Blessed Carlo Acutis
He had a PlayStation, made awkward YouTube videos with his friends and he loved Pokemon. Carlo Acutis was not raised in a practicing family, but being inspired by the faith of his Polish nanny, young Carlo’s curious personality resulted in him asking many questions. In search of answers, Carlo’s Mum Antonia began taking theology classes, which led her back to the mass and her faith. Carlo made his first communion at 7 years old and following that, never missed a single day of going to mass (what the heck). Carlo was deeply devoted to Our Lady who he called “the only woman in my life” which led him and his family to venture throughout Europe to Marian Apparition sites. At 11, Carlo’s travel became much more intentional as he got an idea. Saddened by people’s lack of understanding of the mass, and eager to draw souls to Jesus, Carlo began researching and documenting Eucharistic miracles and dragging his parents from shrine to shrine in order to collect information and photos for the website he was creating.
In 2006 at only 15 years old, Carlo came down with what his parents assumed was a flu. After presenting to hospital and having a couple of tests it was determined that instead of the flu Carlo actually had an acute and untreatable form of leukaemia. Instead of being scared or distraught (which would be entirely normal reactions) Carlo told his parents “I can die happy, because I haven’t wasted even a minute on things that aren’t pleasing to God”. Carlo was ready to go home. And only 3 days later, he did just that.
Pope Francis confirmed his life of heroic virtue in July of 2018 naming Carlo Venerable. Medical experts approved a miracle attributed to young Carlo in November 2019 with Pope Francis confirming the miracle in February of this year. Carlo was beatified almost a year ago to date and is currently going through the final steps before canonisation.
Fun fact: Carlo and I share a birthday! He’s just 5 years older! Crazy!
You can find Carlo’s website here: http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/list.html