Saturday, July 7, 2018

Carlo Acutis, Model of Youthful Holiness

Carlo Acutis, Model of Youthful Holiness

Photo: www.carloacutis.com

(ANS – Milan – July 6) - On July 5,  Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of decrees concerning the heroic virtues of four Servants of God.

One of these was Carlo Acutis (born in London, May 4, 1991 - died at Monza, Italy, October 12, 2006), a teenager of our time, similar to many others: busy at school, among friends, a computer enthusiast. At the same time he was a great friend of Jesus who had entrusted  himself to the Virgin Mary. Reading his biography, we can appreciate the perennial validity of Don Bosco’s pedagogical intuitions. [Blogger’s note: Carlo attended a Jesuit high school. Among the saints to whom Carlo was particularly devoted were both St. Aloysius Gonzaga and St. Dominic Savio.]

Carlo Acutis died of leukemia at age 15; just a few days before, he had offered his life for the Pope and the Church.

His mother, Antonia, narrates: “The figure of Carlo can be summarized in this sentence: The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven. My son from an early age, and especially after his First Communion, never missed the almost daily appointment with the Holy Mass and the Rosary, and with a moment of Eucharistic adoration. Despite this intense spiritual life, Carlo lived fully and joyfully his fifteen years, leaving a profound trace in those who knew him.”

The figure of this young person is interesting and close to Salesian spirituality in various aspects. His radiance and serenity: he was a boy who lived his youth with joy, lived his age, without drama, without tension, without fear; he was happy to be young and, day by day, captured the beautiful, the good, the unexpected of his life as a young man. Faith lived in everyday life: through the fulfillment of his duties in his studies and in the life of prayer. Extraordinary attention to others: from immigrants to the disabled, to children, to beggars. And the use of technology and the means of communication to evangelize: much requested by friends and schoolmates for help with the computer, he was always available and always tried to be a Christian witness. At only 14 years of age, he thought up and created a virtual exhibition that is still present on the web: www.miracolieucaristici.org [Eucharistic miracles].

Carlo Acutis, only 15, belongs to that group of young and old who, with their lives, have narrated the beauty and joy of giving themselves for the love of God and the good of others.

Anyone wishing to receive news or bring testimony on the life of Carlo Acutis can write to info@carloacutis.com - www.carloacutis.com 



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