Every October 12 we celebrate San Carlo Acutis, the ‘influencer of God’, the ‘apostle of the internet’.
Only a few weeks have passed since he was canonized – the canonization ceremony was last September 7 – and today we have the immense joy of being able to celebrate him for the first time on his feast day, just as the Church commands.
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In the Homily of the canonization Mass, celebrated in the Vatican, Pope Leo adolescent prayer, sports, study and charity.”
A few years ago, in the beatification ceremony, the Church underlined the strength of the testimony of this young saint, of tremendous impact for the Church today: “His life is a model particularly for young people, not to find justifications not only in ephemeral successes, but in the perennial values that Jesus suggests in the Gospel, that is, to put God first in the great and small circumstances of life, and to serve the brothers, especially the last” (Words of Cardinal Agostino Vallini in the Homily of the beatification Mass of Carlo Acutis – October 10, 2020).
It is possible to see very clearly, from the words quoted above, that there is something that Carlo knew how to live very well: his life is testimony that the center of everything must be God. Holiness is nothing other than making Christ “the cornerstone” of our existence. That is why Carlo reminds us that holiness is possible in today’s world.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? (Rom 8, 35)
Carlo Acutis was born on May 3, 1991 in London (England), the city where his parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, both Italians, worked. Months after his birth, Andrea and Antonia decided to return to Italy and moved with Carlo to Milan.
From a very young age, Carlo showed a special affection for God and a very peculiar sensitivity to learning and knowing things related to faith – even though his parents were not particularly devout or practicing at that time.
That love for the Lord would not stop growing and would become even stronger in his adolescence, when Carlo was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (October 8, 2006), a rare disease with almost no life expectancy. At that moment, far from despairing, Carlo expressed his desire to offer his suffering “for the Lord, the Pope and the Church.” Thus he revealed his profound spiritual maturity, at his young age of 15, precociously showing a heart willing to take the form of the Heart of Christ.
There are abundant testimonies about Carlo’s joy, his strength, his concern for the good of those around him, his sensitivity and empathy towards his classmates at school – especially if they were mistreated; or, with the poor, whom he assisted on numerous occasions with his friends.
Everyone was struck by the naturalness with which the young man approached the sick, the needy or anyone who was suffering, as if making sure that God was in their lives, and that it was his love that relieved them – materially or spiritually.
God present on the Internet
Carlo Acutis has been called “cyberapostle of the Eucharist”, “apostle of the millennials” and, more recently, “apostle of the Internet”; And there are sufficient reasons for all these “titles”: Carlo was a promoter and disseminator, on his own initiative, of Eucharistic miracles in cyberspace. One of the most interesting things he did was design a website for that purpose.
There he wrote: “The more frequent our reception of the Eucharist, the more we will be like Jesus. And on this earth we will be able to taste Heaven.”
It is clear that his words reveal the healthy understanding he had of new technologies and their usefulness in evangelization. It is also said that he liked video games and even had a console. PlayStation 2which by his own decision he only used on Sundays for one hour.
‘Highway to Heaven’
We know that every saint is a child of his time, possessing a particular imprint, but capable of questioning the conditions of the moment in which he lives. Anything that can be said about Carlo Acutis can only be understood under those criteria. He lived like an ordinary boy at the end of the 20th century – he walked, played, studied, helped at home, had fun with friends and family, liked adventures, sports, movies, music; However, he did not limit himself to that: Carlo chose above all the route towards the eternal, ‘the best part’, without letting himself be carried away by the contrary current, as strong in his time as it is today.
How was that possible? The young blessed always maintained frequent contact with the Eucharist – in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and in frequent communion – and a beautiful relationship with the Virgin Mary. Carlo went to mass several times a week and enjoyed praying the Rosary every day. This is how he became, with effort, a young man forged in prayer, a boy who did not get lost in the “bustle” of the world or its whims. He constantly said: “The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven.”
The ‘influencer of God’ on the way to the altars
Carlo died on October 12, 2006, the day of the Virgin of Pilar, just a few days after his illness was diagnosed. He was buried in Assisi, at his express request, due to the great love he had for Saint Francis.
His cause for beatification was opened in 2013 and he was declared “Venerable” in 2018. He was later recognized as ‘blessed’, on October 10, 2020, and since September 7, 2025, he has been counted among the saints.
The miracle that made his beatification possible happened in Brazil (October 12, 2013 in Campo Grande, Brazil). Thanks to his intercession, a seven-year-old boy was cured of a serious and strange illness: a pancreatic disorder considered irreversible.
The miracles
The little cure is called Matheus. He suffered from a congenital malformation known as annular pancreas, a condition that prevents the correct intake and digestion of food, hinders nutrition and stunts the person’s growth, also causing numerous discomforts. Matheus’s mother heard about Carlo Acutis through a priest friend and dedicated herself to asking his intercession for her son’s healing. The miracle took place after Matheus venerated one of the relics of the new blessed.
On May 23, 2024, Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to the intercession of then Blessed Carlo Acutis that made his canonization possible. This happened in Florence (Italy) to a young Costa Rican student who suffered a bicycle accident that left her on the verge of death. She made a full recovery after the doctors had given her up.
Carlo Acutis, we ask you for the young people of today, so that they discover Jesus!
Central Editorial
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