Pio,” St. Pio of Pietrelcina. He developed an affinity for the stigmatist and ultimately chose him as his confirmation saint. 

Once everything was in order, Father Kunst scheduled Paul’s first Communion and confirmation for June 3. Paul’s immediate family and many extended family members gathered at the church. During his homily that morning, Father Kunst explained the unfolding event to approximately 45 weekday Mass attendees. Their response — joyful support — touched the priest. Some parishioners wept when they witnessed Paul receive the sacraments. 

“People were blown away,” Father Kunst said. 

Visibly moved, several individuals later approached Paul’s parents to share personal stories about relatives unable to receive Holy Communion because of various physical limitations.

“This [Paul’s experience] gives them hope that maybe this can happen for their family member as well,” Annette Gannucci said.

Since his first Communion, Paul has regularly received the Blessed Sacrament on Sundays and at weekday Masses whenever possible. It remains the only solid food he consumes.

Rob Gannucci said he hopes his son’s story will impact other Catholics.

“The biggest thing is that it is truly Jesus that we are receiving,” he said. “So many Catholics nowadays don’t even believe in that — when they have such a great treasure! We know how important it is to receive Jesus. Other people maybe will rethink it if they don’t believe in the True Presence.”

Father Kunst observed that Paul’s devotion teaches the faithful another lesson during this fruitful period of Eucharistic renewal.

“Here we have a young man who worked for a whole year to receive the Eucharist!” Father Kunst said. “Paul’s story and his earnest desire for this will inspire people, including those of us who might take it for granted because we receive it all the time. God’s timing is perfect.”