On Thursday, October 20, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe received a special gift: a first-class relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis.
The first millennial to be honored by the Church, Blessed Carlo died in 2006 at the age of fifteen. From his early childhood, Carlo’s greatest love was for Jesus in the Eucharist: he requested to make his First Communion early, and thereafter went to Mass every day, even when no one accompanied him or his family was traveling. Carlo was also gifted with exceptional computer programming skills, which he used to create a website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles. His website has since been developed into an exhibit that has traveled the world.
Those who knew him recall especially his joy, friendliness, and compassionate heart. He is considered a patron of youth and computer programmers.
The presence of Blessed Carlo’s relic at the Shrine offers a vivid reminder of his example of joyful, wholehearted holiness, and of all the ways in which ordinary modern life can be sanctified. In particular, the patronage of an adolescent saint is a blessing for young visitors, including the Shrine’s Youth Guild.
At the reception of the relic, Cardinal Burke declared that Blessed Carlo “understood deeply and lived profoundly the mystery of faith, the mystery of the redemptive Incarnation,” as evidenced by his efforts to promote devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, prompted by a great faith and love for the Eucharistic Lord.
In describing the young blessed’s technological achievements, his Eminence said that Blessed Carlo teaches us “to sanctify the means of electronic communication by putting them at the service of Christ the King.” Cardinal Burke also noted that Blessed Carlo’s love for the Eucharist was linked to a great devotion to Our Lady: “Blessed Carlo drew ever closer to our Eucharistic Lord through the Mother of Our Lord.”
This is also the purpose of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe: drawing souls closer to our Eucharistic Lord through His Mother. Through the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, may the gift of his relic contribute to this encounter for pilgrims. In Cardinal Burke’s words, “The reception of his relic today should renew the mission of the Shrine here, the mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to make known to pilgrims the immeasurable and unceasing love and mercy of God in God the Son Incarnate, above all in the Sacraments of the Most Holy Eucharist and of Penance.”
Blessed Carlo Acutis, pray for us!