“At the Shrine of the Naked, we remember that Francis stripped himself to the point of nakedness, to say that Jesus was his ‘everything’ and to fulfil, lightly and naked, the mission that had been entrusted to him of ‘repairing the Church’. Charles was asked to allow himself to be stripped even of life and youth, to do with Jesus, not on this earth, but from heaven, a work that is incredible, as an influence of holiness, of joy, of full life.” This is what the bishop of the dioceses of Assisi – Nocera Umbra – Gualdo Tadino and Foligno, Monsignor Domenico Sorrentino, said in the homily of the mass celebrated yesterday, Saturday 12 October, liturgical memory of Blessed Carlo Acutis, in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore – Sanctuary of the Naked in Assisi.

The future canonisation

«Providence – said the bishop – has wanted the proclamation of his sainthood, the «canonisation», to take place in the jubilee year that will begin in a few months. It will be the year in which we must recover, according to the theme indicated by the Pope, the hope founded on Jesus. Carlo is still blessed. But the sign from heaven has already arrived so that he can be declared a saint. A sign that has arrived with the healing of a girl from Costa Rica, as a Costa Rican singer, Martin Valverde, will remind us in a few hours. Carlo will therefore soon be «Saint» Carlo. But this title will not propel him to an unreachable height. On the contrary, we will continue to feel him, as one feels a friend, simply, Carlo! ” For this reason, the prelate added, “it seemed good to me to compose, in view of the canonization, a new prayer, which will portray him in his characteristic features. A prayer that you can begin to recite right now.”

The exhibition conceived by Carlo

Among the initiatives organized in view of the celebration of the liturgical memory of Blessed Carlo Acutis, on October 11th the exhibition of Eucharistic miracles was inaugurated in the Bishops’ Hall, inside the Sanctuary of the Dispossession, conceived and realized by the young Carlo Acutis, which will remain on display to the public until mid-November and can be visited every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A conclusion to the events planned for the anniversary of October 12th took place at the Sanctuary of the Expulsion, a moment of prayer and music with Martín Valverde, a very popular musician in Spanish-speaking countries and a devotee of the young Blessed.