Visiting Carlo Acutis in Assisi

Who was Carlo Acutis?

An Italian teenager, born in London in 1991, who died in 2006 and became the first millennial saint in 2025.

Carlo was born in London on 3 May 1991 and grew up in Milan, with long stays in Assisi. He is remembered for his devotion to daily Mass and for building a website that catalogued Eucharistic miracles. He fell ill with acute leukaemia and died on 12 October 2006, at 15. He had asked to be buried in Assisi.

His body was moved to Assisi on 6 April 2019. He was beatified on 10 October 2020 in the Basilica of St Francis and canonized by Pope Leo XIV in St Peter's Square on 7 September 2025, according to the sanctuary's biography. The canonization had first been set for 27 April 2025 and was postponed after Pope Francis died on 21 April (AP report). His feast is kept on 12 October.

Where is Carlo Acutis buried in Assisi?

In Santa Maria Maggiore, the Sanctuary of the Spoliation, on Piazza del Vescovado in the old town.

The church is Assisi's oldest cathedral, built over the Roman house traditionally linked to the poet Propertius. It lost its cathedral status to San Rufino in 1035 and was rebuilt in 1163, the date carved by its rose window (sanctuary history notes). The bishop's palace next door is where the young Francis stripped off his clothes in front of his father and the bishop and gave up his inheritance: the spogliazione, or spoliation, that gives the sanctuary its name. The diocese opened the sanctuary on 20 May 2017 (Avvenire).

Finding it is easy. From Piazza Santa Chiara it is a five-minute walk along the lanes; from Piazza del Comune, about the same downhill. Look for the plain Romanesque facade and, most days, a line of pilgrims on the small square. Bus and car visitors usually arrive through Porta Nuova or the Mojano escalators near Santa Chiara.

What are the opening hours of the Carlo Acutis tomb?

Daily, roughly 07:00 to 19:00 in summer and 08:00 to 19:00 in winter, with a two-hour break in visits on Sunday mornings.

The sanctuary publishes its own timetable, and it is longer than the figures many travel sites still quote:

Is entry free, and do you need to book?

Free, no ticket, no booking for individuals. Groups book Masses and talks through the sanctuary.

You walk in. There is no ticket desk and no timed entry for individual visitors. Groups can reserve a Mass, a catechesis talk or prayers through the sanctuary booking page, which parish groups and pilgrim tours use.

The Sunday rule matters if your day trip falls on a weekend: from 10:30 to 12:30 the sanctuary suspends visits to the church and the tomb. If you want to attend the 11:00 Mass you must be inside by 10:30, and nobody files past the tomb while it is on. English speakers can come to the 16:00 Sunday Mass in English.

The sanctuary also runs short guided visits of the Roman house and crypt under the church from 12:30 to 13:30, except during celebrations.

What do you see at the tomb of Carlo Acutis?

His body in a glass tomb, dressed in jeans, a track jacket and Nike trainers, with a reconstructed face.

The tomb stands in a side chapel. Through the glass you see Carlo lying as a teenager would dress: jeans, a track jacket and Nike sneakers. Pilgrims file past slowly, many stop to pray in the pews nearby, and the queue moves on.

The body is not incorrupt, a point that confuses many visitors. When the tomb opened in 2020 the bishop of Assisi said the remains had gone through the normal process of decay, and the diocese explained that his face and hands were reconstructed in silicone so the body could be shown “with dignity” (EWTN News).

Treat it like the crypt of St Francis: shoulders and knees covered, voices down, and phones away while people pray.

How long is the queue for the Carlo Acutis tomb?

Short on winter weekdays, long in summer, at weekends and around his feast on 12 October.

The numbers explain the line. The Diocese of Assisi counted more than 620,000 visitors to the tomb in the first eight months of 2025, with over 121,000 in August alone, the month before the canonization (Catholic World Report). In 2026 the Franciscan Jubilee and the 800th anniversary of Francis's death push Assisi above its usual five million visitors a year (Infovaticana).

To keep the wait short, come at opening (07:00 on most summer days, 08:00 in winter) or after 17:00 on a weekday, before the 18:00 Mass. Avoid Sunday late morning, when visits stop, and the days around 12 October.

Which Assisi tours include the Carlo Acutis tomb?

The Rome coach day lists it; the Florence coach gives free time for it; private walks add it on request. The small-group walk does not.

• Assisi and Orvieto from Rome: about 20 minutes at Santa Maria Maggiore is on the itinerary, between Santa Chiara and the basilica. One June 2026 guest wrote: “we got to see Carlos which was the highlight”.
• Assisi and Perugia from Florence: free time for Santa Chiara and the Acutis tomb. A May 2026 reviewer still reported that they “walked right by the church where San Carlos Acutis was”, so tell the guide early.
• Private Assisi walk: not on the listed route, but guides add it. A family of six had “the opportunity to visit the tomb of Carlo Acutis”.
• Private basilica and city walk: one reviewer wrote it does not include the tomb; another said the guide was “flexible in our tour as we wanted to see Saint Carlos Acutis”. Ask at booking.
• Small-group walk: not included, and guests say so. Walk there afterwards, it takes 15 minutes from the basilica.

The walking tours comparison covers the rest of each route.

Your own guide for Santa Chiara, the old town and the basilica, with time for Carlo Acutis if you ask. One price for up to 15 people.

★ 5.0 · 2 hours 30 min · from $263

Explore the private Assisi walk → Tour details

How do you fit the tomb into an Assisi walk, and what happened for the 2026 anniversary?

Put it between Santa Chiara and Piazza del Comune; the 20th anniversary of his death was marked from 9 to 12 October 2026.

The easy route: Santa Chiara, five minutes to Santa Maria Maggiore, up to Piazza del Comune, then down Via San Francesco to the basilica. If you book the small-group walk, which ends inside the basilica, walk back up to the sanctuary afterwards. The one-day itinerary times the whole day.

For the 20th anniversary of his death the sanctuary held celebrations from 9 to 12 October 2026. On 11 October Cardinal Tagle spoke to young people, and on 12 October, his feast, the bishop of Assisi celebrated in the sanctuary (sanctuary news). On 21 October the sanctuary joined the diocese for the “Spirit of Assisi” meeting marking 40 years of interfaith prayer. Expect the next big crowds on 12 October 2027 and through the Franciscan Jubilee, which runs to 10 January 2027.

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