It had been a cold, raining and otherwise miserable Thursday, but nothing could stop thousands of faithful Sydneysiders shuffling into St Mary’s Cathedral to welcome the revered relics of St Carlo Acutis on its three-month tour of Australia.
The evening consisted of a Mass concelebrated by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP and Msgr. Anthony Figuerido of the Diocese of Assisi, a catechesis conducted by Msgr Figuerido and an opportunity to venerate the three relics.
Among the relics were St Acutis’ pericardium, the sac which encloses the heart, fragments of his favourite T-shirt and the sheet which covered him on his deathbed, and a lock of his hair.
In his homily, Archbishop Fisher OP reflected on St Acutis’ ability to use the internet and digital media networks to evangelise.
“As an e-generation teenager, at ease with computers and code, he might so easily have slipped into conformity with the culture,” he said.
“‘All people are born as originals,’ he once said, ‘but many die as photocopies.’
“Carlo chose to remain an original, so that what was in his heart and what we saw in his actions were completely allied, as Jesus had exhorted.”
The sentiment of being an ‘original’ was an idea which struck a chord with Mount St Joseph Catholic College students, and twins, Maria and Mia.
“[St Acutis] is beyond inspiration, I’ll never forget the first time we heard about him, and he’s just been part of our lives ever since,” said Maria.
“It was absolutely beautiful being able to see the relics of St Carlo, and as Mount St Joseph students, it’s truly a blessing for us to be able to experience and see them with our own eyes,” said Mia.
Archbishop Fisher also announced the return of St Acutis’ website Miracoli Eucharisti, which documented the history of Eucharistic miracles worldwide, for the International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney in 2028, Eucharist28.
“When Pope Leo XIV canonised him last September, he set Carlo’s own words before the church: ‘Conversion is nothing more than shifting your gaze from below to above; a simple movement of the eyes is enough,’” Archbishop Fisher said.
“And more simply still: ‘In front of the sun, you get a tan. In front of the Eucharist, you become a saint.’”
A catechesis given by Msgr Figuerido followed the Mass, where he gave a rallying cry to the youth in the audience that anyone who follows Christ can be a saint.
“[Carlo] had his weaknesses, a craving for a new bar of chocolate, and his report cards say, ‘Carlo disrupts his classes,’” he said.
“You know why he disrupted his classes? Because he wanted to see the kids around him so full of joy, he kept making everyone in the class laugh.
“I always tell young people, ‘Even if you disrupt your classes, or have cravings or weaknesses, you can become a saint like Carlo.’”
Msgr Figuerido also believes a millennial saint like Acutis is as important as ever in a ‘cancel-God’ culture.
“Last week, in Ireland, a formerly Catholic country, the Irish parliament passed a bill removing the mandatory three-day wait to seek an abortion in early pregnancy, up to 12 weeks,” he said.
“In Canada, a law is being lauded for medical assisted dying, an acronym which spells MAD, yet the country’s lawmakers hold it up as a standard for reasonableness.
“Carlo Acutis, in this cancel-God culture, where we make ourselves God, puts before us God present in this world through the Eucharistic Jesus, and centralises Jesus in our hearts every single day.”
Following the catechesis was the opportunity to venerate the three relics.
Two of those were Elroy D’Souza and Anton Macart, who both were in awe as the relics were placed upon their heads.
“Carlo is really an inspiration for all of us, not just because he lived in our generation, but also because he gives us direction and the hope that we can all get there one day,” said Anton.
“We just wanted to come and experience what it’s like to be in the presence of a saint who has paved the way for young people in so many ways in our faith, and especially with the Eucharistic Congress coming up, I just saw it as an opportunity to see how we can pour our hearts out to others in the way that he did,” said Elroy.
The relics will travel through 19 dioceses and 53 cities as part of its tour around Australia.
More information about the St Carlo Acutis relics tour can be found at https://www.stcarloaustralia.com/
