21st century
Feast: October 12
A fifteen-year-old computer kid from Milan who built a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles, wore Nike sneakers to Mass, and died of leukemia three weeks after diagnosis.
Carlo Acutis was born in London, grew up in Milan, and was the kind of kid who would have been completely normal in any twenty-first century classroom — he played video games (though he limited himself to one hour a week), loved his dogs, wore jeans and sneakers, and ate at McDonald's. He also went to Mass every day from the time he was seven, made a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament, and prayed the rosary daily. His parents weren't particularly devout — Carlo pulled them toward the faith rather than the other way around. By middle school, he had taught himself web programming and built a website documenting Eucharistic miracles from around the world, complete with photographs and historical research. The site eventually became a traveling exhibition displayed in thousands of parishes across multiple continents. He also helped homeless people he encountered on Milan's streets, often giving away his own allowance and jacket. In October 2006, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. He died three weeks later, at fifteen. He offered his suffering for the Pope and for the Church. His body was found partially incorrupt when exhumed in 2019, and he was beatified in 2020 — the first millennial to be beatified. He once said, 'The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.'