Mass to celebrate the 35th birthday remembrance of St Carlo Acutis

Sunday May 3, 2026 marks the 35th Birthday Remembrance of the newly Canonised St Carlo Acutis. To mark this special occasion, the first Birthday Remembrance since Carlo was Canonised last September, Mass will be offered on Sunday May 3, 2026 at 12pm in Holy Family Church, Ardfinnan, Co Tipperary – the home of the First and Second Class relics of the saint in Ireland.

Fr Michael Toomey, who met with St Carlo’s parents and siblings on September 7, 2025, the day St Carlo was Canonised in Rome, received from St Carlo’s mother, Antonio Salzano, who presented Fr Michael two relics of her son for people to venerate and be blessed with in his parish and whose who call there.

A few days later, Fr Michael also received a certified First Class Relic (a piece of the Saint’s hair) from the Bishop of Assisi where the saint’s body lies in repose. This relic, along with the one given to Fr Michael by St Carlo’s mother were installed on October 12, 2025 – the Saint’s Feast Day, by Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan in Holy Family Church, Ardfinnan.

These relics will be available for people to receive an individual blessing after the Mass which celebrates his 35th Birthday Remembrance on May.

Born in 1991 in the Portland Hospital in London, Carlo and his family moved to Milan and from a young age, had a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t especially devout. He loved the Eucharist and was fascinated by Eucharistic miracles. And he began creating what would eventually become a website to catalogue and share the information with others. Carlo was concerned by people growing distant to the Church and the sacraments.

At age 15, Carlo was diagnosed with an untreatable leukaemia. He offered up his suffering for others coping with illness He died from his illness on October 12, 2006. At his request he was buried in Assisi because of his love for St. Francis. He was Canonised a Saint by Pope Leo  XIV on September 7, 2025

Fr Michael Toomey said: “Since the shrine of St Carlo Acutis was installed in Ardfinnan over a year ago, we have received thousands of people from across Ireland to our village church to come and say a prayer, leave a petition and light a Candle at the Shrine of St Carlo, which holds the First and Second Class Relics.”

“St Carlo Acutis is a powerful example of faith for young people. Having his statue here and now his First Class and Second class Relics in our parish encourages people to come to the church from all over the Ireland. It makes the church a place to pray in a special way for young people who have been amazed at St Carlos’ story and can easily connect to him because of similar interests they have particularly with computers, gaming, and football whose remains can be seen reposing in Nike trainers, his jeans and sweatshirt live from Assisi here in Ardfinnan” said Fr Michael.

The Mass for St Carlo’s 35th Birthday Remembrance will be celebrated in Holy Family Church  Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary on Sunday May 3 at 12 noon and the relic given by St Carlo’s mother will be made available to all for an individual blessing afterwards.

Ardfinnan
statue
and
shrine

The statue in Ardfinnan was made in Italy, and has Carlo depicting a games console, mobile phone and football, along with a shirt of his beloved football team A.C. Milan is in a specially designed shrine which has some history of him, along with some of the quotes of his love of the Eucharist. There is also a livestream showing his tomb which is being venerated from Assisi, and prayer cards and candles are also available for people who wish to use these.

The statue and Shrine in Ardfinnan of Carlo Acutis which Bishop Cullinan blessed last January was donated and was unveiled and installed the same week as Pope Francis declared that Blessed Carlo Acutis was to be canonised as St Carlo at a Mass in the Vatican on April 27th 2025.  Sadly this was postponed to Sunday September 7 following the death of the late Holy Father. His canonisation, and that of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) will now be celebrated by Pope Leo XIV.

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A first-class relic is a physical part of a saint’s body, such as a bone, hair, or blood, that is highly revered in the Catholic Church as a means for God to bestow grace and encourage veneration and prayer. These relics are considered the most significant form of relics and often become focal points for pilgrimages and devotion, as they are seen as a powerful connection to the saint’s spiritual power and closeness to God.

There are other official First-Class Relic’s permanently on display in Ireland including in St Annes Church in Sligo, and the Friary in Killarney, and now Holy Family Church Ardfinnan in Co. Tipperary will be the latest church to now have a relic permanently on display in the country.

Tomey

Fr Michael Tomey is the Parish Priest and Administrator of the St Carlo Acutis Parish Pastoral; Area, which includes Holy Family Church in Ardfinnan and includes the  parishes of Ardfinnan, Ballybacon, Grange and Newcastle, Fourmilewater and Touraneena and The Nire, in the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore.

He regularly celebrates Mass on RTÉ News on Monday Mornings at 10.30am for the whole country.

Contact: email: mgptoomey@hotmail.com

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Who
was
Carlo
Acutis?

Carlo Acutis was born May 3, 1991, in London though his family moved to Milan shortly after. From a young age, Carlo seemed to have a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t especially devout. His mum said she had been to Mass only for her First Communion, her confirmation, and her wedding but young Carlo’s unique and unexplained devotion led to her deep conversion.

He had a gift for empathy and was known for defending children at school who got picked on, especially disabled kids. Carlo loved soccer and video games. He tried to stay disciplined and only played games for an hour a week even though he really wanted to play much more. He also bought computer programming books and taught himself computer coding and animation. He had a great devotion to Mary loved to pray the rosary. He went to Mass and confession as often as he could.

He loved the Eucharist and was fascinated by Eucharistic miracles. He asked his parents to take him on pilgrimages — to the places of the saints, and to the sites of Eucharistic miracles. Using his research, he began creating what would eventually become a website to catalogue and share the information with others. Carlo was concerned by people growing distant to the Church and the sacraments and desperately wanted to bring them back. On the site, he told people that “the more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”

At age 15, Carlo was diagnosed with an untreatable leukaemia. He offered up his suffering for others coping with illness and said, “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.” Carlo died from his illness on October 12, 2006. At his request he was buried in Assisi because of his love for St. Francis.

His cause for canonisation began in 2013 and he was designated “Venerable” in 2018. A healing miracle has been attributed to his intercession and he was designated “Blessed” October 10, 2020.

His tomb has been opened and his intact body lies in repose in a glass tomb where he can be venerated by pilgrim. He is displayed in jeans and a pair of Nikes, the casual clothes he preferred in life.

Carlo was canonised  (made a saint) in the Holy Year of 2025 on September 7 after it was postpend from April 27 following the death of Pope Francis.