Young readers in search of a hero are sure to find one in this dynamic, richly layered book about Carlo Acutis, the first millennial to be called a “blessed.”
Written by Sabrina Arena Ferrisi, a frequent contributor to the registry, Blessed Carlo Acutis: A Teenager’s Amazing Discovery in Heaven, tells the story of Carlo’s short life on Earth – a life propelled by the Italian teenager’s love for the Eucharist and the Church and joyfully living in today’s world filled with football games, movie-making, beloved pets, computers and friends. “Carlo’s story,” Ferrisi said in an email interview with the Register, “could be the story of any family living in the West. He lived a normal life. He had a TV, a PlayStation, a laptop. He did after school activities. He had a mother who worked full time. He wore jeans and sneakers.”
He had a deliberate, faithful life. “Always being united with Jesus, this is my life plan,” Carlo wrote when he was only 7 years old. His goal was heaven—and, judged by the merits of his life, he wanted to lead others there too.
“Carlo shows us how to experience holiness within the context of our time and within the normal activities of a teenager’s daily life. He shows us that holiness is within reach,” says the author. The plan he described as a little boy took shape as he grew older: daily Mass and Rosary, time spent reading the Bible and prayer were companions to be a good friend to his classmates, to be a good son for his parents and those in need.
From an early age, Carlo – accompanied by an adult – went out most nights to bring food to the homeless in Milan and often used his savings to buy blankets for the men and women he met. “Carlo didn’t let life just happen to him,” Ferrisi told the Register.
“He lived everything within the context of his relationship with Jesus, who was his best friend.”
And Carlo found many other friends along the way to inspire him: the Saints. St. Francis of Assisi, Ferrisi says, was his biggest role model. “Both came from wealthy families, but chose to live simply. Both were concerned about the poor, and both were passionate about the Eucharist.”
Carlo often said that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven”.
It was a highway that he wanted others to travel too. As an assistant catechist, Carlo acknowledged that many children in his parish did not understand the true meaning of the Eucharist. Looking for ways to inspire them, Carlo, a computer expert who learned to code when he was 8 years old, created a website called “Eucharistic Miracles”. Four years in the making and now translated into 17 languages, his website was the starting point for a later photo exhibition that continues to tour the world. He also developed websites on ‘Angels and Demons’, ‘Hell and Purgatory’ and ‘Marian Apparitions’, always choosing to use his technical skills to spread the faith.
“He has brought about a new new evangelization, especially regarding his spotlight on Eucharistic miracles,” Ferrisi says. That New Evangelization, and how he contributed to it, makes Carlo a great role model for our time, according to the author, and makes holiness both recognizable and attractive to young people.
It was his close affinity with others – whom the Congregation for the Causes of Saints later described as his “amiable temperament” and “open and jovial disposition” – that made him a natural leader who quickly stood up for bullied children, the excluded, and reach the marginalized.
His exuberance in living his faith drew people to him—and to Christ.
While there is much to learn from Blessed Carlo’s testimony, there is also a lesson to be learned from his efforts to overcome what he saw as his own shortcomings: for example, talking too much, eating too much, and not always concentrating while eating. pray .
Ferrisi tells how Carlo kept a notebook in which he wrote: “What is the use of a man to win a thousand battles if he is unable to overcome himself?” He knew how important it is, she says, to overcome bad habits that keep us from the greatness and happiness God wants for us. Her book examines the steps Carlo took to replace shortcomings with greater virtue.
Written Blessed Carlo Acutis: A Teenager’s Amazing Discovery in HeavenFerrisi approached it as a typical biography, starting with his birth and ending with his death at age 15 from an aggressive form of acute leukemia.
Between those milestones, Ferrisi paints a picture of Carlo’s family and school life, his many interests and his dedication and thoughts about the spiritual life. What’s not typical is that the biography extends beyond death (“Carlo’s Life After Death – The Miracle” and “Beatification”), reflecting his “Blessed” status. The author explains how and why this modern teenager—whose ordinary life was marked by extraordinary, evangelical faith—was beatified by the Catholic Church just 14 years after his death in 2006.
The book is filled with photos of Carlo, his favorite sayings, a timeline and information about the processes of beatification and canonization.
In addition to extensive research, the author’s personal interviews with Antonia Acutis, Carlo’s mother, offer special insights.
As a toddler, Carlo asked his mother so much about God that Antonia, then a non-practicing Catholic, began a theology class and a spiritual journey in which she rediscovered the beauty of her faith.
“Carlo saved me,” she said. Ferrisi says Carlo’s mother continues to be impressed by the spiritual maturity her son achieved in such a short time: ‘He was the light in his parents’ life in every way. He was able to be serious, but also had a great sense of humor.” After Carlo died, Ferrisi says, his mother immediately thought, “Who will make me laugh now?”
Writing this book was a perfect fit for Ferrisi. Born in Italy and raised in the United States, where her parents spoke Italian to her, Ferrisi has spent more than 20 years in Catholic journalism, including at the Register and spent in Rome covering the Vatican for several American Catholic newspapers and hosting her own program in Italian for Radio Maria. In later years she reported on the activities of the Holy See to the United Nations for EWTN News Nightly. A mother of four teenagers and a 21-year-old who grew up surrounded by technology, Ferrisi holds a special place in her heart for the young computer enthusiast who loved Jesus passionately.
Ferrisi dedicates her book to her husband and her children. She writes to her children: ‘Just like Carlo, never forget that we can all be saints in the 21st century. Making God the center of our lives never leaves us with less. It makes us whole.” That’s great advice for her own children and great advice for both young and older readers who live in an increasingly secular world.
Blessed Carlo, pray for us!
Blessed Carlo Acutis:
A Teenager’s Amazing Discovery in Heaven
By Sabrina Arena Ferrisi
Sacred Heroes Books, 2022
128 pages, $17.95
11 years and older
To order: sainthelden.com
The Crawford sisters are writing from Pittsburgh.
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