Blessed Carlo Acutis: The Example Young People Need
“All people are born as originals, but most die as photocopies.”
Blessed Carlo Acutis preached this message as a call for people of all ages to never settle for mediocrity. Born in May 1991, this first “millennial” to be beatified died at the age of fifteen, after a battle with leukemia. Blessed Carlo grew up as a normal child in an ordinary home, but his witness of intentional kindness, dynamic prayer, and proclamation of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist stands as a beacon of hope in a secular age, and a path for all young people to follow.
Blessed Carlo Acutis had a tremendous love for technology, especially computers and video games. He spent time with his friends defeating virtual monsters and winning virtual battles. His love for video games is one reason that many young people are encouraged to see him beatified – he is almost certainly the first video-game-playing beati! However, the time Bl. Carlo spent playing in these virtual worlds with his friends never became more important to him than the “real” world he awaited in Heaven. He once said:
“It doesn’t matter if you can win battles if you can’t win the battle within yourself.”
As a true millennial, Bl. Carlo had several internet and social media accounts. What made him a role model for the rest of his generation is how he used these platforms to spread faith in God. Bl. Carlo was known to often place things in the view of the “big picture,” saying:
“We are to live for the infinite, not the finite. The infinite is our one true home.”
His perspective set him apart from his peers as someone willing and able to see life through the divine perspective of heaven, humanity’s one true home.
