Saint Carlo Acutis, Sanctify Our Digital Lives

The first rule of writing is to start with an interesting hook—something that will dazzle the reader and entice them into reading the rest of the article. When writing about the saints, this is usually an easy task; just take a look at these humdingers:

When he felt the urge of an impure thought, the mystical Francis would throw himself into thorn bushes, allowing the razor-sharp crown of thorns to rake the sinful idea from his body.

Or this one:

Some saints float.

St. Christina the Astonishing, for example, couldn’t stand the stench of the poor she served. At her funeral, they approached her body to honor her, but her corpse had other ideas—it rose to the ceiling in protest of their foul odor. Her spiritual director ordered her to return to her casket. Had it not been for her virtuous obedience, she’d probably still be floating near the eaves.

The saints are indeed interesting. They captivate us with their adventurous faith. We love their stories because, alas, our lives do not resemble theirs—they seem to have had much more fun being Catholic. Sure, many died horrifically tragic deaths as martyrs, but some of them bilocated; others could fly. Still others had X-ray vision and could see into souls! Every single one of them lived a life of heroic virtue, which we in the Church Militant find difficult to achieve in our own drab and boring lives.

Yeah, the saints are easy to write about. At least, that’s what I thought until I met Blessed Carlo Acutis.

How does one write an interesting hook about a 15-year-old whose life was, well…mid?

He didn’t have the stigmata. He didn’t convert millions (yet). He didn’t have any flashy adventures.

Carlo Acutis was a lot like you and me—normal, ordinary, and to put it bluntly, a little underwhelming on the surface.

But beneath his day-to-day normalcy, this kid’s soul was aflame with such Catholic zeal that every aspect of his life—home, school, and community—was lit by his internal flame.

Allow me to introduce you to the real Carlo Acutis, the saint that my tech-obsessed generation needs more than we can even fathom.

The spirituality of the soon-to-be saint was on display in many places during the course of his short life.

He practiced detachment by wearing non-brand clothes.

He used his creativity to make short films that featured his pet cats as protagonists.

He stayed up late talking to his friends on the phone, sometimes helping them through moral crises.

He was the only teen who attended daily Mass at his home parish.

He taught himself how to code and built websites at a very young age. In fact, he was the webpage administrator for his home parish!

His life can be compared to the simplicity of St. Therese of Lisieux, who once wrote, “What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love.”

Carlo’s life may seem ordinary at first, but there’s a reason why he is being made a saint right now. Many, unfortunately, will see his moniker “The Digital Saint” and think, “Wow, Carlo is great! Now I can be online 24/7 and call it ‘evangelization!’”

No.

That’s the exact opposite of Carlo’s legacy.

Carlo strived to use his advanced knowledge and love of technology in service to God’s plan. He knew at a very young age that digital tools (video games especially, for Carlo) could quickly throw us off balance spiritually. That’s why he limited his game-playing time to one hour a week.

And as for his web development skills? He used those as a service to the Church by creating websites where people could marvel at the deeper realities of the mystical world—especially the center of our Catholic faith: the Eucharist. Carlo’s goal was to take the digital and sanctify it—to use it as a tool through which people could access the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith.

Most of Carlo’s life was spent away from screens. He valued relationships by spending most of his time with Jesus at Mass and before the Blessed Sacrament in adoration. This bond made it possible for him to interact with people in a way that teased out the most profound parts of their souls. His conversations were deep. His questions were constant. His responses when others asked him about his faith were insightful and honest.

According to Fr. Will Conquer, author of Carlo’s biography A Millennial in Paradise:

In the third millennium, Pope Francis is suggesting a new way to become holy. It is a martyrdom that is neither red nor white, but which can be called “transparent.” It is transparent because the offering of their lives and complete trust in the love of God, in whom they confide, is easily seen…Pope Francis believes this is about the free acceptance of a “certain short-term death,” that is, an act of charity for others.

This “transparent martyrdom” is exemplified by Carlo’s holiness through the normalcy of his day-to-day life. He established a “new normal” by making himself a constant gift to those around him. While others were too distracted by pop culture, clothes, careers, and screens, he simply loved.

And that’s what makes a saint.

Carlo’s presence is among us. As fellow distributors of God’s manifold grace, we must learn from him how to avoid the pitfalls of worldly prestige. On the contrary, we must be like the boy and live our ordinary lives with extraordinary purpose. Many souls are lost to the allurements of the day-to-day world, especially with so much of our attention going to digital media, where everyone aspires to become an “influencer” of some generic “brand.”

Carlo shows us how to live as Christ designed us—to be more than normal. To be the ones who love.

To do otherwise is to move farther and farther away from He who defines us—God. As St. Catherine of Genoa expressed it, “My me is God. Nor do I know myself save in Him.”

Who better to help us rediscover ourselves in faith amidst digital distractions than Carlo Acutis, the saint with a screen in his hand?

Who better to use today’s screens to reflect the light of Jesus into the world than us?

Soon-to-be Saint Carlo Acutis, pray for us.

Editor’s Note: Tune into T.J. Burdick’s recent interview with Tim Moriarty on the soon-to-be Saint Carlo Acutis and his biopic Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and our Digital Age coming to theaters in 2025. Listen to Burdick’s podcast here or watch it on YouTube.

Photo retrieved from english.clonline.org