Just in time for the Sept. 7 canonizations of two millennial saints, Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Padua Franciscan High School in Parma received a first-class relic of Blessed Carlo.
Padua’s chaplain, Father Johnpaul Caffiero, OFM, spent a year working to obtain the relic, five strands of the soon-to-be saint’s hair. He traveled to Assisi in the summer of 2024 to work on the acquisition and once again in June, when he retrieved the relic and prayed at Blessed Carlo’s tomb.
The new relic is on display – along with three other first-class relics the school has – in Padua’s chapel. About 20 students are expected to attend a retreat and Mass on Sept. 6, the eve of the canonization, during which the relic will be exhibited.
Pope Leo XIV will celebrate the canonization Mass in Rome. Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost and two of his brothers, Father Tom Woost, pastor of St. Brendan and St. Richard parishes in North Olmsted and Father Dave Woost, pastor of Divine Word Parish in Kirtland, will be among those attending the liturgy. Click here for more information on the canonizations and how to watch the Mass.
Father Cafiero said he is excited about receiving the relic. “I think we are the only chapel, the only school in Ohio to have a first-class relic of Carlo Acutis,” he said. “He’s a great role model for our students. What an honor this is for us.”
Blessed Carlo, who grew up in Assisi, died in 2006 at age 15 after a short battle with leukemia. He is often seen in photos wearing jeans and a red polo shirt with dark, wavy hair. Blessed Carlo was described as a normal teenager who had a strong desire to help others. He organized missions with his classmates to help the community and to feed the poor. He also gathered information about Eucharistic miracles that became the basis for an International Exhibition of Eucharistic Miracles, which continues to tour around the world. The Diocese of Cleveland had a similar traveling exhibit that was based on Blessed Carlo’s project.
When in Assisi in June, Father Cafiero said he was blessed to spend time in prayer at Blessed Carlo’s tomb, where his incorrupt body is displayed in a glass coffin.
“It’s a beautiful place, where Carlo himself wanted to be. He said he wanted to be in Assisi, with St. Francis, for whom he had a great love. I think it’s important for us as a Franciscan school, to have this wonderful model of what it means to live not only a Christian life, a Catholic life, but a Franciscan life,” Father Cafiero said.
The other first-class relics displayed in Padua’s chapel are school patrons St. Francis of Assisi (bone), and his sister, St. Clare of Assisi (ashes), and St. Anthony of Padua (bone).