Carlo Acutis: teenage computer genius on the way to becoming a saint

When people think of saints, they think of holy men and women dressed in white robes carrying the cross or the Bible and attending church. It is an image that people have maintained for beloved saints such as Francisco de Asís, Padre Pio and Teresa, among others.

But in this modern age, the images of the saints have changed and Venerable Carlo Acutis is an example of this. Acutis died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. The Italian teenager was known for his computer skills and his love for the Virgin Mary and the Eucharist, which he described as his “way to heaven.”

The computer genius is on his way to sainthood when Pope Francis declared him Venerable on July 5, 2018. Later, Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to him, which allowed him to be beatified. Beatification is one step away from sainthood. After the beatification, the adolescent would be called Blessed Carlo Acutis.

His grave has been open for public veneration from October 1-17, while his beatification will take place on October 10. The rector of the Shrine of Dispossession in Assisi, where Acutis’s tomb is located, told Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) that his body was found to be “completely integral” although “not intact.”

“For the first time in history, we will see a saint dressed in jeans, sneakers and a sweater,” said Father Carlos Acácio Gonçalves Ferreira. “This is a great message for us, we can feel holiness not as something distant but as something very within everyone’s reach because the Lord is the Lord of all.”

As his peers spent their free time playing games and hanging out with friends, Acutis used his to draw closer to God. He attended daily mass and prayed the rosary every day. He also went to confession weekly.

Before his death, Acutis used his knowledge of the computer to spread the Word of God. He was an expert in computer programming, film editing, and website creation, so he did research on Eucharistic miracles and then created a website where other people can read about them.

Archbishop Domencio Sorrentino of Assisi, spokesman for the beatification of Acutis, said at a mass at the opening of the tomb that he was “a child of our time.”

“A child of the Internet age and a model of holiness of the digital age, as presented by Pope Francis in his letter to young people around the world. The computer has become a way of traveling through the streets of the world, like the first disciples of Jesus, to bring to hearts and homes the announcement of true peace, which quenches the thirst for infinity that inhabits the human heart ” , He said. She said.

For someone so young, Acutis was wise for his age. He knew that nothing in this life is permanent, so he strove to live his earthly life in a way that would make God happy. “Our objective must be the infinite and not the finite. The Infinite is our homeland. We are always expected in heaven, ”he said.

“To always be united to Jesus, this is my life plan,” he added. “I’m happy to die because I lived my life without wasting a minute on anything that displeases God.”