Blessed Carlo Acutis ‘touching hearts’ in Ireland

In anticipation of the primary relic of the ‘Millennial Saint’ Blessed Carlo Acutis journeying around parishes in Leinster this month, Catholics are preparing for the momentous event, including one young devotee who testified that the faith and story of Blessed Carlo “touched her heart”.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mary-Aoife Ong, co-director of Carlo Acutis Youth Ireland revealed how the exposure to the prospective saint’s life story inspired her to join a group dedicated to his legacy.

“Myself and my brother knew nothing about Carlo this time last year. We had just finished college and we went over to Assisi. When we went over we saw Blessed Carlo laying out in the tomb – just totally ordinary with the jeans and runners. We thought, ‘oh my goodness’. There’s something about this young guy that really touched our hearts.

“We came back and we said that we have to try and do something to try and bring that bit of peace that we experienced in Assisi to other people in Ireland. That’s how we got involved in Carlo Acutis Youth Ireland.”

This year the relic will first stop in St Patrick’s Church, Corduff on September 10 and 11 (including an all-night vigil). The relic will be brought to St Peter and Paul’s Church in Portlaoise on September 12 and 13 and then to St Mary’s Church in Navan on September 15 and 16. The relic will then return to Dublin, arriving by boat down the River Liffey (weather permitting) to the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Cityquay Parish on September 17.