In his short fifteen years, Carlo Acutis lived a surprising Christian life in the normal growth of an adolescent. The fruits of Grace produced in him arouse amazement in the Church.
by Don Salvatore Alletto
Aadolescent and saint: two words that, at first glance, might clash in the same sentence. We all know how often in the hearts of adolescents there is a tangle of emotions and feelings, dreams and hopes, passions and desires, accompanied by doubts and uncertainties, impulsive actions and rebellions, hardships and disillusions. The testimony of Carlo Acutis, a saint at fifteen, sheds a ray of light on this beautiful and eventful age. Yes, you can be a saint even as a teenager!
Carlo was born on May 3, 1991 in London, where his parents were for work. He grew up in Milan, first attending elementary and middle school at the Marcelline Sisters and then the Classical High School at the Leone XIII Institute. A “normal” boy, but with a “special” friendship! A teenager like many others, with a passion for sports, music and especially the web, but who manages, thanks to his friendship with Jesus, to exalt those typical traits of a young teenager.
We know well how teenagers, in their growth phase, feel a strong push towards nonconformity. Very often, however, this desire to stand out leads them to follow the fashions of the moment. Nothing wrong with that, let's be clear. This is part of a process of growth and search for one's own identity. Carlo instead finds in prayer, in particular in the Eucharist, his "highway" to heaven, the way to live his existence as "an original, not as a photocopy"! Carlo does not resign himself to repeating clichés or to following low-cost models of life: he wants to live large! Stopping in prayer in the Parish of Santa Maria Segreta in Milan, he found in the Eucharist the strength to be able to say with his life "not me, but God!". Only in this way could he reflect the image of God in his life and discover that unique and unrepeatable project that the Lord wanted to entrust to him.
Anyone who works with teenagers knows how curious they are about the world of the Internet. This was also true for Carlo, and it is curious that he was born in the very year in which the first website was published. As if to say, the web grows with Carlo and Carlo grows with the web. This curiosity leads him to learn even its most hidden aspects, to use them in the context of a true new evangelization. In fact, he is the creator of several websites to share faith and devotion to the Eucharist, as well as to spread his idea of an exhibition on Eucharistic miracles. A true pioneer (today we would say an influencer) capable of using new means of communication to bring Jesus' message to many. This is precisely why he was chosen as the patron saint of the Internet world.
Anyone who knows the world of adolescents also knows that in the hearts of young people there is often an alternation between self-absorption and enthusiasm for others. How many young people populate our Oratories during the summers, but at the same time how much effort is required to involve them in long-term projects. Carlo spends his daily life living an “extroverted” existence. Not only does he care for friendships, a fundamental aspect in the life of every adolescent, but he also pays attention to the poor and needy, to those who have fallen behind in life. In this, we can find a strong connection with the experience of Saint Francis. It is no coincidence that Carlo feels a strong bond with the Poverello and with the city of Assisi. It is there, in fact, that he will ask to be buried, shortly before October 12, 2006, when a fulminant leukemia leads him to travel, now free from all pain and suffering, that endless highway towards Heaven.
Another fundamental aspect for the life of adolescents is the need for mature and credible adults to refer to. Together with dad Andrea and mom Antonia Salzano, who accompanied little Carlo on his journey of growth, there were various figures of teachers, catechists, priests who followed, some more closely and some a little further away, Carlo's experience of faith. He received from everyone and gave to everyone. This is also the case for all adolescents, who need role models, but who are also capable of giving us the riches of their hearts.
Carlo Acutis will be canonized on April 27th, in the midst of the Jubilee Year, precisely in the event dedicated to adolescents. Carlo is the testimony that these two words, saint and adolescent, can coexist in the same sentence, and the hundreds of thousands of young people who will participate in his canonization are the confirmation that even today it is possible to walk on the path of holiness, that is, of happiness. In the journey with Jesus, in fact, every adolescent will be able to live those aspects proper to his age, orienting them towards goodness and fullness, in the originality of each one.