Register contributor and author Sabrina Ferrisi, a mother of five, was on EWTN’s At Home With Jim and Joy over the summer to discuss the beautiful witness of Blessed Carlo Acutis, including her book about the saint-to-be whose feast day is Oct. 12.
“He was a millennial, and so people can relate to him,” Ferrisi explained on the EWTN program. “He lived in our times. He had a laptop, a computer. He was a computer programmer. He had a flip phone … he had a PlayStation, wore jeans and sneakers and did the things we do — and so he’s very relatable and a very fun kid.”
She added of the beloved “super computer geek” who died of leukemia at 15 on Oct. 12, 2006: “He was living with one foot on earth and one foot in heaven — on one hand, a super-normal kid who had a lot of friends; he played soccer … but he was also very religious.”
“Everyone loved him,” Ferrisi underscored, recounting that he even brought friends to the faith.
Love Jesus — and Encourage Others to Love Him Too
The young daily communicant brought his parents back to the faith, too, Ferrisi explained. “They followed him — very, very beautiful.”
“Carlo, at a very young age, was extremely aware of the presence of God in his life.”
He would visit Jesus at every church he passed, and “he would put flowers in front of the statues of Mary and Jesus,” the journalist added.
“He just had this extraordinary grace and perception and desire for the Lord,” she explained, adding that his cousin said, “He was just like any other kid except for his faith, which was so big it just burst forth from him and it affected all of us.”
On summer vacation with cousins in Assisi, he would plan his day as: “Okay, guys, we’re going to go to Mass, and then walk the dogs, and fly the kites … and then we’re going to pray the Rosary.”
Use Technology Well
What did he think of all things tech?
“He thought that technology could be an atomic bomb for good or it can be an atomic bomb for bad,” Ferrisi explained, quoting the holy teen’s mother. “He recognized that so much good could be done — and he did a lot of good with technology.”
“He was also very concerned that teenagers, or young people, were spending massive amounts of time on the internet, playing videos games, losing touch with reality. He didn’t like that people were so much in the virtual world but not hanging out with friends, flesh and blood in front of you. He was worried about the scourge of pornography and cyber bullying. And social media was starting during his lifetime, and that was also something he was worried about because he was very modest; he never wanted his name to be anywhere — and so he didn’t think taking pictures of yourself and constantly putting those on social media was a healthy thing, because it’s a kind of idolatry of self. He thought all of the attention should be on God and not on ourselves.”
Love the Eucharist
Ferrisi also talked about his “Eucharistic Miracles” exhibit and how “he insisted his name not be on it — not because he wasn’t proud but because he didn’t want the attention on himself. He said, ‘I want the attention on the Lord, not on me.’”
He loved the Eucharist — and highlighted 163 worldwide miracle stories on the website he created.
“With his family, they traveled all over Europe and took pictures of these churches and these miracles for the website. He worked on his website for four years.”
His legacy includes shows on EWTN that highlight these amazing miracles.
He taught catechism too — starting at age 11. It made him sad that the kids at his parish weren’t excited about the Eucharist, and he thought his exhibit and website would help youth become excited about the faith. The exhibit, which has traveled to thousands of parishes on all continents, has prompted conversions — and miraculous healings, too.
His mom gets emails daily about medical miracles, with documentation, as well as conversions and favors — all through his intercession.
“People are praying to him, and things are happening now, it’s incredible,” Ferrisi said. “He’s a very powerful saint. Pray to him, because he’s answering prayers left and right.”
Ferrisi said her son who just graduated from college with a degree in computer science told her, “I can’t relate to the other saints, but I can relate to Carlo because he was like me, into technology.”
Make a ‘Spiritual Plan’
In the second episode, Ferrisi shared the first millennial saint’s “spiritual plan.”
“He’s a wonderful person to get to know,” she said, adding: “He lived a spiritual plan of life every day.”
What did that daily plan include?
- Mass
- Rosary
- Adoration before or after Mass — he could often be found in church before the tabernacle. “He had a very deep relationship with Jesus.”
- Reading the Bible
- Community service — he would feed the homeless with his family, including distributing leftovers, in the footsteps of St. Francis, a favorite saint of his.
Bonus trivia: Carlo had mystical experiences: The Fatima seers appeared to him.
Love Your Pets
He loved his pets — the Acutis family had four dogs, two cats and a goldfish.
“He was a big lover of animals.”
Be a Good Friend
“What a wonderful friend he was,” Ferrisi said, explaining that he took time to protect kids who were bullied or invited over those who had family issues — he spent lots of time with friends.
Most of All, Cultivate a Caring Heart Like Christ’s
“He had a very deep spiritual life” that put faith into action: spending time with friends and doing corporal works of mercy, Ferrisi said.
We live for eternity, was his perspective, so he used his time wisely. “I lived my life without wasting even a minute of it,” Carlo said.
Three days after being diagnosed with terminal leukemia, he died.
“Carlo now is bringing so many people into the Church,” the author explained, adding that “Assisi was his favorite place on earth.” That is where he is buried — that was his dying wish.
His upcoming canonization — likely in 2025 — Ferrisi said, will be “a moment of hope and joy in the Church.” His family and cousins and friends will attend, including his younger twin siblings, who were born on the four-year anniversary of his death.
Most of all, Carlo wants people to be drawn to Christ.
As Ferrisi said: “He wants to lead us to a deeper relationship with Jesus, which will give us joy and hope. We have to remember that: If we become close to Carlo, we will become close to Jesus.”
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