Is the body of Blessed Carlo Acutis incorrupt?

When searching the internet for images of soon-to-be “Saint” Carlo Acutis' tomb, it may appear at first glance that the holy teenagers’s body is incorrupt.

Past news reports are also confusing, as some Italian news articles from 2020 claimed that his body was incorrupt.

However, the official word is that his body is "not incorrupt."

Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi said at the Mass at the opening of the tomb on October 1, 2020, that, "Today we … see him again in his mortal body. A body that has passed, in the years of burial in Assisi, through the normal process of decay."

As stated in a previous article on Aleteia, Fr. Carlos Acácio Gonçalves Ferreira, the rector of the shrine where Carlo’s tomb is, said that his body was discovered “fully integral,” though not intact.

While his body appears to be incorrupt through the viewing glass, it is covered with a wax layer that is molded to look like his body prior to burial. This is not uncommon for the presentation of saints’ bodies.

The remains of saints in Europe, especially in Italy, are often encased in a wax layer, so that they can be presented in a glass reliquary and pilgrims can see the saint as they were when they died.

Some other examples of wax-encased saints are St. Julian Eymard and St. John XXIII. While parts of their bodies were well-preserved after death, wax masks were put on them so that their bodies could be displayed in public through a glass coffin.

This can lead to confusion among those not familiar with the tradition of encasing a saint’s body in wax. Pilgrims can easily be led to believe that a saint is incorrupt, when all they are seeing is wax.

Even though his body is not incorrupt, the holiness of Blessed Carlo's life remains a powerful example for all people, especially teenagers.

Read here to understand what an "incorrupt body" is in relation to the saints.