Carlo Acutis

God’s Influencer

Carlo Acutis was born on May 3, 1991, in London to Italian parents. The family soon moved to Milan, where Carlo grew up as an ordinary boy who loved video games, programming, soccer, and his pets. But from an extraordinarily young age, he showed a deep devotion to the Eucharist. He received his First Communion at seven, unusually early, and from that day never missed daily Mass.

A naturally gifted programmer, Carlo taught himself web development and at just eleven years old began building a website documenting Eucharistic miracles from around the world. He researched over 130 miracles across 17 countries, creating detailed pages with photographs, history, and Church documentation. The exhibition became an international phenomenon, displayed in thousands of parishes, and continues to be shown worldwide.

Despite his family’s wealth, Carlo lived simply. He saved his pocket money for the homeless rather than spend it on himself. He volunteered at a soup kitchen and defended bullied classmates. He told his mother, “All people are born as originals, but many die as photocopies.”

In October 2006, Carlo was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia. He offered his suffering for the Pope and the Church, saying he wanted to “offer all the suffering I will have to endure for the Lord, for the Pope, and for the Church.” He died on October 12, 2006, at age fifteen. His body was enshrined in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi. Carlo was beatified in 2020 and canonized by Pope Leo XIV on September 7, 2025, during the Jubilee Year of Hope, becoming the youngest non-martyr saint of modern times.

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