In a solemn ceremony in Assisi, central Italy, the Catholic Church beatified the young Italian Carlo Acutis this Saturday, a computer genius, who became the first religious influencer to reach the altars.
Acutis, who He died at the age of 15 in 2006 from leukemia and whose body is still “intact” with his jeans and sports shoes , is considered by Pope Francis a “brilliant” and “creative” young man, an example for the new generations.
“It is true that the digital world can expose you to the risk of withdrawal, isolation, or empty pleasure. But do not forget that there are young people who are also creative, and sometimes brilliant, in this environment ”, wrote the Argentine Pope , giving Carlo Acutis as an example. The official portal of the Holy See, Vatican News, describes the young man as “a normal, handsome and popular boy”, a kind of “natural clown” who made his classmates and teachers laugh.
Be original, not photocopies
The brand new blessed, whom he loved to play soccer, video games, Nutella, and ice cream s, he dedicated a good part of his life to virtual catechism and the creation of cybernetic networks to connect more than 10,000 parishes.
“All men are born as originals, but many die as photocopies, don’t let that happen to you!”, Recommended to his generation Acutis, which managed to reach thousands of people around the world with its young and fresh language.
His writings online, with religious content, inspired even the Argentine pope that in a text he urged young people to avoid considering God as “a hard disk”.
Born in London in 1991, Carlo Acutis died in Monza (Milan region) on October 12, 2006. He was declared “venerable” on July 5, 2018, and almost a year later his remains were transferred to Assisi.
The Church recognized that it interceded in a miracle, the inexplicable recovery in 2013 of a Brazilian boy, which opened the way for him to beatification, the first step to becoming a saint, for which two miracles are needed.
That year, just on the day of the seventh anniversary of his death, the miracle occurred. The little boy who suffered from the annular pancreas, an irreversible and fatal disease, attended with his grandfather a mass in the chapel of Our Lady Aparecida, located in Campo Grande in Mato Grosso del Sur. His state of gravity was such that he could not stop vomiting and was permanently cleaning himself with a towel. He could barely stand.
During the ceremony, a relic of Carlo was displayed – a small piece of cloth from his clothing – and the little boy asked his grandfather what he should do. The man replied to ask him to “stop vomiting,” and his grandson repeated those words. Since then, he has never done it again and the doctors assure that he was completely cured. His clinical studies show that he was completely healed and his pancreas became a normal organ, despite the fact that the severe condition he suffered would lead to a quick and safe death.
The beatification ceremony, which had to be postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic, was celebrated today in Assisi, the city of San Francisco, and was streamed around the world.
Internet fanatic and motivated by intense faith, the young man had created a page about faith and eucharistic miracles. His mother, Antonia Salzano, told the Vatican website that the young man “with a relatively obsolete computer, managed to reach thousands of people on all continents” thanks to his personality and the way he communicates his faith.
