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Catholic Church Investigates Sale of Carlo Acutis Relics Ahead of Canonization

Italian authorities are working with the Church to address the illicit online auction of relics tied to the soon-to-be millennial saint, as preparations for his April 27 canonization continue.

Photos of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Amelia Simone, 18, a student from the United States, stands in front of the entrance of the Santa Maria Maggiore Church where the body of the 15-year-old Italian boy Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 and was beatified in 2020, is kept, in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pilgrims queue to enter the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and Sanctuary of the Renunciation and to pay their respects at the tomb of the Blessed Carlo Acutis in on March 18, 2025 in Assisi, Italy.

Overview

  • The Catholic Church has filed a complaint with Italian police to seize purported relics of Carlo Acutis being sold online, with bids reaching $2,200 before the auction was halted.
  • Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino condemned the sale as a sin and an insult to religious sentiment, emphasizing that relics are meant for veneration, not commercial exploitation.
  • Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia at age 15 in 2006, will be canonized on April 27, 2025, during the Vatican's Jubilee for Adolescents, making him the Church's first millennial saint.
  • Over a million pilgrims have visited Acutis' shrine in Assisi in the past year, drawn by his deep faith, technological contributions, and relatability as a modern role model.
  • The controversy highlights the Church's efforts to balance sacred traditions with modern challenges, as Acutis' life inspires both admiration and skepticism regarding the Church's outreach to youth.