Known for his devotion to the Eucharist and his dedication to charity, Blessed Carlo Acutis used technology to spread the faith.
Born in London in 1991, Blessed Carlo Acutis died of leukaemia at the age of 15. His short life was filled with great devotion to Mary and the Eucharist, which his computer skills enabled him to spread, even during his illness. He made of his suffering an offering and left happy.
Considered the patron saint of the Internet, Carlo Acutis was a young Catholic who tried to live his whole life in deep communion and friendship with Jesus.
Very devoted to Our Lady, he was a completely normal boy who liked football, cycling, cartoons and playing PlayStation with his friends. Despite his youth, Carlo was very open to others, especially to the most excluded in society, making no distinction of race or religion.
He had a special taste for computers and had an above-average knowledge of Computer Science. Uniting his two passions, he created a website dedicated to the careful cataloguing of each Eucharistic miracle, with the purpose of evangelizing.
In early October 2006, at the age of 15, Carlo fell ill. What seemed to be a normal flu was, in fact, fulminant leukaemia and no possibility of recovery. He died 10 days later, offering his suffering for Jesus, the Pope and the Church.
Carlo’s life reminds us that each one of us is called to be Saint, with our faults and characteristics. Carlo also shows us how we can take the risk of living the faith seriously and how it is a risk worth taking.