Blessed Carlo Acutis:

Feast day : 12 October

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Blessed Carlo Acutis. Through his short lifespan of 15 years on earth, he exhibited an extraordinary holiness, becoming a role model for all our youth in their path to holiness. His deep love for Jesus whom he considered as his best friend and his strong conviction of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist led him to zealously propagate devotion to the Holy Eucharist. He is rightly called the Cyber Apostle of the Eucharist for his deep devotion and love for the Eucharist.

Carlo Acutis was born in London on 03 May 1991 to Andrea Acutis and Antonia Acutis. After his birth, his parents settled in Milan where he grew up and did his schooling. Though his parents were not religious, Carlo developed a deep love for Jesus from an early age. Whenever he would pass by a church he would insist on entering it and seeing Jesus. As he grew up, he was fond of reading the Bible and stories of saints. It surprised his parents to see his love for the Lord and his deep faith in turn helped in building their faith. He exhibited a high level of spiritual maturity at a young age and often asked questions about faith that amazed his parents. At the age of seven he received his First Holy Communion. From then on he developed a deep love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He would never miss Holy Mass. He strongly believed in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and would spend time in prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, before and after Holy Mass. He regarded Jesus as his best friend and would often say “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven”. He was keen on reconciling his friends to Jesus and encouraged them to join him in Holy Mass. He would often say to them “the more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.” Like most saints he had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin too and regularly prayed the rosary. He was also a strong advocate of the Sacrament of Confession and regularly went to Confession every week. He would teach catechism to young boys and engage in charitable activities of serving the poor in the Caritas cafeteria. He was compassionate to the poor and to the cause of the needy and often willingly sacrificed his needs for contributing to helping the poor.

Keeping Jesus close in his heart at all times, he went about his life doing things that any normal adolescent did. He attended primary school with the Marcelline Sisters and did his secondary school education at Leo XIII Classical Lyceum. He had an extraordinary talent in computer programming, he was good at studies and loved to edit films, play the saxophone, football and video games. He loved travelling with his parents and loved Assisi the most. Living like a normal teenager he kept a perfect balance in his spiritual life, serving as a model of holiness for all his friends. Those who met him often felt that he already had a foretaste of heaven. He would often say “Our aim has to be the infinite and not the finite. The Infinite is our homeland. We have always been expected in Heaven.”

Carlo greatly desired that all people should believe in the True Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He was greatly inspired by the works of Blessed James Alberione, Founder of the Paulines and the Daughters of Saint Paul congregations who was known for using various forms media for evangelising. From the age of eleven Carlo began collecting photographs and details of all the known Eucharistic miracles in the world. With the help of his parents he collected details of 136 Eucharistic miracles and prepared an exhibition which travelled around the world. He wanted people to see and believe that Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. He also made a virtual museum on the website www.miracolieucaristici.org. Through the exhibitions and the website, he brought the devotion to the Holy Eucharist to thousands of parishes and universities around the world.

Illness and death:

He believed that he would die young and often said it too. True to his prophecy he fell ill in early October 2006 and was diagnosed with acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. He happily offered his suffering for the Holy Pope Benedict XVI and the Universal Church saying “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope and the Church”. A few days later he died on October 12, 2006 at the young age of 15 years. According to his wishes he was laid to rest in Assisi, in the city of Saint Francis. After his death, the photo exhibitions of all the Eucharistic miracles were organised in several countries in his honor.

Cause for canonization:

His cause for canonization was opened in 2013. The diocesan investigation was opened on 15 February 2013 by Cardinal Angelo Scola and on 13 May 2013, he was honoured with the title ‘Servant of God’. Pope Francis acknowledged his heroic virtues and made him ‘Venerable’ on 5 July 2018. On 14 November 2019, the Medical Council of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes confirmed a miracle that was attributed to Carlo’s intercession. The miracle happened in 2013, which involved a young boy from Brazil who suffered from a rare pancreatic disease and was miraculously healed through the intercession of Carlo. Pope Francis confirmed this miracle in a decree on 21 February 2020 which enabled for his beatification. The beatification was held in Assisi on 10 October 2020.

Sacred relics venerated:

On October 1, 2020, his tomb was opened for veneration and was kept open till October 17, 2020. A spokesperson of the beatification process clarified that the entire body was present but was “not incorrupt”. The Bishop explained that the body was “resembled with art and love”. “His body was discovered to be fully integral, not intact, but integral, having all its organs. Work was done on his face,” Father Carlos Acácio Gonçalves Ferreira said. The heart of Acutis, which can now be considered a relic, will be displayed in a reliquary in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. As part of the 17-day celebration of Carlo Acutis’ beatification in Assisi, two churches hosted exhibitions of the Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions cataloged by Acutis.