London-born Carlo Acutis was yesterday declared Britain’s first millennial saint by Pope Leo XIV in a solemn ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica.
The 15-year-old, who died of leukaemia in 2006, was raised to sainthood in the Pope’s first-ever canonisation service after the Vatican recognised Acutis as performing two miracles himself since his death.
Now, pilgrims and worshippers from across the globe are flocking to Assisi to visit his tomb and are swarming to get their hands on relics from the young Saint.
Acutis was initially buried in the Ternengo town cemetery in the Italian region of Piedmont after his death on October 10, 2006, before being transferred to the cemetery in Assisi, in January 2007.
Twelve years later, his body was exhumed and his remains were transferred to the Sanctuary of the Spoliation in Assisi, where he is displayed in a glass-panelled tomb today.
But if Acutis looks perfectly preserved, that’s because a silicon mask of his face was constructed to conceal signs of decay. His hands, which are also on display, are covered in a film of wax to keep them preserved.
The remains of saints in Europe, especially in Italy, are often encased in a wax layer, so that they can be presented in a glass reliquary and pilgrims can see the saint as they were when they died.
His heart, however, was cut out and preserved in a golden reliquary and transferred to the nearby Cathedral of San Rufino, while cuttings of his hair and parts of his organs were saved as relics for veneration.
Saint Carlo Acutis is displayed at the Sanctuary of the Spoliation in Assisi, Italy, 07 September 2025, where worshippers can visit his body
The heart relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis is displayed in the cathedral of San Ruffino on March 18, 2025 in Assisi, Italy
A nun prays at the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis on April 3, 2025
A lock of hair relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis at the Parish of St Carlo Acutis, in March, 2021
Carlo Acutis, who died of leukaemia in 2006 aged 15, was raised to sainthood by Pope Leo XIV in a solemn ceremony in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday
As per Catholic tradition, first-class relics – such as pieces of the Saint’s hair, bone, or blood – are distributed to churches and shrines.
Prior to Acutis’ canonisation, Chaplain Friar Johnpaul Cafiero, from Padua Franciscan High School, Ohio, was presented with a first-class relic of the new saint.
He had been selected through an application process submitted a year ago, and travelled this week to Assisi to collect the five strands of Acutis’ hair by hand.
It is thought that more relics may be created following the canonisation, and that various churches, schools, and other Catholic institutions will receive them for veneration, often for a temporary period.
His physical remains are housed in the Sanctuary of the Spoliation, but parts of his pericardium, hair, clothing, and hospital sheet have been sent to other places, such as the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust in the UK, the Columbia Newman Center in the US, and parishes in Brazil and elsewhere.
But following the teenager’s long-awaited canonisation, worshippers are scouring the internet in a bid to get their hands on a first, second, or third class relic of Acutis – a ‘first class’ relic is a part of the saint’s body; a ‘second class’ one is something he owned; a ‘third class’ one is something that he touched.
Online stores selling these relics and other religious items, such as Etsy, have displayed pieces with price tags ranging from £90 to almost £2,000.
A photo display with ‘actual adhered relics – hair strands, worn piece of cloth, and hand written piece from Saint Carlo Acutis’, is selling for £464, with another ‘Carlo Acutis hair strand lock relic piece photo display’ selling for £110.
A silicon mask of the teenager’s face was constructed to conceal signs of decay
A photo display being sold on Etsy claims to come with ‘actual adhered relics – hair strands, worn piece of cloth, and hand written piece from Saint Carlo Acutis’
Another ‘Carlo Acutis hair strand lock relic piece photo display’ is selling on the online store for £110
A statue of the young saint can be seen on Holyart.com selling for almost £4,000
Another statue on Etsy depicting Acutis is selling for over £1,760 following his canonisation
Meanwhile, prices of wooden statues of the saint on Etsy and HolyArt.com have sky-rocketed to an eye-watering £1,700 to £3,800, from £15 to £170.
Worshippers have also been seen on social media attempting to find those in possession of a first-class relic, which can be touched to a second or third-class relic to bless it.
Many believers say the selling or buying of a relic, however, is a sin.
Earlier this year, Italian prosecutors began investigating a purported illegal marketplace for relics of Acutis, after the alleged sale of his hair bought online by an anonymous user for as much as 2,000 euros (£1,675).
‘We do not know whether the relics are real or fake,’ said Bishop Domenico Sorrentino, who filed a formal complaint with the authorities.
‘But if it were also all invented, if there was deception, we would be not only in the midst of a fraud but also of an insult to religious belief.’
Acutis earned the nickname ‘God’s Influencer’ because he used technology to spread the faith. His most well-known tech legacy is the website he created about so-called Eucharistic miracles, available in nearly 20 different languages.
The site compiles information about the 196 seemingly inexplicable events over the history of the church related to the Eucharist, which the faithful believe is the body of Christ.
Acutis, who died aged 15 from leukaemia in 2006, is to become the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint after being credited with miracles since his death
Pope Leo XIV celebrates the canonisation Mass of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025
Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd of many young people in St. Peter’s Square during his tour in the Popemobile after the Canonisation Ceremony of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati by Pope Leo XIV at The Vatican on September 7, 2025 in Vatican City
People gather on the day Pope Leo XIV leads a Holy Mass for the canonisation of Carlo Acutis, a British-born Italian boy who will become the first millennial to be made a Catholic saint, and Pier Giorgio Frassati, in Rome, Italy, September 7, 2025
Pilgrims queue to enter the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore church and to pay their respects at the tomb of the Blessed Carlo Acutis on March 18, 2025
Acutis was known to spend hours in prayer before the Eucharist each day, a practice known as Eucharistic adoration.
‘This was the fixed appointment of his day,’ his mother, Antonia Salzano, said in a documentary that was airing Friday night at the US seminary in Rome.
Salzano, told Reuters earlier this year that the heart of her son’s appeal to Catholic youth was that he lived the same life as others who were teenagers in the 2000s.
‘Carlo was an ordinary child like (others). He used to play, to have friends, and to go to school. But his extraordinary quality was the fact that he opened the door of his heart to Jesus and put Jesus in the first place in his life,’ she said.
‘He used this skill to spread the good news, the Gospel,’ she added. ‘He wanted to help people to have more faith, to understand that there is an afterlife, that we are (pilgrims) in this world.’
Being made a saint means the Church believes a person lived a holy life and is now in Heaven with God.
Other saints who died at a young age include Therese of Lisieux, who died at 24 in 1897 and was known for promoting a ‘Little Way’ of charity; and Aloysius Gonzaga who died at 23 in 1591 after caring for victims of an epidemic in Rome.
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