Carlo Acutis
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June 8, 2024Carlo Acutis was born May 3, 1991, in London though his family moved to Milan shortly after. From a young age, Carlo seemed to have a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t especially devout. 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.” What an inspiration for a child to model faith witness to a family!
He had a gift for empathy and was known for defending kids at school who got picked on, especially disabled kids. Carlo loved soccer and video games. He tried to stay disciplined and only played games for an hour a week even though he really wanted to play much more. He also bought computer programming books and taught himself computer coding and animation. He had a great devotion to Mary and loved to pray the rosary.
He went to Mass and confession as often as he could. He loved the Eucharist and was fascinated by Eucharistic miracles. He asked his parents to take him on pilgrimages - to the places of the saints, and to the sites of Eucharistic miracles. Using his research, he began creating what would eventually become a website to catalog and share the information with others. 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."
At age 15, Carlo was diagnosed with an untreatable leukemia. He offered up his suffering for others coping with illness and said, “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.” Carlo died from his illness on October 12, 2006. At his request he was buried in Assisi because of his love for St. Francis. His tomb has been opened and his intact body lies in repose in a glass tomb where he can be venerated by pilgrims. He is displayed in jeans and a pair of Nikes, the casual clothes he preferred in life. The rector for the Sanctuary of Spoliation in Assisi, where Acutis’ tomb is located, called him a witness that holiness is attainable for teenagers. “For the first time in history we will see a saint dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a sweater,” the rector said. “This is a great message for us, we can feel holiness not as a distant thing but as something very much within everyone’s reach because the Lord is the Lord of everyone.”
Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Carlo’s intercession in a decree on May 23, 2024. The miracle involved the healing of a 21-year-old girl from Costa Rica named Valeria Valverde, who was near death after seriously injuring her head in a bicycle accident while studying in Florence in 2022.
The Vatican has yet to announce a date for Carlo Acutis’ canonization. But as we wait for the day, we have the opportunity to see his wonderful work and to ask for his intercession, as his first-class relic is also on display in Maher Hall.
