Saint Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis was born in London on May 3, 1991, and grew up in Milan. He is the most recent saint and the first of his generation: he died in 2006, at fifteen, of fulminant leukemia, in three days. His is the story of a normal boy. He went to a Jesuit school, played soccer and video games — he had set himself a limit of one hour a week, so as not to overdo it — and above all he wrote code. He had taught himself, from university textbooks, and he built websites. That’s exactly what he’s known for. Over two and a half years of work, he put together an online catalog of all the Eucharistic miracles recognized around the world: hundreds of entries, with photos and documents. That virtual exhibition has since been shown on all five continents, and the website is still online. Meanwhile he volunteered at a soup kitchen and looked after the homeless people in his neighborhood, buying sleeping bags with his allowance. His classmates have said that he stood up for kids who were being picked on. When he fell ill, he offered his suffering for the pope and for the Church, and said he was going straight to heaven. He is buried in Assisi, in jeans and sneakers, and tens of thousands of young people come to his tomb every year. He was declared a saint on September 7, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV. If your name is Charles, today is your name day.