Blessed Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality

Blessed Carlo Acutis: 1991-2006
Feast Day: October 12

Together, our saints compose a sprawling portrait of devotion and purpose across time and space, each situated in their own unique context. As we wade through an oversaturated, overstimulating modern environment, the crosses we bear often look a little different than those of centuries past–naturally, many Catholics wait with delight to see the first millennial saint be canonized just one month from now. On April 27, the final day of the 2025 Jubilee of Teenagers, Blessed Carlo Acutis will officially become the first saint to have been raised in a technological world that can speak to our current time. 

The only thing we have to ask God for in prayer is the desire to be holy
– Bl. Carlo Acutis

Our new patron saint of the internet, Carlo was a British-Italian web designer who died from leukemia at fifteen years old. Born in 1991, he grew into a child of unwavering faith in the face of a tragic diagnosis, centering his spiritual life around the Eucharist–the “highway to heaven,” as he called it. In 2004, Carlo launched a website documenting worldwide Eucharistic miracles in nineteen different languages. The website was published on October 4, 2006–the Feast of St. Francis, just a few days before Carlo’s death–with the chief goal of evangelization. His passion for technology and talent in web design allowed him to extend his devotion to the Eucharist as a living encounter with Christ to anyone with an internet connection. The internet, Carlo reminds us, is just another aspect of life that can be distracting or edifying, depending on how we approach it. He surely understood, in 2006, that there would be no avoiding the influence of this technology. His website is a storehouse of encounters that real people have had with Christ. By visiting this site, we visit with over 140 instances of the real presence of Christ made immediately, overtly tangible. As the home of this catalog of encounters, the internet is transformed into a tool to encourage contemplation, wonder, and awe. The grand extent of the project seems to manifest Carlo’s wholehearted, untiring faith in the Eucharist–a blueprint for those who may struggle or fall into uncertainty. 

Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age 

Appropriately timed, a new documentary on Carlo Acutis is set to be released in theaters nationwide in Spring 2025. Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age explores Carlo’s faith, his digital prowess, and how the young saint might guide us today. The project is a collaboration between Castletown Media, the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, and the National Eucharistic Revival. In a Castletown Media press release, CEO and founder Tim Moriarty sings the praises of this partnership, saying that the National Eucharistic Revival is “reigniting Catholics’ belief in the Real Presence, fueling a renewed passion for a deeper relationship with Christ. The McGrath Institute brings profound insights into the challenges the digital age poses for Catholic families today. With these collaborations, we’re poised to deepen the impact of our film, inspiring Catholics to embrace the challenges of the digital age with faith and wisdom.”

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, chair of the National Eucharistic Revival, emphasizes Carlo’s role as “a modern apostle” who can be of particular inspiration to young people, while producer Jim Wahlberg says the film aims to “present Carlo as a guide for navigating the digital world.” This emphasis on Carlo as an evangelical model for modern Catholics is felt throughout the press release, with the McGrath Institute’s Brett Robinson going on to state that Carlo “did not hide from technology but knew how to order it in a life that was governed first and foremost by a deep devotion to our Lord.” The Institute hopes the film’s influence will extend beyond theater audiences and find a place in liturgical formation and educational resources. 

A balm against the kind of loneliness and addiction that unfettered internet use can create, especially in youth, Carlo’s work and life emphasized the internet’s capacity for both divine and human connection. This promising new documentary will invite us into that life, showing us how to turn our own distractions into opportunities for spiritual development.    

For more information about the film, visit CarloAcutisFilm.com. For more information about Carlo, as well as an official novena, visit https://carloacutis-en.org/.

Finally, keep an eye on our podcast, A Resounding Yes!, which will feature LA-based pop artist Stephen Becker, aka Le Concorde. Becker’s uplifting, 80s-esque song, “Corpus Christi,” explores miraculous Hosts and honors Bl. Carlo Acutis. Hear the song, complete with a brilliant, pixel-animated video by Sara Alvarez, here.

Blessed Carlo Acutis, you who have lived in the heart of Jesus, give me the grace to apply Jesus’ plan of love to everything. Amen. 

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Writer and editor Franci Revel Eckensberger holds a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from Cornell University. With years of experience as a copyeditor for academics, fellow writers, and various small businesses, she takes pride in maintaining clarity, consistency, and beauty in each client’s voice. 

Franci finds grace and insight in the Catholic Church’s rich relationship to language and invites that relationship to influence both her literary and editorial work. Saint Cecilia and Catherine of Siena continue to play a vital role in her journey to the faith as an artist. She lives in coastal Delaware with her husband.