The upcoming celebration of World Youth Day 2027 just got more exciting, as it has been confirmed that Blessed Carlo Acutis will join in the festivities. The Archdiocese of Seoul has been gifted 16 hairs from Bl. Carol Acutis, complete with certificates of authenticity confirming that they are first-class relics.
The archdiocese made an announcement in a press release, in which it expressed its delight to have acquired the relics. Blessed Carlo Acutis will be canonized in 2025, making him the first millennial saint. This means by the time World Youth Day comes around, in 2027, the young people who make their pilgrimage to South Korea will be able to venerate first-class relics of St. Carlo Acutis.
A ceremony marking the delivery of the relics was attended by some of the highest Catholic leadership in South Korea, including: Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung; Fr. Dominic Young-jin Jung, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Seoul; Fr. Matteo Kwang-hee Choi, Spokesperson for the Archdiocese; and Fr. Peter Joo-yul Yang, Executive Secretary of the Local Organizing Committee for WYD Seoul 2027. The group was rounded out by the presence of six young adult Catholics who are helping organize WYD.
In its press release, the archdiocese noted that the presence of Bl. Carlo Acutis’ relics has made WYD organizers all the more eager for 2027 to arrive. They wrote that they consider the arrival of these relics to symbolically position Bl. Carlo Acutis as the “inaugural youth to visit Korea in spirit.”
Reiterating the archdiocese’s commitment to engaging the youth in celebrations of faith, the archdiocese has stated that the relics will be distributed among the South Korean dioceses during the 2025 Year of Jubilee, where they will be available for veneration throughout the year.
The Archdiocese of Seoul eagerly anticipates sharing the enduring message of Blessed Carlo Acutis as it prepares for the forthcoming WYD celebration, ensuring that his journey of faith resonates profoundly with the youth of Korea and beyond.
