Carlo Acutis (1991–2006), an Italian teenager passionate about computer science and deeply in love with the Eucharist, was canonized this Sunday in the Plaza de San Pedro by Pope Leo XIV.
With just 15 years, Carlo left for the father’s house after a fulminating leukemia. However, his short life left an indelible mark: he helped the poor, spread the devotion to the Eucharistic miracles and offered his sufferings for the Pope, for the Church and for the conversion of sinners.
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Today, it becomes the first saint millennial On the Church, a testimony that holiness does not depend on age, but on a heart that lives fully linked to Christ.
Childhood and formation in faith
Carlo He was born in London on May 3, 1991within an Italian family. He was baptized a few days later, on May 18, in the Church of Our Lady of Dolores in the British capital. In September of that same year, the family returned to Milan, where Carlo grew and studied. Since childhood he showed a cheerful and generous character, always willing to help others.
A decisive moment arrived on June 16, 1998, when he received the first communion with only seven years, thanks to a special permit. Since then, As the Dicasterio recalls for the causes of the saintsCarlo attended Mass daily and spent long moments in worship against the Blessed Sacrament.
Three years later, on May 24, 2003, he received the sacrament of confirmation. At age 14 he entered the Leo XIII Institute of the Jesuit parents in Milan, where he highlighted both their studies and for their service in the parish, teaching catechism to children and designing web pages for solidarity and religious initiatives.
A “apostle of the Eucharist”
The heart of Carlo’s spirituality was the Eucharist. He himself said: “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven!” For Carlo, participating in the Holy Mass and Communication was the center of each day; Even when school commitments prevented him, he made spiritual communions.
His love for Jesus in the host was translated into a unique project: the creation of an international exhibition of “Eucharistic Miracles”, collecting more than 130 cases recognized by the Church and presented in a digital sample that has traveled parishes and diocese of the world.
He also had a deep Marian devotion, prayed the rosary daily and consecrated the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As noted eL Michelangelo M. Tiribilliin him “modernity and today conjugated perfectly with a Eucharistic and Marian life, who did a very special boy, whom everyone admired and loved.”
THE DICASTERY summarize like this His spirituality: “In the simple existence of Carlo, everything extraordinary was hidden in the ordinary. He loved sport, friends and video games, but first placed friendship with Jesus. That choice marked his whole life and turned her into a light testimony for her generation.”
Digital talent and service to others
Although he did not study computer engineering, his friends and adults considered him a genius in the area. It moved naturally in programming, web design and audiovisual edition, always putting it at the service of others. With a university student, he came to administer the website of his parish and developed volunteer portals, in addition to using his assignment to help poor and immigrants.
As Affirms the dicas supplies for the causes of the saintsCarlo “was a real apostle in all the environments that lived: family, school, sports, travel and games. He showed that holiness is not a state reserved for a few, but an open path for all, even in ordinary life.”
Disease and life offering
In October 2006, with just 15 years, Carlo was diagnosed with fulminant leukemia type M3. From the beginning of the disease he offered his suffering “for the Pope and for the Church”, hoping to go directly to heaven. In the hospital he impressed doctors and nurses for their serenity and faith.
He died on October 12, 2006 in Monza. His remains were transferred to Assisi, a city he loved so much, where today they rest in the Sanctuary of the Spagliazione. His testimony was summarized in a phrase: “Being always linked to Jesus, that is my life project.”
The road to the altars
The fame of Holiness of Carlo spread rapidly. In 2013 his cause opened in Milan. He was declared venerable in 2018 and Blessed in 2020, after the recognition of the miracle of the inexplicable healing of a child in Brazil.
The second miracle that opened the door to his canonization was the extraordinary recovery of a young Costa Rican who suffered a serious cranial trauma after an accident in 2022. The healing was officially recognized by the Church in 2024.
THE DICASTERY He stressed When presenting the final decree: “Carlo’s life shows that holiness does not depend on the duration of the days, but on the intensity of love. His testimony is a gift for young people and for the whole Church.”
Today, with its canonization, the Church presents Carlo Acutis as a model of youth and employer’s holiness of the digital world, a young man who taught that faith can be lived with radicality in ordinary life and that “our goal must be infinity, not finite it. The infinite is our homeland. The sky always awaits us”.
Diego López Marina
I was born in 1991. I have a degree in Communication Sciences. Since 2015 I work as a digital journalist. I started my career in the newspaper El Comercio in Peru. In 2016, I began as editor in ACI Press and I perform as a web editor since 2018. From 2024, I write the Newsletter for Social Media. I specialize in Catholic news focused on the defense of life and family, international politics, technology, popular culture and the Vatican.