Blessed Carlo Acutis
There are lives that flow, seemingly normal. And then there are exceptional lives. What is most surprising about Carlo’s story is how he managed to be profoundly original: offering everyone who knew him the portrait of an exceptionally smiling normality.
Carlo was a boy like any other, and at the same time, he did extraordinary things. Without apparent effort, without any contradiction. He played the saxophone and, still very young, taught catechism to children. He played soccer with his friends, and an hour later, he would be volunteering at the soup kitchen of the Capuchins and Mother Teresa’s nuns for the poor.
Details
He had fun with video games, and at the same time, he used the internet to do apostolic works. He watched detective shows and made films with his dogs and cats, and he helped the less fortunate in the neighborhood. He designed computer programs and helped other children with homework difficulties.
Enlightened,animated by an extraordinary faith that he had lived deeply since childhood. This made him an example capable of involving and inspiring others to action. Today, the Carlo Acutis Foundation seeks to enhance his testimony and moral and spiritual legacy, in line with the timeless values that young Carlo had been taught at home, which have always been part of a family history and are now translated on a broader scale by the Foundation’s social action.
Timeline
1991
1995
1997
1998
2003
2005
2006
2006
2007
2012
2013
2016
2018
2019
2020
1991
Carlo was born in the Portland Clinic in London. On 18 May, he received the Sacrament of Baptism in Our Lady of Dolours Church. On 8 September 1991 Carlo returned to Milan with his parents.
1995
Carlo attended the local Parco Pagani nursery school in Milan.
“Everyone is born as an original, but many die as a photocopy”
Carlo Acutis1997
In September, he started primary school at the San Carlo Institute; three months later, for practical reasons, he was moved to the Tommaseo Institute, run by the Sisters of Saint Marcellina, where he remained for the whole of his primary and lower secondary education.
1998
On 16 June, in Perego, he received his First Communion at the Convent of the Romite Sisters of Saint Ambrose.
2003
On 24 May, he received the Sacrament of Confirmation in his parish church, Santa Maria Segreta.
2005
In September, he began classical high school at the Jesuit Fathers’ Leo XIII Institute.
“In all dark and painful situations, there is a way out. Carlo found the way”
Pope Francis2006
On October 2 Carlo falls ill and is initially thought to have flu. On Sunday 8 Carlo’s condition plummets and he is taken to the De Marchi clinic in Milan where he is diagnosed with M3 acute leukemia.
2006
Carlo’s heart stopped beating on Thursday 12 October, at 6:45 a.m. On Saturday 14, his funeral was held in Santa Maria Segreta.
2007
In January, Carlo’s body was moved from the cemetery in Ternengo to the one in Assisi, in accordance with his wishes.
2012
On Oct. 12, the cause of beatification and canonization of Charles opens and he becomes a Servant of God.
“The digital world can expose you to the risk of self-absorption and isolation. But there are young people even there who show creativity and even genius. Like Carlo”
Pope Francis2013
On 13 May came the Nihil Obstat of the Holy See for the Cause for Carlo’s Beatification and Canonisation.
2016
24 November, in the Archdiocese of Milan, in the presence of Cardinal Scola, saw the completion of the process, at diocesan level, of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonisation of Carlo, the Servant of God.
2018
On 5 July, Carlo was declared Venerable by Pope Francis.
2019
On 23 January, Carlo’s body was exhumed. On 6 April, it was moved to the Sanctuary of the Spoliation in Assisi.
“Carlo knew how to use social networks to transmit the Gospel, to convey values and beauty. He did not fall into the trap”
Pope Francis2020
On 10 October, Carlo was beatified in Assisi.
Exhibitions
Gli appelli della Madonna, Apparizioni e Santuari Mariani nel mondo
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