Beatified in Assisi, Carlo Acutis offers a "model of holiness"

Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager born in London who used his computer skills to encourage devotion to the Eucharist and who will be beatified in October, offers a model of holiness for Christians in a new era of locks, a British Catholic who lived with his family he said.

"What struck me most is the exceptional simplicity of his formula for becoming a saint: attending mass and reciting the rosary every day, confessing weekly and praying before the Blessed Sacrament," said Anna Johnstone, a professional singer and longtime friend of the teenager's family.

"At a time when new blocks could separate us from the sacraments, it encouraged people to view the rosary as their home church and find refuge in the heart of the Virgin Mary," Johnstone told Catholic News Service.

Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, will be beatified on October 10 in the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi in Assisi, Italy. The ceremony had been postponed since spring 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic to allow more young people to attend.

The teenager developed a database and website that tell of Eucharistic miracles around the world.

Johnstone said that Acutis was convinced that "the good could be achieved through the Internet". He said that Catholics around the world found the information he released by "stating massively" during the global coronavirus pandemic.

"He would like to urge young people today to avoid negative aspects of social media and fake news, and to go to confession if they fall prey to it," said Johnstone, a graduate of theology from the University of Cambridge who also acted as housekeeper for the twin brothers of Acutis, born four years a day after his death.

“But it would also show how the power of lay life resides in simple and regular devotions. If we are forced to stay at home, with the churches closed, we can still find a spiritual port in the Madonna, "he said.

Born in London on May 3, 1991, where his Italian mother and half-English father studied and worked, Acutis received his first communion at the age of 7 after the family moved to Milan.

He died on October 12, 2006, a year after using the self-taught skills to create a website, www.miracolieucaristici.org, which lists more than 100 Eucharistic miracles in 17 languages.

Johnstone said that Acutis combined the generosity and courtesy of intelligent and hardworking parents, who imbued him with a "sense of purpose and direction".

He added that he was helped by the "nice influences" of a Polish Catholic nanny and Catholic sisters while he was in school. He said he believed that God had been the "direct driving force" behind the boy's religious journey, which later brought his agnostic mother, Antonia Salzano, to faith.

“Children sometimes have very intense religious experiences, which cannot be adequately understood by others. Although we cannot be aware of what has happened, God has clearly intervened here, "said Johnstone, who directs the rosary groups and the teen exhibits.

His beatification was approved by Pope Francis on February 21 after the recognition of a miracle due to his intercession regarding the 2013 care of a Brazilian boy.

Johnstone said that the "first big surprise" for Acutis's family was the huge turnout for his funeral, adding that the rector of his parish in Milan, Santa Maria della Segreta, realized that "something was happening "When he later received calls from Catholic groups in Brazil and elsewhere asking to" see where he adored Charles. "

"The family has a new life now, but is deeply committed to continuing Carlo's work, helping with investigations and facilitating access to relevant resources," said Johnstone, whose father, a former Anglican vicar, became a Catholic priest in 1999.

“Although press coverage highlighted Charles's role as a computer fanatic, his greatest attention was paid to the Eucharist as what he called his way to heaven. Although we can't all be skilled with computers, we can all become saints even during blockades and get to heaven by placing Jesus at the center of our daily lives, "he told CNS.

Pope Francis praised Acutis as a model in "Christus Vivit" ("Christ Lives"), his 2019 exhortation on young people, saying that the teenager offered an example for those who fall into "self-absorption, isolation and empty pleasure ".

"Carlo was well aware that the entire communication, advertising and social network apparatus can be used to lull us, to make us dependent on consumerism," wrote the pope.

"However, he knew how to use the new communication technology to transmit the Gospel, to communicate values ​​and beauty".