Saturday October 10th 2020, a beatification by Pope Francis in Assisi, Carlo Acutis.
In the 21st century, what is the story, what is the image of a contemporary saint?
Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991 - 12 October 2006) was an Italian Roman Catholic teenager. He was best known for documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world and cataloging them all onto a website that he himself created in the months before his death from leukemia.
Some excerpts from articles on Carlo Acutis.
EVEN SAINTS CAN WEAR NIKE and BE TECHY!
Presenting to you the preview of the altar tomb of the soon to be beatified VENERABLE CARLO ACUTIS (3 May 1991 - 12 October 2006) ! These fresh photos are taken from the Diocese of Asissi in preparation of his upcoming beatification ceremonies - the sacred remains of Ven. Carlo will be open for veneration until October 17.
WHO IS CARLO ACUTIS?
Carlo Acutis died at the age of 15 of a galloping leukaemia, leaving in the memory of all those who knew him a great feeling of emptiness and great admiration for his brief but intense testimony of authentic Christian life.
From the day he received his First Communion at the age of 7, he never missed an appointment with daily Holy Mass. He always tried, either before or after the Eucharistic celebration, to pause before the Tabernacle to adore the Lord, always truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. Our Lady was his great confidant and he never failed to honour her by reciting the Holy Rosary every day. Carlo’s modern and up-to-date ways combined perfectly with his profound Eucharistic life and Marian devotion, which helped to make him that very special boy whom everyone admires and loves.
To quote Carlo’s own words: “Our goal must be the infinite and not the finite. The Infinity is our homeland. We are always expected in Heaven”. Another phrase of his was: “All people are born as originals but many die as photocopies”. To move towards this goal and not “die as photocopies” Carlo said that our compass must be the Word of God, that we have to measure up to constantly. But to reach such a lofty goal very special measures are necessary: the Sacraments and prayer. In particular, Carlo placed the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the centre of his life and he called it “my highway to Heaven”.
Holiness and computers
Carlo was very gifted with everything related to the world of computers so that both his friends and adults with computer engineering degrees considered him a genius. Everyone was amazed at his ability to understand the secrets of computers that are normally only accessible to those who have specialized university degrees. Carlo’s interests involved computer programming, film editing, website creation, editing and laying out small publications, to helping those most in need especially children and the elderly.
This young believer of the Diocese of Milan was a mystery, who before he died was able to offer his suffering up for the Pope and the Church.
An ordinary kid?
Carlo, like many adolescents of our time was busy at school, with his friends, and for his young age was an expert in computers. In the midst of all his commitments he encountered Jesus Christ.
This teenager sociologically similar to his school mates, was an authentic witness that the Gospel can be lived fully even by a teenager.
In his short life, oriented to that encounter with Jesus, was like a light not only to shine on the path of those who knew him, but also of those who will come to know his story. I am sure that this first biography of Carlo Acutis, edited by Nicola Gori, with his well-known ability to involve the reader, will help today’s adolescents, so problematic and so conditioned by the Mass Media, to reflect on the meaning of life and on the Gospel values to realize it fully.
"Carlo Acutis had a PlayStation. He made ridiculous videos of his dogs where he pretended to talk for them. He played soccer. If he were alive today, he'd be 28. And he's going to be beatified soon.
Carlo's mom doesn't know how he knew Jesus. His family never went to church, but as a pre-schooler Carlo began to beg to stop in and visit Jesus. So they did. And as Carlo grew in holiness, he dragged his mother with him. "He was like a little savior to me," she said.
After Carlo made his first communion, he never missed a day of Mass again. His parents didn't go, but he did, an 8-year-old boy walking through the streets of Milan alone to go visit Jesus.
As he got older, Carlo began to realize how few people went to Mass. He knew that if they understood that Jesus was really present in the Eucharist, they wouldn't be able to stay away. So Carlo began to research Eucharistic miracles. He'd started reading college computer programming textbooks when he was 9 or 10, so he built a website to share what he'd learned with the world.
Carlo was an ordinary kid. He had to figure out how to use the internet for good. He had to balance screen time with real life (he allowed himself an hour of video games a week--his rule, not his parents'). He lived in the same world we live in--he's younger than many of us--and he figured out how to become a Saint.
