The first university parish of the world dedicated to Blessed Carlo Acutis belongs to the Diocese of Santo Amaro, state of São Paulo (Brazil) and is located within the Ítalo Brasileiro Catholic University Center. The church has a first-degree relic of the blessed from Assisi (Italy), donated by the saint’s mother, Antonia Salzano.
Carlo Acutis died at the age of 15 from leukemia and was beatified in 2020 in Assisi. His canonization will be on April 27, 2025. He is a role model for young people due to his deep commitment to faith and his ability to bring the message of Christ to new generations through the Internet.
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The university parish It was erected on January 25, 2023, in a Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Santo Amaro, Bishop José Negri. It is the newest parish in the diocese. Before becoming a parish, it was a chapel dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi.
The temple is small, it has only 12 seats, but it has the celebration of daily Mass and other spiritual activities such as adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, prayer group, night of praise and confessions.
El Beato Carlo Acutis
Blessed Carlo Acutis was born on May 3, 1991 in London (England). He died in 2006, at the age of 15, from leukemia, in Milan (Italy).
From a very young age, Carlo showed a special affection for God and a unique sensitivity to knowing the faith, even though his parents were not particularly devout at that time. This love for the Lord continued to grow and became stronger in adolescence, when Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. At that moment, far from despairing, Carlo expressed his willingness to offer his sufferings “for the Lord, for the Pope and for the Church.”
Carlo has been called the “cyber-apostle of the Eucharist”, “apostle of the millennials” and, recently, “apostle of the Internet”, since he was a promoter of the dissemination of information about Eucharistic miracles on the Internet. Created a website for this purpose. He used to say that the Eucharist was his way to heaven.
Carlo died on October 12, 2006, the day of Our Lady of Aparecida.
Carlo’s beatification took place on October 10, 2020, following the recognition of a miracle through his intercession that took place in Brazil.
The boy Matheus was cured of a congenital malformation known as annular pancreas. Matheus’s mother found out about Carlo Acutis through a priest friend and dedicated herself to asking Carlo’s intercession for her son’s healing. The miracle occurred after Matheus venerated one of the relics of the blessed who arrived in Brazil in 2013.
The decree authorizing her canonization was published on May 23, 2024. Pope Francis has approved the miraculous cure of 21-year-old Costa Rican Valeria Valverde, who was on the verge of death after seriously injuring her head in a bicycle accident in 2022. The mother made a pilgrimage to Assisi and at the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis she asked for his intercession for the healing of her daughter.
The canonization will take place on April 27 during the Adolescent Jubilee, at 10:30 a.m. (local time), in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in ACI Digital.
Nathália Queiroz
Nathália Queiroz de Carvalho Lima is certified in Spanish by the Cervantes Institute and has worked as a translator for seven years at ACI Digital. He has experience writing religious content for Catholic media in Portuguese and Spanish.