A small cloth relic associated with Carlo Acutis, the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint, was reported stolen from a parish in western Venezuela, parish and youth group officials said Friday.
The disappearance of the circular piece of cloth, kept in a glass reliquary at the Santo Domingo de Guzmán parish in Cardenal Quintero municipality in Mérida state, was reported on Sept. 9, according to Adrián García, coordinator of the San Carlo Acutis Youth Group. "So far, there’s no information; it’s still missing," García said. "We have faith in God that it will appear. It has great spiritual value."
The relic went missing two days after Pope Leo XIV declared Acutis a saint on Sept. 7 during an open-air Mass at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Police in Mérida state and parish officials said an investigation into the disappearance is under way, but provided no immediate information on suspects or motives.
Church officials identified the item as a third-degree relic, a category that typically includes objects that have touched a saint. Relics of Acutis have been distributed to churches and groups in several countries since he was declared "blessed" in 2020, and the San Carlo Acutis Youth Group had requested the item following his beatification, García said.
The Catholic Church has previously criticized the selling of relics online, and diocesan authorities have warned against illicit trade in sacred items. Parish leaders in Mérida did not provide additional comment beyond confirming the report and the ongoing police inquiry.
Carlo Acutis, a British-born Italian who died of leukemia in 2006 at age 15, gained attention for his use of technology to promote Catholic devotion and for a multilingual website that documented reported Eucharistic miracles. Born May 3, 1991, in London, his family moved back to Milan, where he grew up. Supporters have dubbed him "God’s Influencer" and see him as a model for younger Catholics.
Acutis was declared venerable in 2018. He was beatified in 2020 after the Vatican said a healing of a child in Brazil from a pancreatic condition was "scientifically inexplicable" and attributed to Acutis' intercession. His canonization was attended by tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square and followed a process that traced his reputation for holiness among young Catholics.
Relics are frequently loaned or sent to parishes, shrines and devotional groups worldwide to enable veneration by the faithful. Officials at the Santo Domingo de Guzmán parish said the missing relic held particular sentimental and spiritual importance for the local youth group and parishioners.
As authorities continue their inquiry in Mérida, the youth group and parish leaders appealed for information from anyone who might have seen or received the relic. No arrests have been announced, and police did not release further operational details.
The theft adds to concerns within some Catholic communities about the security and protection of relics, especially items associated with recently canonized figures whose veneration can prompt heightened public interest. Church officials have urged faithful custodians of relics to follow diocesan guidelines for safekeeping and to report losses promptly to civil authorities.
The investigation in Mérida remains active, and parish officials said they would provide updates should new information become available.