Eucharist: At the age of 7, Carlo asked to make his First Communion. Because of his great devotion to the Eucharistic Jesus, a priest allowed him to do it. His mother says: “From that moment on, the center of Carlo's life and day of Carlo was Jesus Eucharistic. He went to Mass every day. I always visited the Tabernacle for a few minutes before and after Mass.” He received Communion with great devotion and said: "The Eucharist is my way to Heaven." Carlo was very fond of learning about Eucharistic miracles and asked his parents to travel to all the cities in which they had occurred. But he couldn't because of his illness, in 2006. He said: “We are more fortunate than the Apostles who lived with Jesus 2000 years ago: to meet Him it is enough that we enter the church. Jerusalem is beside our homes.”
Devotion to Mary: He was very devoted to Our Lady and as a child he already said the complete Rosary every day. Carlo said: "Our Lady is the only woman in my life." He has consecrated himself several times throughout his life to Our Lady, mainly during the visits he made to the Shrines of Lourdes and Fátima. Carlo said: “The Eucharist and the Rosary are my kit for becoming a saint.” He also prayed fervently for the souls in Purgatory and offered sacrifices and penances for them. Impressed by the messages of Fatima, he also prayed and was concerned for the conversion of sinners. Carlo was sad to see the Church and the Pope misunderstood.
Joyful teenager: Carlo was a normal boy like the others. I liked to play with friends and go for a walk. He was always cheerful and smiling. It was very smart. He always spoke to his friends about Jesus and invited them to go to Mass with him. Carlo was always concerned about those friends whose parents were divorcing and invited them to his home to support them. He defended the rights of people with disabilities and defended disabled classmates at school when they were mocked. He was outgoing and friendly with everyone at school. Even friends without religion liked to be with him. He was not very interested in wearing fashionable clothes. He was upset once when his mother bought him a pair of shoes that he didn't need much saying that it could go to those who need it most. In his room, there was a large picture of Jesus that was in plain view. In a notebook, he wrote: “Sadness is looking at yourself, happiness is looking at God. Conversion is nothing more than looking away from the bottom up. Just a simple eye movement.”
Fun: Carlo never stopped having fun with his friends. He still found time to play the saxophone, play football, create computer programs, have fun with video games, watch detective movies, record short videos with his dogs and cats and take pictures. In addition to studying, of course, because he attended the Leo XII School of Milan.
Purity: Carlo often confessed and said: “A balloon, in order to rise very high, needs to strip itself of everything that weighs. So does the soul, in order to rise to Heaven it is necessary to remove these small weights that are venial sins. If there is a mortal sin, the soul falls on the earth and the Confession will be like fire, the same fire that makes the balloon return to Heaven. It is necessary to confess frequently because the soul is very complex.” He was a very pure and very chaste teenager. For this, Carlo recommended himself to the prayers of the priests and religious he knew. They were enchanted by the fervor of this young boy. He was a devotee of several Saints and read their lives. Carlo loved especially San Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare of Assisi, Saint Bernadette, Saint Jacinta and Francisco of Fatima, Saint Aloyius Gonzaga, Saint Tarcisius, Saint Dominic Savio. Carlo did not know that he would set an beautiful example through his life in his time like them. He said: "The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this Earth we have a foretaste of Heaven."
Charitable: Despite living in Milan and being a family with conditions, there were many poor people and immigrants in the city. Carlo always thought of them, of the poor. At lunchtime, he kept leftover food in containers and took it to the homeless people who lived in the region. Everyone in the neighborhood knew him. Carlo always greeted neighbors and doormen, many of them from other religions such as Muslims and Hindus. Rajesh, a Hindu Brahmin, worked at his home. They became so friend and Rajesh converted and asked to receive the sacraments. Rajesh says: “Carlo told me he would be happier if I approached Jesus. I asked me for Christian Baptism because he attracted and captivated me with his deep faith, his charity and his purity. I always considered him to be someone out of the ordinary, because a boy so young, so handsome and so rich usually prefers to lead a different life.” Carlo never wasted money, not even a penny, because it could go to those who need it most. With his first savings, Carlo bought a sleeping bag for a beggar who he saw near the church. He also made donations to the Capuchins who give food to the homeless. Carlo was not afraid to be different from others if he needed to and said: “We were born originals and many die like copies of each other.”
Internet: Carlo was passionate about the internet and the computer. It was great in all computer programs and put up a website with about all the Eucharistic miracles, a site that was later translated into several languages and is still online. He participated in several evangelization activities in his city.
Death and illness: In early October 2006, Carlo fell ill. It looked like a normal flu. I had just finished presenting a video with volunteering proposals for the students at the Leão XIII School. This was a difficult job to do and Carlo considered it very important. The projection date was October 4th. But he couldn't go. He was admitted to the São Geraldo hospital in Monza. It was not the flu, it was fulminant leukemia, type M3, the worst. There was no possibility of recovery. Shortly after walking through the doors of the hospital, he said to his mother: "I'm not leaving here." Later he said to his parents: "I offer to the Lord the sufferings that I will have to suffer for the Pope and the Church, so that I don't have to be in Purgatory and be able to go straight to Heaven." The sufferings arrived and were enormous. Despite this, when a nurse asked him how he felt, he replied: “I'm fine. Do not wake up my mother, who is tired and will worry more.” He asked for the anointing of the sick and for the “medicine” of the Eucharist. He received it with devotion and serenity. The doctors and nurses were delighted with his good humor and patience even with terrible pain. He was still smiling at everyone and always very kind. When the doctor who accompanied him asked if he suffered a lot, Carlo responded with courage: "There are people who suffer much more than me!" He also wrote serenely: "I am happy to die because I have lived my life without wasting a minute on things that do not please God." At 6:45 am on October 12, 2006, the day of Our Lady of Aparecida, Carlo died at the age of 15 years. After his death, his organs were removed for donation and the young man of holiness was buried in the cemetery of Assisi, as requested. On the day of his funeral, the church and cemetery were filled to capacity. His mother recalls: “There were people who I didn't know from anywhere. Homeless people, immigrants, beggars, children... A crowd that told me about Carlo. The things he had done for them, and I knew nothing. They testified to my son's life, and I felt like an orphan.”
Fame of holiness: The fame of the teenager Carlo Acutis soon spread throughout the world, in many countries. Young people and teenagers from all over the world, but also adults, quickly identified with his example and life, feeling called to imitate him, because holiness is a call for everyone and for normal things and not just for convents. God wants saints all over the world and in all conditions of life.
Beatification: In 2018, the Vatican declared Carlo Acutis as venerable. His body was exhumed and found uncorrupted. The Vatican decided to display the uncorrupted body to the public only in the proximity of the beatification. The opening of the tomb was broadcast live on October 1, 2020 on Italian TV and the Internet with Carlo's mother, Antonia Salzano, and she was very moved. This time the world did not see the incorruptible body of a priest or nun, as many incorruptible bodies of Saints are, but of a teenage boy wearing sneakers, pants and a jacket. The beatification ceremony of young Carlo Acutis took place this Saturday, October 9, 2020 at the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi.
Uncorrupted body of Carlo Acutis:
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