Donegal school becomes first in Ireland to be named for St. Carlo Acutis
Gort a' Choirce National School in County Donegal has been renamed Scoil Naomh Carlo Acutis, with Bishop Niall Coll of Raphoe presiding at a ceremony that included Mass and the veneration of relics brought from Assisi
A primary school in County Donegal, in Ireland's northwest, has become the first in the country to be named after St. Carlo Acutis. The school, formerly Gort a' Choirce National School, is now Scoil Naomh Carlo Acutis.
The principal, Patricia Uí hArlaigh, announced the change. She said the parish community had been praying for a decade for the canonization of Carlo Acutis, and that she was proud to have his name in the school's title.
Bishop Niall Coll of Raphoe presided at the renaming ceremony, together with Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo of the parish of St. Carlo in Assisi. The ceremony included Mass, and parishioners were able to venerate relics of Carlo Acutis brought from Assisi, where he is buried. Among them was a fragment of the pericardium, the membrane around the saint's heart.
Christian heritage and handing on the faith
Coll spoke of the region's Christian heritage, which he said goes back 1,500 years and 50 generations. He also referred to the difficulties of handing on the faith in Ireland over recent generations.
"Don't let anyone convince you that God doesn't matter. When you send your children and grandchildren to Scoil Naomh Carlo Acutis, remember that they have a patron for the modern generation," the bishop said.
Carlo Acutis, "God's influencer"
Figueiredo described Carlo Acutis as "a genius with a computer, the first saint with an email address and a normal boy who loved Nutella." He said the relics are brought because "he is no different from you."
Everyone is born an original, Figueiredo said, yet people often want to be copies. "Carlo made the decision to follow Jesus at the age of seven and brought his parents back to Mass. You can be originals in a world where God is canceled," he added.
A short life devoted to Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions
Carlo Acutis, known for his devotion to Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions, was born in London in 1991 and moved to Italy at three months old. In his short life he designed a website cataloging Eucharistic and Marian phenomena, which earned him the nickname "God's influencer." He died in Monza, Italy, in 2006 at the age of 15 after developing incurable leukemia. Pope Leo XIV canonized him on September 7, 2025.
