(ZENIT News / Assisi, 08.27.2025).- With less than a month to go before the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the sculpture St. Carlo at the Cross was unveiled in Assisi. The bronze artwork, created by renowned Canadian artist Timothy Paul Schmalz, shows him kneeling at the foot of the Cross. It is located in the garden of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, within the Sanctuary of the Renunciation complex.
Created by the artist behind iconic works such as Homeless Jesus and Angels Unawares, this is the first sculpture to pay tribute to the millennial saint-to-be. St. Carlo at the Cross, a work by sculptor Timothy Schmalz, is inspired by one of his own paintings, which is currently on display at the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
Known as the “Influencer of God,” Acutis used the internet to spread devotion to the Eucharist, documenting Eucharistic miracles from around the world and showing how faith can be integrated with technology. In the sculpture, Carlo holds a laptop computer, its screen displaying a chalice and paten—symbolizing how he brought the Holy Eucharist to the world through digital means. A sling also hangs from the side of his backpack, which artist Schmalz interprets as “a reference to David before Goliath: a young man confronting today’s secular culture with the tools of the digital world, drawing his strength from the pillar of the Cross.”
St. Carlo at the Cross is a gift from the Canadian artist to the city. Reflecting on his work, Schmalz said, “As we add new figures to the army of Catholic saints, we also add new works of art; both enrich our heritage and deepen our understanding of the faith.”
Blessing Ceremony on the Solemnity of the Assumption
In a simple ceremony on the Solemnity of the Assumption, Bishop Domenico Sorrentino of the dioceses of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino and Foligno, together with Father Marco Gaballo, rector of the Sanctuary, unveiled the work and prayed the Rosary. The bishop invited everyone “to pray and to welcome with joy the great miracle of faith and devotion.” The ceremony concluded with a community gathering organized by the Italian Capuchin Friars, who oversee and care for the Sanctuary.
The canonization of Carlo Acutis, known as “the saint of the millennials,” is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 7, in Rome and will be presided over by Pope Leo XIV. The event, which will mark a significant moment of the Jubilee, is also expected to have a major impact on Assisi, where the young blessed’s remains rest and where preparations are already underway to welcome an extraordinary influx of pilgrims before and after the ceremony.
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