St Carlo Acutis

 St Carlo Acutis, Disciple of the Eucharist

 

Early life 

Carlo Acutis, was born May 3, 1991, in London, where his parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, were working, and the family moved to Milan a few months later.

Though his parents were not fervent Catholics, Carlo asked to receive First Communion early, at seven, and from then on attended Mass daily. His mother wasn't religious and said she had been to Mass only for her First Communion, her confirmation, and her wedding but young Carlo's unique and unexplained devotion led to her deep conversion. The priest promoting his cause for sainthood noted that Carlo “managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day. It was not the other way around; it was not his parents bringing the little boy to Mass, but it was he who managed to get himself to Mass and to convince others to receive Communion daily.”

 

Carlo had a great devotion to Mary and loved to pray the rosary, saying, "The Virgin Mary is the only woman in my life". He went to Mass and confession as often as he could, saying, "Our soul is like a hot air balloon. If by chance there is a mortal sin, the soul falls to the ground. Confession is like the fire underneath the balloon enable the soul to rise again."

The Italian teenager was a self-taught programmer who was known for his devotion to the Eucharist saying "To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan. By standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we become holy. When we face the sun we get a tan but when we stand before Jesus in the Eucharist we become saints". 

In 2005, he built a website cataloguing more than 130 approved Eucharistic miracles. He also catalogued Marian apparitions, taught catechism, and quietly helped classmates, the poor and the homeless of Milan.

Carlo was concerned by people growing distant to the Church and the sacraments and desperately wanted to bring them back. On the site, he told people that "the more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven."

He was also a typical teenager who loved football and video games, defended disabled classmates from bullies, and volunteered at homeless shelters.

 

Untimely death and sainthood 

He was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia in early October 2006. Few treatments existed for him, and after offering his sufferings for God, Pope Benedict XVI, and the Church, he died on October 12th, 2006, at age 15 and was buried in Assisi, and at his request he was buried in the Santuario della Spogliazione in Assisi because of his love for St. Francis of Assisi. 

His cause for canonization began in 2013 and he was designated “Venerable” in 2018, and Blessed on October 10, 2020. In 2024 Pope Francis announced that Blessed Carlo would be canonised after a second miracle was attributed to his intercession.

A healing in Brazil of a boy with a pancreatic malformation led to his beatification, and the recovery of a Costa Rican student after a bicycle accident to his canonization in 2025. Both these incidences are considered miracles through Blessed Carlo Acutis’s intercession. An estimated 80,000 people in St. Peter’s Square, many of them millennials and couples with young children.

Pope Francis on the lessons of the life of St Carlo Acutis

Note: While researching about St Carlo Acutis, I came across this eloquent appeal by Pope Francis to youth while discussing the virtuous life of Carlo and drawing on Scripture to highlight God's fondness for youth - relevant even to this day and age. 
 

In the Old Testament

As far back as 4000 years ago, in an age when young people were not highly regarded, there are many Old Testament texts that show God sees youth as special individuals. 

 

Joseph, for example, was one of the youngest of the 12 children of Jacob (cf. Gen 37:2-3), yet God showed him great things in dreams and when about 30 years old he outshone all his brothers in important affairs as the most trusted member of Pharaoh providing food to the Israelites at a time of severe famine (cf. Gen 37-47). 
 

The prophet Samuel was selected by God while still a young boy. Thanks to the advice of Eli, a trusted adult, he opened his heart to hear God’s call: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:9-10). As a result, Samuel became a great prophet who intervened at critical moments in the history of Israel anointing King Saul (1 Samuel 10:1) and King David (1 Samuel 16:13).

King David himself was chosen by God while still a scrappy shepherd boy. God instructed the prophet Samuel to anoint the future king of Israel from among the seven sons of Jesse of Bethlehem - the man offered as candidates only his older and more experienced sons. Yet the prophet asked for see young David who was out in the field tending sheep in the flock (cf. 1 Sam 16:6-13), for “man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (v. 7). The glory of youth is in the heart, more than in physical strength or the impression given to others.

Young King Solomon too, when he had to succeed his father King David, felt unprepared and told God: “I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act” (1 Kg 3:7). Yet the audacity of youth moved him to ask God for wisdom not riches or glory so that he would rule over his people in fairness. The wisdom with which he ruled became the stuff of legends.

Something similar happened to the prophet Jeremiah, called by God despite his youth to rouse his people. In his fear, he said: “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth” (Jer 1:6). But the Lord told him: “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you” (Jer 1:8). The devotion of the prophet Jeremiah to his mission shows what amazing things can happen when the brashness of youth is joined to the power of God.

A young Jewish slave girl in the house of Naaman, the powerful commander of the Syrian army intervened with faith and told him to visit the Prophet Elisha who helped cure him of his leprosy (cf. 2 Kg 5:2-6). 

In the New Testament

The Gospel according to Mark says, "And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. [Mk 10:13-16]

One of Jesus’ most famous parables, the Prodigal Son, (cf. Lk 15:11-32) relates to a “younger” son who collected his inheritance and leaving his father’s home traveled for a distant land (cf. vv. 12-13). Yet in the brashness of his youthful foolishness he squandered everything in life of sin and excess (cf. v. 13). Finally experiencing the bitterness of loneliness and poverty (cf. vv. 14-16), he found the strength to return to his father and ask for forgiveness in order to make a new start (cf. vv. 17-20). Young hearts are naturally ready to change, to turn back, get up and learn from their mistakes in life.

Saint Paul invites us to strip ourselves of the “old self” and to put on a “young” self (Col 3:9-10).[1] In explaining what it means to put on that youthfulness “which is being renewed” (v. 10), he mentions “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other if anyone has a complaint against another” (Col 3:12-13). 

Let us also keep in mind that Jesus had no use for adults who looked down on the young with disdain or lorded it over them. On the contrary, he insisted that “the greatest among you must become like the youngest” (Lk 22:26). For him age did not establish privileges, and being young did not imply lesser worth or dignity.

The Gospel of Matthew relates the Parable of the Ten Virgins - a group of five wise young women, who were waiting with oil in their lamps, ready for the big moment, while five foolish ones were distracted and slumbering - and were caught unprepared (cf. Mt 25:1-13). We can, in fact, spend our youth being distracted, skimming the surface of life, half-asleep, incapable of cultivating meaningful relationships or experiencing the deeper things in life. In this way, we can build up a paltry and unsubstantial future. Or we can spend our youth aspiring to beautiful and great things, and thus store up a future full of meaning and interior richness. 

 

In conclusion, Pope Francis says, 'If you have lost your inner vitality, your dreams, your enthusiasm, your optimism and your generosity, Jesus stands before you as once he stood before the dead son of the widow, and with all the power of his resurrection he urges you: “Young man, I say to you, arise!”' (Lk 7:14).

Let's end with a prayer to Saint Carlo Acutis

Saint Carlo, young friend of Jesus,
you found in the Eucharist your highway to Heaven
and showed that holiness belongs to ordinary days.

Pray for me, that I may love Christ in the Blessed Sacrament
and long to be close to Him each day.
Help me to use my time, my talents, and the tools of this age
for goodness, truth, and the good of others.

When I am distracted, draw my heart back to Jesus.
When I am tempted to look only at myself,
teach me to look to God and find joy.
Give me a heart for the poor, the lonely, and those who are bullied or left out.

Pray for the young, that they may know they are loved,
and for all of us, that we may live as the original persons God made us to be.

Saint Carlo Acutis, pray for us.
Amen.

References

1. “Christus vivit”: Post-Synodal Exhortation to Young People and to the entire People of God (25 March 2019). (n.d.). https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20190325_christus-vivit.html
2. About Blessed Carlo Acutis. (2023, August 25). Intercede - Catholic Novenas. https://catholicnovenaapp.com/saints/about-blessed-carlo-acutis/
3. Acutis, C. (1991). Carlo Acutis, disciple of the Eucharist. https://rcsj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CA_Banner-4.pdf