Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991 - 12 October 2006) was an Italian Roman Catholic teenager.[2] He was best known for documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world and cataloging them all onto a website that he himself created in the months before his death from leukemia.[3][2] He was noted for his cheerfulness and for his computer skills as well as for his deep devotion to the Eucharist which became a core theme of his life.[4]

Venerable

Carlo Acutis
Layman
Born(1991-05-03)3 May 1991
London, England, United Kingdom
Died12 October 2006(2006-10-12) (aged 15)
Monza, Milan, Italy
Resting placeAssisi, Italy
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Patronage
  • Youth
  • Students[1]

The calls for him to be beatified began not long after he died and gained significant momentum in 2013 after the cause commenced and he became titled as a Servant of God - the first stage on the path towards sainthood.[2][5] Pope Francis declared him to be Venerable on 5 July 2018; the same pope approved a miracle attributed to him which enables Acutis to be beatified.

Acutis will be beatified at the Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi on Saturday, October 10 at 4 P.M. Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will preside.

Life

Carlo Acutis was born in London in mid-1991 to Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano.[4]

His parents worked in London though settled in Milan not long after their son's birth in September 1991.[2] He became devoted as a child to the Mother of God and recited frequent rosaries as a sign of his devotion to her.[3] He became a frequent communicant after the reception of his First Communion (aged seven at the convent of S. Ambrogio ad Nemus) and made the effort either before or after Mass to reflect in front of the tabernacle. Acutis also made his confession once a week. Those around him knew he had a passion for computers.[4][2] He spent his school education in Milan and his high school studies were under the Jesuits at the Istituto Leone XIII. He also had several models as his guides for life:

Acutis was worried about those friends of his whose parents were divorcing and so he would invite those friends to his home to support them. He defended the rights of the disabled and defended disabled peers at school when bullies mocked them. He loved travelling but loved to visit Assisi more than other places.[4]

He contracted leukemia and offered his pain for both Pope Benedict XVI and for the Universal Church in which he said that "I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church”. He had asked his parents to take him on pilgrimages to the sites of all the known Eucharistic miracles in the world but his worsening health prevented this from happening. Being passionate about computers led Acutis to make a website dedicated to careful cataloging of each reported miracle and he did this in 2005 (he had cataloged each case since he was eleven). He appreciated Blessed Giacomo Alberione's initiatives to use the media to evangelize and proclaim the Gospel and aimed to do this with the website that he had created. He also liked film and comic editing.[3] It was on the website that he said: "the more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven".

The doctor treating him asked him if he was suffering much pain and he responded that "there are people who suffer much more than me".[4] He died on 12 October 2006 at 6:45am from M3 fulminant leukemia and he was buried in Assisi in accordance with his wishes.[2][3]

Both Raffaello Martinelli and Angelo Comastri helped in organizing a travelling photo exhibition of all those Eucharistic miracle sites in his honor. It has since travelled to dozens of different countries across five continents.[6]

Beatification

The Lombard Episcopal Conference approved the petition for the canonization cause to be introduced at their meeting in 2013.[5] The opening of the diocesan investigation was held on 15 February 2013 with Cardinal Angelo Scola inaugurating the process and then concluding it later on 24 November 2016. The formal introduction to the cause came on 13 May 2013 and Acutis became titled as a Servant of God. Pope Francis confirmed his life of heroic virtue on 5 July 2018 and named him as Venerable.[7]

Medical experts approved a miracle attributed to him on 14 November 2019. Pope Francis confirmed this miracle in a decree on 21 February 2020 which enables for Acutis to be beatified in Assisi sometime in 2020.[8]

Acutis will be beatified at the Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi on Saturday, October 10 at 4 P.M. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will preside.

The current postulator for this cause is Dr. Francesca Consolini.

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References
  1. Adam Cassandra (9 December 2016). "Young Creator of 'Eucharistic Miracles' Exhibit Can Be Role Model for Students". The Cardinal Newman Society. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. "Servant of God Carlo Acutis". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  3. Philip Kosloski (3 December 2016). ""Computer geek" takes one more step toward sainthood". Aleteia. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. "Italy moved by teen who offers life for the Church and the Pope". Catholic News Agency. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  5. "Cause of beatification starts!". Associazione Amici di Carlo Acutis. 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  6. Jean Ko Din (4 June 2016). "Photo exhibit chronicles the miracle of the Eucharist". The Catholic Register. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  7. "Venerable Carlo Acutis: A patron of computer programmers?", Catholic News Agency, 6 July 2018
  8. Gomes, Robin (22 February 2020). "Indian martyr, Devasahayam, cleared for sainthood". Vatican News.
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