Pennsylvania parish to hold three-day celebration for Carlo Acutis’ canonization

Triumph of the Holy Cross Parish in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, is celebrating the canonization of the first millennial saint with a three-day event at Saint Thomas a’ Becket that will include Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and veneration of a relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis in a reliquary made by the new saint’s mother.

“Carlo, who passed away at the age of 15, used his love for technology and his deep faith to spread the Gospel and his love for Jesus,” Father Paul Zywan, pastor of Triumph of the Holy Cross, wrote in a recent parish bulletin shared with Catholic Vote. 

“To celebrate his life and witness, we are blessed to have the opportunity to venerate the relic of this saint on the weekend that he will be canonized.”

The event, held Sept. 5-7, will coincide with Bl. Carlo’s canonization.

Bl. Carlo Acutis, sometimes called the “Apostle of the Internet” or “God’s influencer,” was born in 1991 and is best known for his devotion to the Eucharist and his talent for technology. He began developing a website dedicated to documenting Eucharistic miracles in 2004, and it was publicly launchedOct. 4, 2006, just six days before he died from leukemia at age 15.

The  celebration at Saint Thomas a’ Becket Church will include an exhibit on Eucharistic miracles and a 35-minute video about the life of Bl. Carlo.

The celebration is one of many across the world celebrating Bl. Carlo, who will be canonized on Sept. 7 along with Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, as CatholicVote previously reported. The first millennial saint was originally set to be canonized by Pope Francis on April 27, but the canonization was delayed after the pope died April 21.

Typically, the Vatican must approve two miracles attributed to a beatified person’s intercession before the person is declared a saint. Bl. Carlo’s first miracle took place in 2013, when a 4-year-old Brazilian boy was healed from a pancreatic disease. His second miracle was when a young woman was healed from a traumatic brain injury in 2022.

The schedule for this three-day celebration is available here, and the parish is asking those interested to sign up for hour-long slots to adore the Blessed Sacrament.

“These three days are more than just ‘an event,’” Fr. Zywan wrote in the parish bulletin. “It is an invitation to deepen our faith, and to draw upon the graces God is pouring out for us in this year of Jubilee! Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in this historic weekend.”