Catholic Church denounces online sale of Carlo Acutis relics

In Italy, the Catholic Church has taken action against the online auctioning of supposed relics of Carlo Acutis, a young man who passed away in 2006 at the age of 15 from leukemia. Acutis is set to be canonized as the first millennial saint, and his shrine has attracted hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. The Church emphasizes that the sale of relics, which include small parts of saints' bodies or clothing, is strictly prohibited and considered a sin. Rev. Enzo Fortunato from the Vatican expressed disdain for any commercial transaction involving items associated with faith, emphasizing that all relics should be venerated and never sold for profit. Consequently, Bishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi requested police intervention to confiscate the items and warned that should these relics be proven fraudulent, it would stand as a serious offense to religious beliefs. Many members of the faithful in Assisi have lamented the marketplace commodification of sacred objects, viewing it as a blatant misuse of holy relics. The ethos surrounding saints and their relics reflects a long-standing tradition among Catholics, where the faithful seek intercession from these holy figures through their preserved remains, which have historically been authenticated by the Church. The first miracle attributed to Acutis involved the healing of a boy in Brazil after praying for assistance during a prayer service involving a relic. This coming canonization highlights the increasingly mixed reactions towards the practice and raises questions about the motivations behind specific saintly recognitions, especially concerning younger generations.