I don’t precisely remember when I first heard about Saint Carlo Acutis, the young man from Italy who died exceptionally young from Leukemia, but I’ll never forget his name. However, I do remember the first conversation that I had with my middle son, Joseph, about him. Joey was tasked with doing a presentation about his hero for his second-grade class. He told me all about who the other kids were choosing: Kobe Bryant, Roberto Clemente, Taylor Swift, Abraham Lincoln, and others of similar status.
We talked about who he looked up to and who really inspired him. He really didn’t have an answer. At this point, he was deep in the preparations for First Holy Communion, and the Eucharistic Miracles exhibit featuring Saint Carlo Acutis’ work had just been at our parish. I told him briefly about this boy who cared deeply about the poor, loved Jesus in the Eucharist so much, played soccer, and played video games. Needless to say, Joey was sold. Saints are supposed to be our heroes, and he wanted to learn all about him. We watched videos online, and I found a book for him to read to learn more.
The hero assignment culminated with Joey dressing up as then Blessed Carlo Acutis and presenting to his class, and later, to anyone who came to the hero fair at the school. Joey’s teacher had never heard of Blessed Carlo, and she was so inspired by his story that she wanted to learn more. We found prayer cards with a prayer for Carlo’s canonization, which his teacher led the class in everyday after lunch. Now his whole class had heard the story and were praying daily for his canonization.
Joey continued to ask for Blessed Carlo’s intercession as he prepared for his First Holy Communion. While I was shopping for some gifts for the occasion, I came upon a small statue of Saint Carlo Acutis, wearing his trademark red polo and gesturing to a monstrance over his heart. It was mislabeled as “Carlos,” but I knew who he was. When Joey opened that box on the day he received Jesus for the first time, he cried happy tears. I knew there was a special connection between them, and I am so grateful to be able to see that relationship grow.
As more time passed, Joey became more actively involved with playing soccer and started to really enjoy video games. While these were things that really drew him in, I could tell he had a yearning to do more. Joey is always the first person to notice someone begging in the street and never hesitates to ask if we have extra food or money to give them. He looks for ways to help other people, and he’s always the one to suggest that we should help.
Most recently, I saw a really great store on Etsy that sells a variety of cool Catholic things, but one in particular called Saint Sprites caught my attention. Aside from super cool decals, which my kids love, there is a prayer card that is written to pray before playing video games. All of my kids love to play video games, and I bet they get that from me, but I know that most families struggle with screen time. As Joey researched more about Saint Carlo Acutis, he discovered that Carlo limited himself to just an hour of gaming a week, recognizing how much time could be lost on them instead of helping others. I encouraged the boys to always pray that prayer and to ask for Saint Carlo Acutis’ intercession before playing and especially when their competitive nature takes an emotional toll on them, or they completely lose track of time.
Watching this relationship between Saint Carlo Acutis and my son grow has had an immense impact on our family too. This year when the movie “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality” was released, we knew we had to see it. What inspired my family was not the fact that Joey requested to see it. We expected that. It was the fact that he chose this over the Minecraft movie, which was in theaters at the same time. Roadmap to Reality is definitely worth seeing, just make sure you’re prepared to be challenged to be holier. Piety is a virtue that Saint Carlo Acutis managed to make look so easy, and in doing so, continues to change the world.
Finally, I need to share an encounter with Divine Providence from this spring as well. I am responsible for planning class retreats at the high school where I am principal. The junior retreat was scheduled to be the Thursday before the original canonization date. That retreat included a visit to Saint Anthony Chapel in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The chapel houses the second largest collection of relics in the world, only trailing behind Vatican City. I was able to make contact with our own Bishop Waltershied, who has a beautiful devotion to Saint Carlo Acutis, and as such, has a first-class relic of him. I invited the bishop to celebrate Mass in the chapel for the retreat, and he was very quick to accept. What I hadn’t planned at all was that it was National Take your Kid to Work Day. Joey requested to come to work with me, and so he was able to get a blessing from the bishop with this relic. He also brought and carried that statue all day so that he could touch it to the relic. Now Joey is very happy to display his third-class relic of Saint Carlo Acutis in our family room.
Saints show us the way to Jesus. They’re supposed to inspire us. What my son continues to remind me is that they also walk with us, they’re our friends, and as long as we ask them, they will pray for us. So, the next time you’re about to go into that last boss fight or you’re about to serve those in need of clothing or food, know that Saint Carlo Acutis walks with you.
