Patron Saint Of The Internet? Millennial’s Relic Touring New York Is One Miracle Short

The relic of Carlo Acutis. Photo by Wes Parnell.

NEW YORK — Seven strains of hair, encased in gold, traveled 4,000 miles from Rome to Brooklyn — and indeed, they are holy according to the Roman Catholic Church. 

The relic belongs to the first millennial considered for sainthood and was requested by the Diocese of Brooklyn to help reach the younger generation — a group the Catholic Church says has moved to the “peripherals” of the ancient institution. The relic will be displayed on a tour starting Oct. 1.

The church placed Carlo Acutis, a computer genius, on the path to sainthood after he coded a website that cataloged miracles and sightings of the Virgin Mary. 

“Here we have a 15-year-old boy who did all the normal things a 15-year-old did: played games on the computer — at one point even made his own video game on the computer — played soccer, wore Nike’s and achieved holiness,” the Rev. Monsignor Thomas Machalski — priest at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Bayside, Queens — told ReligionUnplugged.com.

Acutis died from fulminant leukemia on Oct. 12, 2006, at age 15. The church hopes that the relic will inspire younger generations to faith. 

“We need to take this relic of Carlo Acutis, jogging suit and Nike sneakers and bring it out to the young and hopefully it influences some of their thought,” said Monsignor David Cassato, speaking to ReligionUnplugged.com in the back of a shrine in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

“Carlo Acutis was on the internet overtime — what are you doing all day? I don’t know what you are looking for, but you are on the internet. … Take Williamsburg for example: Everyone is on their phone, but how many of the youth know about religion?”

The relic will make its way around every Catholic school and educational program in the diocese, which includes both Brooklyn and Queens. The tour is expected to last a year, according to Cassato, Vicar of Catholic schools for the Brooklyn Diocese.  

“It’s so different — we think of saints and these monks and these nuns, and we think of the highest people, and this is a young 15-year-old kid,” Cassato said. “He made an impact in the lives of people.”

Acutis developed an affinity for the church at a young age. He dragged his parents to Mass at their parish in Milan, rekindling his mother’s faith. He was known to befriend disabled students and stand up to menacing bullies. 

His short tenure on earth was accentuated by the mundane and the extraordinary. He surfed the web and obsessed over the Virgin Mary. 

“Millennials are an internet/social media generation, and to have someone like blessed Carlo, who was all those things — it’s a good tool in evangelization,” said Machalski, speaking of the relic. “Millennials are considered somewhat on the periphery of the church, and we need to reach out to them.”

Only 17% of Catholic adults are under the age of 30 in the U.S., compared to 22% of all adults, 35% of the nonreligious and 44% of Muslims, according to Pew. 

The relic arrived in Brooklyn on July 14 and will begin its tour Oct. 1 at the Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Queens. On Oct. 7, the relic will move to Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in Bayside, Queens where Bishop DiMarzio will lead a Rosary Rally the same day with the church academy’s students and invited students from other schools.

The relic will then be permanently housed at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Bayside. Machalski is awaiting a modern reliquary — a shrine meant to keep a sacred relic — to house the hair. 

“Some of the old reliquaries can be so ornate, and that just didn’t feel right for this,” Machalski said. “We went with something simple, more modern.” 

Machalski ordered the reliquary from Poland, one of the last places on earth where craftsmen still specialize in the ancient art of housing holy artifacts. 

Machalski said Acutis’ faith was so deep that most adults can’t comprehend it, even those in cassock, a Christian clerical clothing coat: 

“The depth of his faith as a 15-year-old can put me to shame. His love for the Eucharist and the blessed mother is just incredible. He said the rosary is the shortest stairway to lead us to heaven — just incredible for a 15-year-old.” 

Photo by Wes Parnell.

To be a saint, the relics of an individual must perform at least two miracles. Specifically, the spirit of a saint must intercede at least twice in the lives of everyday humans. 

The church beautified Acutis in October 2020, when Pope Francis confirmed a child in Brazil was healed of a liver disease after he touched Acutis’ shirt. A shirt is considered a second-degree relic, something that belonged to a saint. Hair is a first-degree relic, part of a saint’s body, and is deemed holier.   

Hopes in the Brooklyn Diocese are that the next miracle will take place in Brooklyn, confirming Acutis — Nike sneakers included — as the “patron saint of the internet.”

“I really believe the next person to make him a saint will live in Brooklyn,” Cassato said. “This is his hair — that is very intimate with a person. (Acutis) is reaching out to the young on those levels. The church today needs millennials back.” 

Wes Parnell is a metro reporter and photographer at the New York Daily News. He can be found on Twitter @ParnellWesley.