Mrs. Antonia Acutis Visits Malvern

October 11, 2023

Sunday October 1, 2023 was a beautiful and momentous day at Malvern Retreat House. Mrs. Acutis’ visit officially opened Malvern’s new Blessed Carlo Acutis Shrine and Center for Eucharistic Encounter. Almost 1,000 people gathered at Malvern for a series of events which included Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a Eucharistic procession, Mass and Benediction. Mrs. Acutis also spoke to the crowd about her son’s life. She described Carlo by saying, he “did everything thinking of God. Carlo and the saints show us that this is possible.”

Mrs. Acutis shared that her son, born in 1991, received his First Holy Communion at age seven. From that time, he received Holy Communion daily. He was truly gifted, having an extraordinary memory, noted Mrs. Acutis. “He committed the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to memory.”

Carlo used to say that it must have been difficult to be alive during Jesus’ time. People would have had to travel great distances to try and see Him. But Carlo observed that today, we have Christ with us every day in the Eucharist. Blessed Carlo’s love for the Eucharist inspired him to create a website dedicated to Eucharistic Miracles.

“We were blessed to have Mrs. Acutis join us,” noted Michael Norton, President of Malvern Retreat House. “It was an amazing and inspirational day.”

Malvern Retreat House’s Blessed Carol Acutis Shrine and Center for Eucharistic Encounter was created through the inspiration of Malvern Retreat House Board Member, Mary Bea Damico and frequent Retreat Director Fr. James Blount, SOLT. In August, Fr. Blount gave a special blessing and celebrated at Youth Mass at the shrine. It was just a few years earlier when Fr. Blount had a vision of Blessed Carlo while in St. Joseph’s Hall Chapel at Malvern Retreat House.

The Blessed Carlo Acutis Shrine and Center for Eucharistic Miracles is in the Lower McShain building on Malvern’s campus.  It includes beautiful, museum-quality displays detailing the life of Blessed Carlo as well as the history of Eucharistic miracles throughout the world.  Dates and hours for the public to visit the shrine will be announced in the coming weeks.  To schedule a private visit or tour, please call Malvern Retreat House to make arrangements. 

Mrs. Acutis, author of My Son Carlo, has been on an extensive tour, meeting with faithful Catholics to talk about her son’s extraordinary life. According to OSV News, “Among the stops on the tour were Immaculate Conception Church in Tuckahoe, New York; the Marian Shrine of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Stony Point, New York; St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in New York; the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Eucharistic Congress, St. Martin of Tours Parish in Philadelphia, Malvern Retreat House, Malvern PA, St. Dominic Parish in Brick Township, New Jersey, The Catholic University of America and the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, both in Washington; and Christ Central Camp in Beaumont, Texas.”