On Monday, October 12, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Carlo Acutis. This year’s feast also marks 20 years since his death on October 12, 2006, in Monza, Italy. He was 15 years old.
Carlo was, in many ways, an ordinary teenager. He played sports, cheered for Inter Milan, played the saxophone, kept a houseful of pets, and was gifted with computers. He was also extraordinarily devoted to Jesus in the Eucharist, which he called “my highway to heaven.” Pope Leo XIV canonized him on September 7, 2025, alongside Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati.
In February, St. Paul the Apostle hosted a visit of relics of Saint Carlo, including a portion of his pericardium, the membrane that surrounds the heart. Hundreds came for Mass, adoration, confession, and veneration. Petitions left that day were carried back to Assisi and placed beneath Carlo’s tomb. Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo, who accompanies the relics from Assisi, preached the homily and offered a reflection later in the day. Both are below.
Homily: Why God Raised Up Saint Carlo
Msgr. Figueiredo offers three reasons God gives us a saint like Carlo: he points us to God in the Eucharist, he shows that ordinary life can become holy, and he gives us a simple way to holiness. That way is what Carlo called his “programme of life,” a “spiritual pericardium” of five daily practices that protected his relationship with Jesus:
- Frequent reception of Jesus in the Eucharist
- Eucharistic adoration
- Spiritual direction and confession
- Devotion to the Blessed Mother and the saints
- Acts of charity
Concluding his homily to one million young people gathered in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth on August 3, 2025, Pope Leo XIV recommended these same steps as the way to holiness:
“Jesus is our hope… Let us remain united to him, let us remain in his friendship, always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic Communion, frequent Confession, and generous charity, following the examples of Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis. Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you. I entrust you to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Hope.”
Reflection: “I Will Send You Signs”
As he was dying, Carlo told his mother not to worry, promising to send her signs that he was with God. In this reflection, Msgr. Figueiredo shares accounts of those signs, including some he witnessed firsthand, and explains that the purpose of every miracle is to lead us to faith in Jesus. He closes with Carlo’s words on adoration: “Sadness is when I look at myself. Happiness is when I turn my eyes towards Jesus.”
Mark the Feast
Carlo did not ask anyone to take on all five steps at once. Choose one this week: attend a weekday Mass, spend time before the tabernacle, go to confession, pray a decade of the rosary with your family, or do a concrete act of charity.
About Saint Carlo
Saint Carlo Acutis was a teenager known for his deep Catholic faith, devotion to the Eucharist, and passion for technology. He used the internet to share his love of the Eucharist, creating a website that catalogued Eucharistic miracles from around the world.
Diagnosed with leukemia at age 15, Carlo offered up his suffering, saying, “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and for the Church.”
Saint Carlo Acutis, pray for us.