Buried in Assisi, new saint is 'true disciple' of St. Francis, rector says

ASSISI, Italy (CNS) -- Soon-to-be St. Carlo Acutis is a fresh "shoot" budding from the 800-year-old spiritual "vine" of Sts. Francis and Clare in Assisi, said the rector of the shrine housing the millennial teenager's tomb.

"Assisi is clearly known for St. Francis and St. Clare, and this explosion of holiness in the 13th century is still incredibly fruitful today," Father Marco Gaballo, rector of the Shrine of the Renunciation, told Catholic News Service in late August.

Pope Leo XIV was scheduled to canonize the teen Sept. 7 at the Vatican, together with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati of Turin.

Born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan, Blessed Acutis spent most of his vacation time in Assisi, where his family owned another home. Just as he was very active in his parish and Jesuit-run high school in Milan, he also dedicated himself to the church community in Assisi, learning about St. Francis and being inspired by the saint's respect for creation and dedication to the poor, according to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints' website.

"Carlo chose to be buried here," in Assisi, because of his strong attraction and connection to St. Francis, Father Gaballo said.

"This is the novelty of our time," he said. "Carlo represents a shoot budding from this long history of holiness that, after eight centuries, still involves young people and knows how to attract and produce new pathways" to holiness.

Blessed Acutis, who once said everyone is born as a unique original, "but many die as photocopies," was himself a "true disciple of St. Francis. He did not copy him, he was inspired by him," seeking to share the Gospel "in his own way, in the age of the internet, as a teenager," he said.

According to the Vatican office for saints' causes, Blessed Acutis was devoted to Mary, recited the rosary daily, helped the poor and homeless, edited and ran the website of the parish of Santa Maria Segreta in Milan, where he also taught catechism and prepared children for confirmation, and organized the website of the Pontifical Academy "Cultorum Martyrum."

"His holiness seems truly accessible, close to everyone because, after all, he also played on his computer, swam, played sports, went to school, but lived with his heart completely oriented toward Jesus," Father Gaballo said.

"We have this beautiful message that even a person who decides to choose Christ completely as the only thing in their heart, they then find a full life in real life," whether it be in the 21st century or the Middle Ages when St. Francis lived and "made sacrifices that, I believe, are impossible for others to repeat today," he said.

Blessed Acutis is buried in a room -- now a shrine -- dedicated to remembering St. Francis' "renunciation," when he publicly disrobed and renounced his family's wealth to live in poverty and humble service to God.

Just as the 13th-century saint stripped himself of his earthly possessions, the teen was stripped of his health when he fell ill with leukemia, and he offered his life to God; he died at the age of 15 in 2006.

These two acts of renunciation, made centuries apart, illustrate a core message of the shrine, the priest said, which is that following Jesus happens on a "path of self-denial, diminishing one's ego, selfishness and negative human impulses that destroy humanity, the environment, nature and society."

"When one embraces this renunciation, this difficult path, which is hard at first, then on the other side there is love, which is being clothed in the glory" of God's light, he said.

The blessed's radical acceptance of God's plan, even if it meant letting go of family, friends and earthly life, provided profound support for one pilgrim visiting the tomb.

Massimo Mennelli, from the parish of St. Joseph the Artisan in San Severo, Italy, was one of the thousands of visitors to Assisi Aug. 21. He told CNS that "this young man's life is a great lesson for us, for us Catholics. He is a great guide."

Mennelli and his wife, Fiorella Sacco, are catechists who prepare parents for their child's baptism, he said. "In every catechesis, we cannot help but give examples from his story, from his life, because I consider Carlo Acutis one of the greatest gifts that the Lord could have given, excuse me," he paused with tears in his eyes, "to humanity in the third millennium."

Mennelli said he gets choked up because Blessed Acutis' life "prepared me for a very difficult family situation" of losing his brother a year and a half ago.

He and his dying brother faced the tragedy "in a truly God-centered way," he said, "thanks to Carlo, who taught us to trust in God. This was a great sign of the Lord for us: we are at peace."

"My brother is now in heaven. I hope he has met Carlo, who gave us this great strength and this great testimony that the Lord loves us and cares for us, and that when we reach his kingdom, we will attain eternal peace," Mennelli said, holding up a handmade doll of the blessed his wife makes with other volunteers at their parish.

Sacco said they wanted a doll for kids so that instead of "heroes of war, they would have a hero of peace," adding that all the proceeds go to help their parish and charitable initiatives in their town and abroad.

An image of the Eucharist is sewn on top of the doll's red shirt right over his heart, she said, and inside his backpack, there is a small handmade rosary with "15 beads in memory of the 15 years he lived."

About 1 million people visited just the Church of St. Mary Major, where the shrine and Blessed Acutis' tomb are located, in 2024. Those numbers are expected to be much higher in 2025 because of the huge spike in visitors who came to Italy for the Holy Year and especially for his expected canonization in April, the Jubilee of Youth at the end of July and early August, and his actual canonization in September.