On October 10 in Assisi, Italy, Carlo Acutis was beatified in St. Francis Basilica during a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Agostino Vallini. Acutis, only a teenager when he died of leukemia in 2006, is now famous around the world for his simple holiness while embracing the media technology of the 21st century.
Carlo Acutis was born in 1991 and grew up in Milan, Italy. He enjoyed playing video games, imposing upon himself a limit of one hour weekly, and soccer. He began learning advanced computer programming techniques in his childhood, expressing such gifted skills that a childhood friend called “truly an incredible talent” when speaking with Catholic News Agency.
Since his first communion at seven years old, he attended Mass and prayed the Rosary daily. When he was diagnosed with leukemia and realized that it would take his life, he offered his suffering for the pope and the Church. He died a week later at the age of 15.
In an interview with EWTN, Carlo Acutis’s mother, Antonia Salzano, told of Acutis’s desire to be united to Jesus through the Eucharist, which led her to return to Mass. “So little by little I started to get closer to the Church … This was actually because of Carlo,“ she said. “Carlo was for me a kind of little ‘Savior.’’’
Acutis used his computer abilities to compose a website documenting the numerous Eucharistic miracles throughout the Church’s history. His work has been maintained by his family so that the information he collected can be printed out as panels to be displayed as a free exhibition. Acutis also catalogued Marian apparitions on his website.
Around 41,000 people came to Assisi for the beatification, as reported by the National Catholic Register. Seating within St. Francis Basilica was limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mass was live-streamed in other churches in Assisi and on large outdoor screens in public squares to allow more people to participate in the liturgy.
The festivities in Assisi surrounding his beatification lasted from October 1 through October 19. According to the Vaticano series produced by EWTN, the month’s events included nights of Eucharistic adoration in all of Assisi’s churches, an event called: “Assisi: The Eucharistic City.”
During the celebration, Acutis’s body was visible for veneration at his tomb in the Church of St. Mary Major. Pilgrims lined up in a socially-distant manner to pray before Acutis, who lay in his tomb dressed in the casual clothing of Nike sneakers, jeans, and a sweatshirt. Acutis’s feast day will be the anniversary of his death, October 12.
An especially inspiring example of holiness for young people, Acutis’s influence continues to grow, especially in his model of embracing the modern means of communication without their corruptive effects. He said, “All people are born as originals, but many die as photocopies,” expressing the pressure placed on young people by social media to conform to others’ ideals and perceptions. In another of his sayings, he gives his response to the search for identity: “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.”
Featured image courtesy of Enzo Rippa via Wiki
Thomas is a student in BC’s Carroll School of Management, who fittingly serves as the current Business Manager of The Torch in addition to his position as Campus News Editor. Thomas can be found around campus singing at Masses with the Liturgy Arts Group, tabling for the BC Pro-Life Club, deep in conversation while enjoying BC Dining cuisine, or gazing in awe at Gasson Hall and its Collegiate Gothic style architectural neighbors.
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