A loving God offers us friendship, and the result of that gracious act is our holiness.
God alone is holy: to be God is to be holy. Not to be God is not to be holy. It is not right or natural for us to live the life of God. But God creates God’s own life in us and makes it right for God to love us. When God finds divine life and love in us, it becomes natural for us to live supernatural or divine lives. This was God’s eternal plan: “[God] chose us in [Christ], before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him” (Ephesians 1:4). “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
With faith, all this is obvious. Without faith, it contradicts obvious human experience. In his brief life, Carlo Acutis found the riches of total faith and love in God. Get to know him better here.
Saint of the Day
Born in London and raised in Milan, Carlo’s wealthy parents were not particularly religious. Upon receiving his first communion at age seven, Carlo became a frequent communicant, making a point of praying before the tabernacle before or after every Mass. In addition to Francis of Assisi, Carlo took several of the younger saints as his models, including Bernadette Soubirous, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, and Dominic Savio. Read more…
A Prayer for Carlo
Blessed Carlo Acutis‘ time on this earth was brief—only 15 years—but he showed the world that God’s love does not recognize human time. As you are reading these words, consider what you can do to emulate Carlo’s passion for the Eucharist, his love for God, and his desire to spread the Gospel message. How can this holy teenager be a compass of sorts for our journeys? Read more…
Miracles, Holy Bread, and a Teen Saint in the Making
I climb back up Via S. Rufino to my apartment and do some research. I have to laugh because, once again, I’m the blind man not fully seeing. I’ll always be a bit of a Mr. Magoo. Apparently, I was just in a church where a powerfully historic event occurred. Blessed Carlo Acutis lies in the Santuario della Spogliazione, the Shrine of the Stripping. The site where, in front of his father, Francis threw off his luxurious clothes, renounced the wealth of his family, and stood naked, choosing to follow Christ. No gold, no money, haversack, shoes, no more than one tunic. Read more…
Carlo Acutis and the Faithful Servant
I think often about Blessed Carlo Acutis, who perfectly exemplifies the spirit of the humble servant. As you can see from our own Saint of the Day, “Carlo Acutis did not strive to become famous but rather to cooperate as generously as possible with God’s grace. That journey brought him many experiences, but they were all united by a burning desire to serve God and others as generously as possible.” Carlo lived but only 15 years, and yet his lived witness can inspire every generation. Read more…
The First Millennial Saint
The Eucharist was to Carlo as fuel is to a Ferrari. Without fuel, without tires, without a steering wheel, a Ferrari cannot function. Without adoration, without Mass, without prayer, Carlo could not function. He never missed Mass because he was completely captivated by the sacrificial lamb on the altar. Carlo’s soul burned to tap into this timeless grace. His eucharistic drive was contagious. Read more…
Carlo Acutis: A True Original
Carlo Acutis shows that people of any age that you can be flawed and faith-filled. He reminds me that even though we are one body, we are unique parts of a whole. “All people are born as originals but many die as photocopies,” Acutis once said. He showed the world in only 15 years what it looked like to be a true original. Read more…
“Sadness is looking at ourselves. Happiness is looking towards God.” Bl. Carlo Acutis
Carlo Acutis Youth Camp officials overjoyed about namesake’s canonization: Its mission is to lead young people to a deep relationship with Jesus Christ through his church. And the Blessed Carlo Acutis Youth Camp does just that each summer for young Catholics in West Virginia. Read more…
His lifelong dream was to be a saint, Blessed Carlo Acutis’ mother says: While many Catholics around the world rejoiced upon hearing the news that Pope Francis had approved a second miracle attributed to Blessed Carlo Acutis, none was happier than his mother, Antonia Salzano. “We were very happy, of course, as you can imagine,” Salzano said in a telephone interview with OSV News. “It was great news because we were waiting for this declaration — especially for all the devotees he has around the world.” Read more…
Pope Recognizes Miracle Needed for Church’s First ‘Millennial’ Saint: Pope Francis formally recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager whose birth in 1991 will make him the first “millennial” to become a saint. In a meeting May 23 with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for Saints’ Causes, the pope signed decrees advancing the sainthood causes of Blessed Acutis, as well as one woman, and six men. Read more…
Rare Blessed Carlo Acutis stained-glass window installed in Minnesota adoration chapel: During the parish year of the National Eucharistic Revival, one of the oldest adoration chapels in the Diocese of St. Cloud is getting a very special facelift. Several stained-glass windows are being installed in St. Anne’s Chapel at St. Louis Parish in Foreston, including a depiction of Blessed Carlo Acutis, one of the patrons of the revival. Read more…
Mother of Blessed Carlo Acutis visits U.S., invites all to encounter Christ: The mother of an Italian teen on the road to sainthood recently toured several U.S. parishes to kindle increased devotion to the Eucharist, which was “the center of life” for her late son. Antonia Salzano Acutis, mother of Blessed Carlo Acutis, spoke at gatherings in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington and Texas during a Sept. 28-Oct. 4 tour organized in part by Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia and one of his priests, Father Francesco Maria D’Amico. The priest happens to be a native of Assisi, Italy, where Carlo Acutis is entombed. Read more…
Archbishop from Assisi brings first-class relic of Blessed Acutis to US: Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi, Italy, brought a first-class relic of Blessed Carlos Acutis to a Catholic high school on Long Island April 4 as he began a five-day tour with the relic. Blessed Acutis, an Italian teen who died of leukemia in 2006 and was beatified in 2020, is entombed in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi. The 15-year-old’s use of technology to spread devotion to the Eucharist prompted Pope Francis to hail him as a role model for young people today. Read more…
