WATCH: SAINT CARLO ACUTIS’ SPECIAL VISIT TO SAINT MARTHA SCHOOL, OKEMOS: Newly canonized Saint Carlo Acutis paid a special visit to the children of Saint Martha School in Okemos this week as a relic of young Italian was taken on pilgrimage around classrooms by parish pastor, Father Ryan Riley.

“Carlo was ordinary. He was ordinary in the sense that he was a normal kid,” said Father Riley, September 8, “He loved doing what kids do but, at the same time, however, he had extraordinary faith.”

The relic tour at Saint Martha came only a day after Saint Carlo was canonized in Rome by Pope Leo XIV. The young Italian died from leukemia at age 15 in 2006. During his brief life he was known as a computer whiz who used his tech skills to promote devotion to the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“Carlo loved the Eucharist. He had a particular devotion to Eucharistic miracles,” explained Father Riley, “He loved Jesus. He loved the Blessed Mother. He had these amazing devotions. And because of that, he was able to love his peers, his friends, his family, in a different way, and in an inexplicable way, was able to love them with the love of Jesus.”

The first-class relic was procured for Saint Martha by a pious parishioner and with the assistance of the curia of the Diocese of Lansing. Set within a gold reliquary, the relic itself consists of two strands of Saint Carlo’s hair woven into the shape of a cross.

“It was really crazy,” said 8th grade student, Collette Ingram, “because it was like having a part of a saint in our classroom, and he leads us by example every day. So, it was just nice to have a piece of him here with us.”

The school’s devotion to Saint Carlo Acutis is due, in large measure, to the influence of technology teacher, Wendy Muttazzi. Wendy used to live in Carlo’s hometown of Milan. Inspired by the example of someone pursuing holiness through technology, Wendy introduced the cult of then-Blessed Carlo Acutis to the students of Saint Martha upon joining the school staff five years ago.

“Every day I try to find a new story [about Saint Carlo] that we haven’t talked about or that we haven’t told, or an interview that we haven’t seen – the students just they can’t get enough,” said Wendy, “every day we try to talk about him and say a prayer for his intercession.”

Saint Carlo Acutis, pray for us!