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Saint Carlos Acutis
Blessed Carlos Acutis was born on May 3rd, 1991, in London, England, but not long after, his family moved to Milan, Italy. From the time he was little, Blessed Carlos Acutis had a strong love for God. He prayed the rosary every day and, after his First Communion, he started going to Mass as often as he could – even dragging his parents along instead of it being the other way around. He was super passionate about the Eucharist and his mom, Antonia Salzano, remembers him saying, “There are lines in front of concerts and football games, but I don’t see lines in front of the Blessed Sacrament.” That’s how important the Eucharist was to him – it was the center of his life. But Blessed Carlos Acutis didn’t just talk about his faith – he lived it. At school, he stood up for kids who were bullied, helped those in need, and stayed true to what he believed, even if it wasn’t popular. An au pair who worked for his family, Rajesh Mohur, converted from Hinduism to Catholicism because of Blessed Carlos Acutis’ witness – especially his kindness, love for the poor, and strong faith. He often interacted with a homeless man who sat at the entrance of the church, and brought Tupperware dishes filled with food to those living on the streets.
Blessed Carlos Acutis taught himself coding languages like C and C++ and created a huge online exhibition about Eucharistic miracles and it has been shown at churches all over the world! His goal was to use the internet to help people believe in Jesus, especially in the Eucharist. Even though he loved video games like Game Boy, GameCube, PlayStation, and Xbox, which he limited himself to just two hours a week so he could focus on more important things like prayer, school, and helping others. He even talked to his gaming friends about faith, Mass, and confession. Sadly, at just 15 years old, Blessed Carlo Acutis was diagnosed with leukemia. But instead of getting angry or scared, he offered all his suffering to God for the Pope and the Church. He said he hoped to skip purgatory and go “straight to heaven.” He died on October 11th, 2006, and was buried in Assisi, Italy.
September 7th, 2025
On September 7th, 2025, Carlos Acutis officially became a saint! Pope Leo XIV canonized him and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, making them the first saints declared during his time as pope. Saint Carlos Acutis also became the first millennial saint in the Catholic Church – a teenager who showed the world that you can love Jesus and still enjoy tech, video games, Spiderman and Pokémon. St. Carlos Acutis’ canonization was possible because of two miracles. The second one – approved by Pope Francis on May 23rd, 2024 – involved a 21-year-old student from Costa Rica named Valeria Valverde. She was in a coma after a nearly fatal bicycle accident in Florence, but after prayers through now St. Carlos Acutis’ intercession, she made a full and unexpected recovery.
The first miracle that led to his beatification in 2020 involved a 3-year-old boy in Brazil who was born with a rare pancreatic condition and was completely healed after his family prayed to St. Carlos Acutis. His tomb is in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi, at the Sanctuary of the Spogliazione. Since the announcement of his canonization, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world have visited to pray. While there were rumors that St. Carlos Acutis’ body was incorrupt, but the local bishop later explained that it’s not incorrupt, it’s just well-preserved. Today, people can visit his body, which lies in a glass tomb – wearing jeans and Nike sneakers, just like any modern teen. What are your thoughts on the canonization? Tune in for more articles!
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