The Healing Journey

October 10, 2023

Carlo Acutis was an ordinary teenager who played soccer, enjoyed computer games and practical jokes. Although his parents were not religious, Carlo developed a love for the Eucharist at an early age and often told them, “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven” and “being close to Jesus” was his life plan.

Carlo, who grew up in Italy, loved Assisi and would go there. In the tradition of St. Francis, he used his money to buy sleeping bags for the homeless. For four years, this amateur computer programmer worked on a project that cataloged 159 Eucharistic miracles from around the world.

When Carlo, who brought joy to so many, died at 15 of leukemia in 2006, his parents were heartbroken with grief. They probably didn’t realize this ordinary teenager they loved dearly was a saint. And later, their grief turned to amazement.

Carlo was beatified on October 10, 2020 by Pope Francis, who called him a model of holiness for young people everywhere.

The exhibit Carlo completed before he died has been viewed in five continents and thousands of parishes and universities. The Vatican International Exhibit of Eucharistic Miracles consists of 159 panels with photographs and descriptions of the places where the miracles occurred and prove Jesus is present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament. View it at http://www.miracolieucaristici.org.

Carlo’s tomb is in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi, where he is dressed in jeans, a track jacket and sneakers. His heart is in a reliquary in the Basilica of St. Francis.

To his parents, he may have been an ordinary teenager, but to countless others he is known as the “First Millennial Saint.” Could his mother and father have imagined their son, who only lived to 15, would have such a profound influence on the world?

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Thank you, Blessed Carlo Acutis for inspiring us.