Diocesan students at two parochial schools venerated relics of St. Carlo Acutis on Tuesday, Feb. 17, the penultimate day of a relic tour in the diocese held from Feb. 13 to 18, Ash Wednesday.
The saint’s relics visited Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church on Monday, Feb. 16, drawing more than 1,800 to venerate Carlo, a 15-year-old boy who died in 2006 after battling leukemia. He offered his suffering for the Pope, the Church and to go to heaven.
Relics were brought to the diocese by Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo, who tends to their care in Assisi, Italy. St. Carlo’s relics are currently touring Ohio, having previously visited the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and Diocese of Toledo.
On Feb. 17, the relics, including a portion of the tissue surrounding Carlo’s heart, first visited students at Hilliard St. Brendan the Navigator School.
Two Masses were held in the adjoining church that morning followed by veneration of the relics.
The first was an all-school Mass attended by nearly 550 students. The church was filled to capacity with children and their families.
A second Mass at St. Brendan the Navigator was open to the public and had more than 600 attendees.
Ben Romaker, director of development and multimedia coordinator at the parish, shared than many attendees approached St. Carlo’s relics teary eyed. He described the Mass as an “emotional experience.”
Students at the school were struck by the chance to meet Carlo. The young saint, not far off in age, remained close to Christ through five steps: Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Confession, love of the Blessed Mother and the saints, and acts of charity.
Emulating St. Carlo in acts of charity, the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society collected 12 boxes full of non-perishable food items for the Hilliard food pantry. The total amount of food donated weighed 450 pounds.
“Today really pushed me to follow St. Carlo’s five steps to sainthood,” eighth-grade student Rylan Dickson reflected. “I’m going to try to do a decade of the rosary every day throughout Lent plus 30 minutes of prayer.”
Gabe Doran received a blessing at the church with St. Carlo’s relics, administered by Msgr. Figueiredo. Doran selected Carlo as the name he will take for the sacrament of Confirmation, chosen in honor of St. Carlo Acutis.
Maria Zuercher, a fifth-grade student at St. Brendan, was also impacted by her encounter with the saint.
“I’ve been inspired to be more holy and dedicate my life to God,” she said. “I’m going to use the gifts I have, like with technology, to inspire others to love Jesus Christ.”
In the afternoon, relics moved to Worthington St. Michael the Archangel School. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade spent time venerating St. Carlo’s relics in the church, followed by St. Michael middle school students.
“They’re all excited to go and take the blessing of the relics,” said Eriny Attia, a fifth and sixth grade math teacher at the school. “They’re all excited to hear more about St. Carlo because they can relate to him.”
Msgr. Figueiredo spoke to the two groups of students inside the church. He shared the life of Carlo and his five steps for staying close to Jesus.
A large statue of St. Carlo was positioned on the altar in front of the saint’s relics. The statue depicted Carlo in a red polo, jeans, sneakers and with a backpack over his shoulders.
The young boy, nicknamed the “patron saint of the internet,” enjoyed video games, computers and created a website documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world.
“It’s really cool because, when you think about kids our age, he only spent like an hour on video games a week,” Chase Messina, 13, a seventh grade student at the school, said of St. Carlo.
“We would probably do a lot more than that, just shows the dedication that he put in and how much he loved God from a young age.”
Dominic Decenzo, 13, was also intrigued by Carlo’s love of the Eucharistic Lord and related to the saint’s teenage interests.
“I think it’s cool that someone who played video games and all that, who loved things of the modern world, still loves Jesus,” he reflected. “It inspires me on how to be a Catholic in this modern age.”
Clare Adams, 10, a fifth grader at St. Michael the Archangel, shared that she views Carlo as a role model. She acknowledged that, even as a young student, living the Catholic faith can be challenging.
“Sometimes it might be hard,” she said, “but if I can just look at one saint, then I can practice what they had and be like him and other saints.
“It’s a really great opportunity that we can go and venerate St. Carlo Acutis and remember what a great life – and extraordinary, how much love he had for Jesus.”
Cara Bohman, a seventh and eighth grade math teacher at St. Michael, described Carlo’s relics at the school as a gift. She views her students as not unlike the young saint.
“Especially teaching middle school, who are so close in age to St. Carlo, I pray that it inspires them to live out their faith how he did,” she said.
“So many of the saints are older, and so, it almost makes it seem like you don’t have to focus on the faith until you get older, or ‘I’m not really Catholic, and I (don’t) need to focus on my faith until I’m an adult,’ but he’s a perfect example of living out the faith when you are a teenager.”
St. Carlo’s relics were present at St. Michael for public veneration following school dismissal and returned again later that evening.
