Basilica of Guadalupe houses Carlo Acutis’s shirt and hair

Two relics of Carlo Acutis, soon to be canonized, are on display in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico City: a lock of his hair and one of his sports shirts.

On December 8, 2024, during a day of prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the enthronement ceremony of these relics in the Marian sanctuary.

This event takes on special relevance following the announcement by Pope Francis about the canonization of Carlo Acutis, which will take place on April 27, 2025, within the framework of the Adolescent Jubilee in Rome.

First-grade relics, such as the lock of hair, are fragments of the saint’s body. Those of the second degree correspond to objects used in life, such as Carlo Acutis’s shirt. Finally, those of the third degree are objects that have had contact with their tomb or other relics.

History of the remains of Carlo Acutis

In an interview with ACI Prensa, Father Gerardo Pérez Gómez, archpriest and vice-rector of the Basilica of Guadalupe, explained that in October of last year Carlo Acutis’ parents donated a reliquary with a lock of his hair.

A few months later, he said, “they sent a sports shirt precisely from Carlo Arcutis, one of the shirts he used to play sports.”

The priest highlighted that the parents of the Italian blessed considered it significant that a relic of Saint José Sánchez del Río, the young Mexican martyr murdered at the age of 14 for not renouncing his faith, was also displayed in the Marian temple.

According to Father Pérez Gómez, Carlo’s parents were moved to see that “many young people came to place themselves under the intercession of Saint José Sánchez del Río and they also had the concern that together with Saint José Sánchez del Río he would also be his son, Blessed Carlo Arcutis.”

The vice-rector shared that, according to Carlo’s parents, “they rarely entered his room.” However, after his death, they discovered that, “despite being from a family with resources, despite that, he had almost no clothes, because he gave everything away or sold it to do charity work.”

“He only had two t-shirts to play sports and one of those t-shirts to play sports is the one that his mother gave us here, to Basilica,” highlighted Father Pérez Gómez.

Thus, the relics of the next saint were enthroned next to those of San José Sánchez del Río. Currently, they are located on the right side of the temple, near the confessionals and next to the door that leads to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

The spiritual legacy of Carlos Acutis

Father Gerardo Pérez Gómez highlighted that the “spiritual legacy” left by Carlo Acutis includes several virtues that continue to be an example for young people today.

The priest noted that one of the most important aspects of his life was his love for the Eucharist, a deep devotion that, according to Father Pérez Gómez, is something that “many people have forgotten, which is the very source of holiness because It is Jesus Christ in our midst.”

Father Pérez Gómez stressed that the blessed lived “what the Church has always said: the sacraments, the Rosary, charity.”

“He tried to confess every eight days, every fifteen days he tried to be there at the Eucharist. In other words, the only thing Carlos did is live,” he highlighted.

Furthermore, the priest highlighted the importance of charity in Carlo’s life, stating that “he was not a young man there lost only in spiritual things, he was a young man who also put his faith into practice, he put his faith into practice in works of charity.” ”.

In his reflection, the vice-rector of the Basilica highlighted that Carlo Acutis is “a young man of our time who used the internet, used cell phones and everything that we already have today, and with all the elements that we have, which for many can be for his perdition and for the perdition of his soul. He occupied them for holiness.”