St. Carlo Acutis, an example to follow!

Mireille Haj-Chahine

Monday, September 8, 2025

Photo of a relic of St. Carlo Acutis in a metal oval reliquary, with an icon of Carlo in the background.

Photo © Salt + Light Media, 2025.

This young teenager has been declared a saint of the Church! He's not far from us, but is a saint of our time, whose simplicity and genius for the digital world will touch young and old alike. As we accompany our young people on their journey of faith, let's not hesitate to introduce him to them and tell them about him. They will certainly recognize themselves in him. This contemporary saint, who comes from a humble background and a very modest family, is a young man like them, dressed like them, who carried out simple daily actions and tasks turned towards God. Known as “God's geek,” this computer genius never hesitated to use his computer skills to evangelize the believers and non-believers around him. After he was born, his nanny Beata, a woman of great faith, took care of him. She gradually instilled in him the right values to adopt, as well as the habits of reciting the Rosary and cherishing the Eucharist on a daily basis. What's more, his mother Antonia Salazano, who had only been to church three times in her life, later testified that she had been touched by her son's faith and the transformation of her life through him.

When our young people discover the life of the young Italian and the proof of his sanctity, will they try to recite the Rosary as he did, at his age? Will Carlo Acutis become our young people's friend? A reflection we shared earlier this year, entitled “Raising your child like Carlo Acutis,” comments on the current reality as parents of educating our children in the faith in this noisy and highly distracting digital world. For “Raising your child in the Christian faith is a beautiful daily challenge, but also a real trial in a world where digital distractions are everywhere.”

Canonization of a youth saint, a young adult!

Carlo Acutis was beatified in Assisi on October 10, 2020 by Pope Francis, and canonized as a “cyber-apostle” by Pope Leo XIV yesterday morning in Rome. He is therefore the first millennial saint; his canonization opens the door to other saints of his generation and younger. This is an exceptional event for the universal Church! With his simplicity, his unshakeable faith in God, his deep spirituality, and his good humour; Carlo Acutis naturally involved himself in the daily life of the faithful, influencing our lives and giving us and our young people something to aspire: A young teenager is a saint among the other venerated saints of the Church. So let's make room for him in our lives!

Let's recall that Carlo Acutis, this captivating young man with a smiling face, radiant and luminous with holiness and love of Christ, is a symbol of goodness and brotherhood. Why he died so young and so quickly is a mystery: he contracted leukemia at the age of 15, and he passed away in three days. But the message of his life is clear! From an early age, Carlo Acutis made room for Jesus in his life. He focused on the essential: the Eucharist. He worked with all his heart and will to stay close to God, to meet Him every day in the Eucharist, and to be in total reconciliation with Him. Endowed with immense computer skills, he developed a website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles for the benefit of everyone.

What's more, he met God in the face of the poor and destitute, volunteering with those who were homeless. Carlo led a simple, pure, and just life. His devotion sprung up after his death and throughout his relatively quick canonization process. He insisted on staying close to Jesus, at all times, in his various activities, be they spiritual, communal, or athletic. The moments he spent in adoration, reciting the Rosary, and attending daily Mass took precedence over everything else. He did not fail to receive communion every time, and was keen to please his Creator so as to remain in a state of purity and reconciliation. Carlo Acutis was involved in his parish and helped with their IT systems.

This is a new opportunity for today's parish communities. We are called to pray to Carlo Acutis to intercede for families, for young people to recognize themselves in him, in adults and even in older people. The challenge is: how do we deal with today's young people? How can we convey faith in God in a way that will arouse their interest? First and foremost, let's take into consideration the stages of their physical, psychosocial, and emotional development, and understand their psychology in general. Adolescence is a time to search for bearings, to redefine oneself, and to question what matters most. Inspired by St. Carlo Acutis, let us accompany our young people, invite them to discover their talents, to consider what is worth loving, and to apply their skills to help the community to which they belong.

We need to work on passing on the faith to them in a different way, helping them to define it by arousing their interests. We should do this through the activities they like to do, such as Scouts, diocesan youth missions, other church initiatives or activities, music and other creative endeavours, as they engage in sports and pop culture. Accompany them on their journey of faith in God by welcoming them, each with their own background, race, language, and religious practice. Keep them busy, because full of energy and life, they like to get involved. And they can be dedicated and generous, once they’re welcomed to contribute by adults who believe in them. They need guidance and encouragement to put their talents to work for Jesus. Let's teach them to put their trust, concerns, and anxieties on him, and to pray as friends. For both Jesus and St. Carlo Acutis are their friends in heaven!

Finally, uniting ourselves with Jesus on a daily basis makes us happy!

Carlo Acutis is an example for both youth and adults for his simplicity, his trust in God and continuous prayers. Requesting his intercession, alongside praying to the Lord Jesus Christ and (I would add) to our “Physician of Heaven” St. Charbel Maklouf is surely helpful. As St. Faustina Kowalska, another young saint once said: “O Jesus, I trust in you.”

Let’s thank God for our young saint who came to our world at a time when we need it most. Let his intercession shower all of us with divine blessings. Let us give thanks to the Lord for the example of this young teenager who, in the simplicity of his whole life, shows us the way to Heaven!

St. Carlo Acutis, pray for us!

For more videos, articles, and reflections, visit slmedia.org/carlo-acutis