A Diocesan Mass for Leaving and Junior Certificate students will take place on Monday, 1st June 2026 at 7.30 p.m. in St. Canice’s Church. Bishop Ger Nash will celebrate mass for Leaving and Junior Cert’students, their parents/guardians, grandparents, teachers, school staff, and families. Everyone is invited and welcome to the Mass.
The Mass is organised by the Diocesan Youth Ministry Team, who invite priests, religious, and people to come and pray with and for all who are preparing for their state exams.
The First Class relic of Saint Carlo Acutis will be present at this Mass for blessing.
Saint Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991 – 11 October 2006) was an Italian Catholic teenager known for his deep devotion to the Eucharist and his pioneering use of digital media to share the faith. Born in London and raised in Milan, Carlo had an early passion for technology, teaching himself programming and web design. He used these talents to assist his parish and school, as well as to create a now-famous online catalogue of Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions.
Active in parish life, Carlo served as a catechist and inspired many people to a deeper relationship with Christ. In 2006, he was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia and died at just fifteen years old.
Following his death, devotion to Carlo spread rapidly. His exhibitions on Eucharistic miracles have travelled worldwide, and pilgrims continue to visit his resting place in Assisi.
In 2020, Carlo was beatified after a miracle in Brazil was attributed to his intercession. A second miracle in Italy was confirmed in 2024, and on 7 September 2025, Pope Francis canonised Carlo Acutis as a saint, together with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Often called the “patron saint of the Internet”, “God’s Influencer”, and the “first millennial saint”, Carlo’s life continues to inspire young people and families around the world.
The faithful and the wider community are warmly invited to attend this special Mass at St. Canice’s Catholic Church and venerate the relic of Saint Carlo Acutis.
St. Canice’s Parish Priest Fr. Willie Purcell commented: ‘St. Carlo Acutis was a young man who struggled like all young people, but found hope in knowing God; he too had to sit exams, so he knows the stresses of doing so. He is the patron saint of young people and a powerful intercessor for all their needs.’ Everyone is invited to the Mass.
