Assisi has seen an unprecedented wave of pilgrims this year, as more than 620,000 people have visited the tomb of St. Carlo Acutis in the first eight months of 2025, according to the Diocese of Assisi. The diocese reported that over 121,000 of those visitors came in August alone, boosted by the Jubilee of Youth and the young saint’s canonization by Pope Leo XIV on September 7 in St. Peter’s Square, according to Catholic News Agency.
On the day of the canonization, locals filled the Church of St. Mary Major in Assisi, where St. Carlo’s body is entombed, to watch a livestream of the Mass. Meanwhile, a special diocesan train carried more than 800 pilgrims from Umbria to Rome to join tens of thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the historic celebration, according to Catholic News Agency.
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St. Carlo’s brother, Michele, read a Scripture passage in English at the Mass, while Valeria Vargas Valverde, the Costa Rican woman healed through Carlo’s intercession in 2022, proclaimed one of the prayers of the faithful (Catholic News Agency).
The following day, Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi offered a Mass of Thanksgiving at the tomb, with St. Carlo’s parents, Antonia and Andrea, present among hundreds of pilgrims. “We are all called to be saints, but each in his or her own way,” Sorrentino said in his homily. “The path that was laid out by him is extremely simple and straightforward. It is the path of welcoming all of God’s gifts” (Catholic News Agency).
Celebrations in Assisi included the September 5 unveiling of a new bronze statue by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. The 11.5-foot sculpture, titled St. Carlo at the Cross, portrays the teenage saint holding a laptop displaying a chalice and paten — a reminder of his deep Eucharistic devotion and creative use of technology for evangelization (Catholic News Agency).
Archbishop Sorrentino reflected on the connection between Mary and the Eucharist in St. Carlo’s spirituality, noting that for him, “Mary and the Eucharist were a single, inseparable love. He saw Jesus with Mary’s eyes, and he loved Mary with Jesus’ heart” (Catholic News Agency).
Pilgrimage activity is expected to remain high, as several Vatican cardinals are scheduled to travel to Assisi to celebrate additional Masses of thanksgiving. Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik will preside on September 28 at the Basilica of St. Francis, followed by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro on October 5 at Santa Maria degli Angeli. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, will celebrate the feast of St. Carlo Acutis on October 12 (Catholic News Agency).
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