Thousands of faithful Sydneysiders visited St Mary’s Cathedral to welcome the relics of St Carlo Acutis at the start of their three-month tour of Australia. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
The welcome Mass for the relics on Thursday, June 25, was concelebrated by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP and Msgr Anthony Figuerido of the Diocese of Assisi. After the Mass, Msgr Figuerido delivered catechesis and the congregation had an opportunity to venerate the three relics.
Among the relics were St Carlo’s pericardium, the sac which encloses the heart, fragments of his favourite T-shirt and the sheet which covered him on his deathbed, and a lock of his hair.
In his homily, Archbishop Fisher OP reflected on St Carlo’s ability to use the internet and digital media networks to evangelise.
“As an e-generation teenager, at ease with computers and code, he might so easily have slipped into conformity with the culture,” he said.
“‘All people are born as originals,’ he once said, ‘but many die as photocopies.’
“Carlo chose to remain an original, so that what was in his heart and what we saw in his actions were completely allied, as Jesus had exhorted.”
The sentiment of being an “original” was an idea that struck a chord with Mount St Joseph Catholic College students and twins, Maria and Mia.
“[St Carlo] is beyond inspiration, I’ll never forget the first time we heard about him, and he’s just been part of our lives ever since,” Maria said.
“It was absolutely beautiful being able to see the relics of St Carlo, and as Mount St Joseph students, it’s truly a blessing for us to be able to experience and see them with our own eyes,” Mia said.
The relics will travel through 19 dioceses and 53 cities as part of the tour around Australia.
More information about the St Carlo Acutis relics tour can be found at www.stcarloaustralia.com
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Thousands descend on St Mary’s Cathedral to venerate revered relics of St Carlo Acutis (By Alex Woolnough, The Catholic Weekly)
