Dear friends,
It is with a heart full of joy that I invite you to walk with me today alongside a young man who feels remarkably familiar. He does not wear the robes of a medieval monk or the armor of a soldier-saint; instead, he wears jeans, a polo shirt, and sneakers. He is a child of our modern age, a digital native who understood the language of the internet as fluently as he understood the language of prayer.
He is Blessed Carlo Acutis. In him, we see a profound truth: that holiness is not a relic of the past, but a vibrant, living possibility for the present. He shows us that the light of Christ can shine just as brightly through a computer screen as it does through a stained-glass window. Let us open our hearts to this young spiritual friend who reminds us that we are all called to be unique reflections of God’s love.
Profile of Holiness
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth Name | Carlo Acutis |
| Lifespan | May 3, 1991 – October 12, 2006 |
| Birthplace | London, United Kingdom (Raised in Milan, Italy) |
| Service Period | 1991–2006 (Student, Programmer, Lay Catechist) |
| Feast Day | October 12 |
| Patronage | Computer Programmers, The Internet, Youth, Students |
| Key Virtue | Eucharistic Amazement and Joyful Purity |
1. The Early Call: A Heart Anchored in Heaven
The world into which Carlo Acutis was born was one rapidly shifting toward the digital, yet his soul seemed anchored in the eternal from the very beginning. Born in London to Italian parents, he grew up in Milan, surrounded by the ordinary bustle of city life, school, and friends. To the outside observer, Carlo was a typical boy. He loved playing soccer, he enjoyed video games like Halo and Super Mario, and he had a sweet tooth. He was not removed from the world, but fully alive within it.
However, even at a very young age—as early as three or four years old—Carlo exhibited a spiritual maturity that puzzled even his own parents, who were not particularly religious at the time. He had an innate gravitational pull toward the Church. He would beg his mother to take him into churches to “say hello to Jesus” and would gather flowers to place at the feet of the Virgin Mary. receiving his First Holy Communion early at the age of seven, he made a resolution that would define his short life: “To be always united with Jesus, this is my life program.” Unlike the young Samuel in the temple who needed Eli to interpret the voice of God, Carlo seemed to hear the Lord’s whisper amidst the noise of the modern world with crystal clarity.
2. The Great Work: Evangelizing the Digital Continent
As Carlo grew, so did his talents. He possessed a prodigious gift for computer programming, a skill usually reserved for those with years of university training. But Carlo did not use technology for self-aggrandizement or mere entertainment. He saw the internet as a vast new mission field—a “digital continent” waiting to be evangelized. He understood the Great Commission of Matthew 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” as a call to utilize the tools of his generation.
His magnum opus was a comprehensive online catalog of Eucharistic Miracles from around the world. He spent years researching, traveling with his parents to verify locations, and coding a website to document these instances where the veil between heaven and earth was pulled back. He wanted to shake the modern world out of its skepticism and show them that Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. For Carlo, the Eucharist was not a ritual; it was his “Highway to Heaven.” Through his work with Christian Way of life, he demonstrated that science and faith, technology and holiness, are not enemies, but can be powerful allies in the service of Truth.
3. The Cross and the Crown: “I Offer All”
In October 2006, what seemed like a bout of the flu turned into a devastating diagnosis: fulminant leukemia. The decline was rapid and the pain was intense. Yet, in the face of this sudden cross, Carlo’s spirit did not break. When the doctor asked him if he was suffering, he replied with characteristic bravery, “There are people who suffer much more than me.”
From his hospital bed, he transformed his suffering into a final act of love. He told his mother, “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.” He died on October 12, 2006, at the tender age of 15. But his death was not an end; it was a birth into glory. His body was eventually transferred to Assisi, the city of St. Francis whom he loved dearly. When he was beatified in 2020, the world saw a relic of the new millennium: a boy in a tracksuit jacket, looking like he could be sitting in any classroom today, yet radiating the timeless glory of the Saints.
Spiritual Highlights from Blessed Carlo
- Originality of Soul: Carlo famously said, “All people are born as originals, but many die as photocopies.” He challenges us to not simply follow the trends of the world, but to discover the unique holiness God designed for us.
- The Eucharist as Center: He attended Mass daily, believing that “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”
- Confession as Liberation: He compared our sins to a hot air balloon; to rise to God, we must cut the weights that hold us down through regular Confession.
A Prayer for Intercession
Oh God, Our Father, who gave us the bold and gentle witness of Blessed Carlo Acutis, we ask for his intercession today.
Dear Carlo, you who navigated the complexities of the modern world without losing your gaze on Christ, pray for us. Help our youth find purpose in a confusing world. Guide our use of technology, that we may use it to build bridges of love rather than walls of division. Teach us to treat the Eucharist not as a duty, but as our daily highway to Heaven. Help us to remain “originals,” true to the image in which God created us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
