You shouldn't buy a saint. Catholic Church condemns online sales of Carlo Acutis artifacts

Assisi, Italy – The Catholic Church, on duty as the forthcoming first millennial saint, turned to police in Italy to investigate the sale of some claimed relics of Carlo Acutis, who has attracted thousands of pilgrims.

Since the early days of faith, many Catholics have prayed to intercessors to the relics of the saints, usually a small part of their bodies or clothes, which are certified by the church authorities and preserved in the church. But their sales are strictly prohibited.

“It’s not only mean, but a sin,” Rev. Enzo Fortunato, heading the Vatican World Children’s Day Committee and having a small portion of Acutis’ hair through visits to the church that has been honored by youth. “Every business about faith is a sin.”

According to the parish of Assisi, an anonymous seller has auctioned some allegedly verified Acutis hair locks at an online auction, which cost 2,000 euros ($2,200) before being cancelled. Last month, Bishop Domenico Sorantino asked the authorities to seize the items, adding that the sale would constitute a “great crime of religious belief” if it was fraudulent.

Acutis is precocious in developing and sharing his faith

Acutis died of leukemia in 2006, when he was only 15 years old, but had established a precocious life of faith centered on devotion to the Eucharist, a real existence of Christ for Catholics. His savvy of technology has created an online exhibition about the miracles of the Asahi in the past few centuries.

He will be officially declared a saint in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on April 27. Over the past year, about one million pilgrims have flocked to Assisi in central Italy, where his body is – wearing sneakers, jeans, jeans and a sweatshirt – lying in a church in a church dedicated to Christmas, a life dedicated to Christmas.

Acutis's body was excavated during the exemplary process for more than a decade and was disposed of, so public displays could be retained, including removal of certain organs. Sorrentino said his face looked like he was asleep, rebuilt by a silicone mask.

The heart of Acutis is preserved on the altar of dedication in another Assisi church. It will be taken to Rome for critical mass.

“These artifacts have few fragments of the body, saying that the body is blessed, and it explains to us the intimacy of God,” Sorrentino said.

The handling of artifacts is a difficult task for the church

The “category” of artifacts is different – the most important are the main body parts, such as the heart. Sorrentino attended the American Catholic Bishops' Conference in 2022 during its many years of communion revival.

Bishops responsible for the body of the saints, donated or loaned artifacts (always free) with the requests of other bishops around the world to be exhibited in the worship of dioceses and other churches.

“We donate it to the community, the parish, the pastor who uses the relics of the cult in the parish,” Sorrentino said. “It's not magic. It's not something that works automatically, it's working through faith.”

The practice of collecting artifacts can be traced back to the earliest days of the church, when many faithful Christians died from martyrs due to religious persecution. Forato said witnesses of the murder would collect blood or fragments of clothes in memory of their sacrifice and pray for the intercession of the saints.

He added that in Acutis' case, the first miracle in his encapsulation process was the healing of a boy in Brazil after the prayer service summoned him to intercession with the existence of the relics.

For clergy and pilgrims who visited the Acutis shrine in Assisi this week, the relics take examples of the example of faith and the power of prayer provided by the saints.

“I would never buy one,” said Amelia Simone, 18, of Chicago, who has been studying in Rome and credited to Acutis to help smooth out the tricky visa papers. “I think the intercession is very cool, but I don't think I'll ever have a top-notch artifact. It would be a little weird for me.”

Two clergymen who led a pilgrimage to Italy from the Parish of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, said online relics sales were happening, which was a “huge tragedy.”

Pastor Christopher Pujol said: “We continue to pray for the conversion of people.”

Bishop Larry Kulick added, “As Catholics, it's very reverent and solemn for us. Not only are they inspiring us, but they are indeed opportunities to… help us pray.”

He added: “So, unfortunately, something like this happens because it is indeed an abuse of artifacts and is actually disrespectful to him and his memories.”

Some mixed perspectives on this saint process

The rare dedication and attention that has already been generated to Acutis' packaging process has been subject to some doubt. In hundreds of social media comments about the recent Associated Press about the phenomenon, some say his Christmas is a church marketing strategy to attract more young people back to the bench.

Many others (and those who have pilgrimage to Assisi) praised Acutis for his dedication and were delighted that he was a role model for his generation.

“For me, it was a joy to encounter Carlo Acutis's body, especially asking for his intercession to carry out many youth transformations and conversions,” said Juana de Dios Ecideda, a missionary nun in Honduras.

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Dell'Orto reported from Miami.

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