Have you heard the news? Carlo Acutis and 14 other blesseds were approved for canonization on July 1! Carlo is the first member of Generation Y to be so elevated. While his formal canonization will probably not take place until next year, the Jubilee Year of 2025, he is a great patron for youth and has been referred to as "the first saintly gamer."
Everyone is born as an original, but many people end up dying as photocopies. -Blessed Carlo Acutis
Carlo Acutis (1991-2006) was born in London, England to Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano. Both from prominent Italian families, neither of his parents was particularly religious, but they did have him baptized. The family moved to Milan shortly after his birth. Carlo learned about the faith from his grandparents, nannies, and by attending schools run by religious. He was known for his cheerful disposition and love for the poor. His example brought his parents and many others to the church. Carlo served as a catechist for the youth in his parish, he wanted to use technology to evangelize and bring others to Christ.
An average student, he was very interested in computer science and proficient in Dreamweaver, Java, C++ and Ubuntu. His parish priest asked Carlo to create a website for them. He made another to promote volunteering and others to share Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions. On October 1, 2006 Carlo went to the doctor with an inflamed throat. Quickly his health worsened, and he was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia. Offering his suffering for the Pope and the Church, he died on October 12. A photo exhibition of the Eucharistic miracle he catalogued has traveled to many countries across all five continents.
In October 2024 the relic Blessed Carlo Acutis will be present at the Eucharistic Congress planned in Halifax. There will be a number of opportunities for public veneration of the relic, including during the Youth Night event on October 17, 2024 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Halifax.
Christian relics are bodily remains, instruments of martyrdom or everyday objects attributed to
saints or blessed venerated by the Church, preserved in sacred places and venerated for worship.
Traditionally they are classified and divided into four classes depending on their value and the
exceptional character they represent:
Class I relics are of the body of Christ or Saints and Martyrs, such as body parts, bones and fragments or objects such as the Cross which are an integral part of the history of holiness.
Class II relics are clothes and objects that the Saint used in life and were therefore in contact with their body transfigured in Grace.
Class III relics are any object that has come into contact with class I relics, i.e. of Christ (Holy Shroud, the stone of the Holy Sepulchre...) and relics called "ex linteis" (pieces of cloth that have been in direct contact with the body of a saint).
Class IV relics are generally pieces of cloth or religious objects (medals, rosaries) that have come into direct contact with some object of the saint. For example, a handkerchief passed over the cave in which Saint Michael the Archangel appeared.
Then there are other relics which, although not directly linked to a saint and not having come
into contact with a holy body, represent an object of veneration, such as the olive trees of
Gethsemane.
Through the intercession of Blessed Carlo, we ask for the grace to live as the originals God created us to be!
Blessed Carlo Acutis, Pray for Us!
Prayer for the Canonisation of Blessed Carlo Acutis
Oh God, Our Father,
thank you for giving us Carlo,
a life example for the young
and a message of love for everyone.
You made him become enamoured with
Your Son Jesus, Making of the Eucharist
his “Highway to Heaven”.
You gave him Mary, as a most loving Mother,
and, with the Rosary, you made him
a poet of her tenderness. Receive his prayer for us.
Above all, gaze upon the poor,
whom he loved and helped.
Grant for me too, by his intercession,
the grace that I need ...
(State your intention here)
And make our joy fulfilled,
placing Carlo among the Saints
of your Church, so that his smile
may shine again for us in the glory of your name.
Amen
Pater, Ave, Gloria
(“Our Father”,“Hail Mary”, “Glory be to God”)
Imprimatur + Domenico Sorrentino
Bishop of Assisi
Nocera Umbra
Gualdo Tadino
Foligno
