Sunbeam on a Cloudy Day

She’s cospaying the Resident Evil tall vampire lady now.

Morning Light

CARLO ACUTIS – Although his parents were not particularly devout, he began to experience a deep attraction towards the Blessed Sacrament. Aged eleven he became a catechist and learnt about the famous Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano in 750 AD. Determined to make this and other similar Eucharistic miracles more widely known, Carlo was convinced that if people properly understood that Christ is present in the tabernacle, they would be transformed and churches would be full. He researched and collated all the authenticated Eucharistic miracles by himself and put them on-line, doing the programming for the website. It is available at Eucharistic Miracles of the World. 

Announced today: Carlo Acutis to be beatified

“The Vatican announced Saturday the approval of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager and computer programmer, who died in 2006.

The miracle involved the healing of a Brazilian child suffering from a rare congenital anatomic anomaly of the pancreas in 2013. The Medical Council of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes gave a positive opinion of the miracle last November.

The beatification is expected to take place in Assisi. Acutis is currently buried in Assisi’s Church of St. Mary Major.

“Ven. Carlo Acutis had a PlayStation. He made ridiculous videos of his dogs where he pretended to talk for them. He played soccer. If he were alive today, he’d be 28. And he’s going to be beatified soon.

Carlo’s mom doesn’t know how he knew Jesus. His family never went to church, but as a preschooler Carlo began to beg to stop in and visit Jesus. So they did. And as Carlo grew in holiness, he dragged his mother with him. “He was like a little savior to me,” she said.

After Carlo made his first communion, he never missed a day of Mass again. His parents didn’t go, but he did, an 8-year-old boy walking through the streets of Milan alone to go visit Jesus.

As he got older, Carlo began to realize how few people went to Mass. He knew that if they understood that Jesus was really present in the Eucharist, they wouldn’t be able to stay away. So Carlo began to research Eucharistic miracles. He’d started reading college computer programming textbooks when he was 9 or 10, so he built a website to share what he’d learned with the world.

Carlo was an ordinary kid. He had to figure out how to use the internet for good. He had to balance screen time with real life (he allowed himself an hour of video games a week–his rule, not his parents’). He lived in the same world we live in–he’s younger than many of us–and he figured out how to become a Saint.

I visited his grave in Assisi last year and was just so overwhelmed by the absolute invitation I saw in the dates listed there. 1991. He was born in 1991. There’s just no excuse–I’ve got to be a Saint.

But there was no judgment, just a feeling of excitement. I’ve got a friend who survived the same fashion trends and alternative music and early internet awkwardness that I did. I’ve got an intercessor for using the internet in a way that gives glory to God. And y'all, dive down the rabbit hole of Carlo on YouTube–it is CRAZY that we’ve got awkward middle school videos of a Saint!