A relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a fragment of his pericardium, visits the U.S. at Holy Family Parish in Queens, New York, on April 6, 2022. / Credit: Photo courtesy DeSales Media
Vatican City, Mar 27, 2025 / 16:25 pm (CNA).
ItalianprosecutorsareinvestigatingtheillegalonlinesaleofallegedrelicsofBlessedCarloAcutis,whowillbedeclaredthefirstmillennialsaintnextmonth.
TheinvestigationbythePerugiaPublicProsecutor’sOfficewaspromptedbyacomplaintbythebishopofAssisi,thecitywhereAcutis’tombislocatedforpublicveneration.
“Ontheinternet,thereisamarketplaceforrelicsconcerningvarioussaints,suchasourSt.Francis,completewithapricelist.Somethingimpossibletoaccept,”BishopDomenicoSorrentinoofAssisi-NoceraUmbra-GualdoTadinosaidinastatementonMarch26.
SorrentinofiledaformalcomplaintwithItalianauthoritiesafterlearningofaninternetauctionofanallegedfirst-classrelicofAcutis’hair,whichsoldonlinefor2,000eurosbyananonymoususer.
“Wedonotknowwhethertherelicsarerealorfake,”thebishopsaid.“Butifitwerealsoallfabricated,iftherewasdeception,wewoul
