St Carlo Acutis

St Carlo Acutis was an ordinary teenager whose short life was marked by an extraordinary love for Jesus, especially in the Eucharist.

Born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan, Carlo enjoyed many of the things familiar to young people today, including computers, video games, sport and time with friends. Alongside these interests was a deep spiritual life. He attended Mass frequently, prayed the Rosary and had a particular devotion to the Eucharist. He also used his skills with computers and web design in the service of the Church, including creating an online exhibition documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world.

Carlo was also known for his concern for people who were poor or excluded. His faith was not separate from everyday life, but shaped the way he treated the people around him.

In 2006, Carlo was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia. He died on 12 October that year at only 15 years of age. He was beatified in Assisi in 2020 and canonised by Pope Leo XIV on 7 September 2025, becoming the first saint of the millennial generation.

His life continues to speak particularly strongly to young people because his holiness was lived in circumstances that feel recognisably modern. Carlo showed that sanctity does not require withdrawing from ordinary life, but allowing friendship with Christ to transform it.

“The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.”

Relics have been part of Christian devotion since the earliest centuries of the Church.

A relic is the physical remains of a saint, an object that belonged to a saint, or something that has been brought into contact with the saint’s remains. The Church preserves and honours relics because the saints were real people whose bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit and through whom God worked during their earthly lives.

Catholics do not worship relics. Worship belongs to God alone. Rather, relics are venerated, meaning they are treated with reverence because of the person whose life they represent.

Just as we might treasure a photograph or an object belonging to someone we love, a relic gives us a tangible connection with a member of the Church who has gone before us. More importantly, it points beyond itself to Christ and invites us to imitate the saint’s faithfulness.

The Church has careful procedures for authenticating, preserving and displaying relics. Canon law also strictly prohibits their sale.

Veneration is an act of prayerful respect.

When approaching St Carlo’s relic, you might make the Sign of the Cross, pause in prayer, ask for his intercession, or simply spend a few moments asking God to deepen your own friendship with Christ.

There is no required formula and nothing magical about the relic itself. The focus is always God. The saint accompanies us through prayer as another member of the Communion of Saints.

For Carlo in particular, this naturally points us towards the Eucharist, which stood at the centre of his life.

Carlo understood the Eucharist as the heart of his relationship with Jesus.

From a young age he attended Mass regularly and spent time before the Blessed Sacrament. His well-known description of the Eucharist as his “highway to heaven” captures the simplicity of his spirituality. Holiness, for Carlo, began by remaining close to Christ.

His interest in Eucharistic miracles grew from this devotion. Using his computer skills, he researched and catalogued recognised Eucharistic miracles from different parts of the world, creating an exhibition that has since been viewed internationally.

For this reason, the St Carlo Acutis Major Pilgrim Relic Mission is much more than an opportunity to see a relic. Its program of Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, prayer and Reconciliation reflects the very things that shaped Carlo’s own Christian life.

Part of Carlo’s appeal is that his life feels remarkably close to ours.

He lived with computers, the internet, school pressures, friendships and all the ordinary distractions of modern life. He did not reject these things. Instead, he tried to use them well and to keep Christ at the centre.

Pope Leo XIV, at Carlo’s canonisation in 2025, presented him alongside St Pier Giorgio Frassati as a young person who was deeply in love with Jesus and willing to give his life to him.

Carlo’s witness offers a simple challenge: holiness is possible here and now, in the circumstances of our own lives.

St Carlo’s desire for a living relationship with Jesus was evident from a very young age. At age seven, on the day of his First Holy Communion, he told his parents: “Always to be united to Jesus. This is my programme of life.” St Carlo’s ‘spiritual pericardium’ protected his relationship with Jesus, and consisted of five practices or appointments:

1.  Frequent reception of the Eucharistic Jesus,
2. Adoration, 
3. Spiritual direction and confession, 
4. Devotion to the Blessed Mother and the saints, and 
5. Acts of charity. 

These practices led him to holiness and can likewise lead us to holiness, that we too may become saints.