by Lori Wilson, Director of Campus Ministry and Marist Mission
On the morning of Wednesday, November 10th, the relics of Carlo Acutis, the youngest beatified person, visited Molloy’s chapel. Students, faculty, and staff were invited to visit the chapel between 8:00am and 10:00am to pray, spend time in silence, or think about our call to holiness as Catholic Marists.
Carlo Acutis was an English-born Italian Catholic and an amateur computer programmer, best known for documenting Eucharistic Miracles around the world and cataloguing them on a website, which he created before his death from Leukemia. At 15 years old, he is the youngest contemporary person to be beatified. Born May 3, 1991 in London, Carlo passed away on October 12, 2006 in Monza, Italy. He was beatified in October 2020 and his Feast is October 14th.
A relic, in religion, strictly, is the mortal remains of a saint; in the broad sense, the term also includes any object that has been in contact with the saint. Among the major religions, Christianity, almost exclusively in Roman Catholicism, and Buddhism have emphasized the veneration of relics. We do not worship relics, but they serve as a tangible way for us to experience and reflect on the life of a person who has devoted their life to God’s will, being God’s “hands and feet” on Earth. Watch the video below for more information about Carlo Acutis.