Italy Moved by Teen Who Offers Life for the Church and the Pope
Rome, Oct 24, 2007 / 03:22 pm (CNA).-
In October of 2006, Carlo Acutis was 15 years old and was fading fast
from leukemia. A native of Milan, Acutis touched family members and
friends with his witness of offering the sufferings of his illness for
the Church and the Pope. His testimony of faith, which could lead to
his beatification in the coming years, has moved Italy.
“The Eucharist: My Road to Heaven: A Biography of Carlo
Acutis” is the title of the book by Nicola Gori, a writer for
the L’Osservatore Romano, and published by Ediciones San
Pablo.
According to the publishers, Carlo “was a teen of our times,
like many others. He tried hard in school, with his friends, [and] he
loved computers. At the same time he was a great friend of Jesus
Christ, he was a daily communicant and he trusted in the Virgin Mary.
Succumbing to leukemia at the age of 15, he offered his life for the
Pope and for the Church. Those who have read about his life are moved
to profound admiration. The book was born of a desire to tell everyone
his simple and incredible human and profoundly Christian
story.”
“As a little boy, especially after his First Communion, he
never missed his daily appointment with the Holy Mass and the Rosary,
followed by a moment of Eucharistic adoration,” recalls his
mother, Antonia Acutis.
“With this intense spiritual life, Carlo has fully and
generously lived his fifteen years of life, leaving a profound impact
on those who knew him. He was an expert with computers, he read books
on computer engineering and left everyone in awe, but he put his gift
at the service of others and used it to help his friends,”
she added.
“His immense generosity made him interested in everyone: the
foreigners, the handicapped, children, beggars. To be close to Carlo
was to be close to a fountain of fresh water,” his mother
said.
Antonia recalls clearly that “shortly before his death, Carlo
offered his sufferings for the Pope and the Church. Surely the heroism
with which he faced his illness and death has convinced many that he
was truly somebody special. When the doctor that was treating him asked
him if he was suffering a lot, Carlo answered: ‘There are
people who suffer much more than me!”
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Known as 
You know, stories like this would be of such great inspiration to young boys -- if only there could be a way of making a film about it that didn't come across as saccharine or maudlin. So many movies about modern day saints seem to appeal more to girls and women. No wonder red-blooded men grow up thinking that religion is for women and are therefore visibly MIA in church.
Have you watched "St. John Bosco: Mission to Love"?
The dubbing is laughably bad, but the tone is not feminine like many of the others.
Wow, that is so touching. Thanks for sharing.
Also, Vince, I couldn't agree more. Great point. It makes me think of those vocations videos that were going around a while back (I posted them here.) I'd really love to see more media like that, showing the "tough" side of following God.
Vince, I hate to break it to you, but that's just an excuse that unmanly men use. Manly men find their own reasons for doing what's right. Or as my father once said, "Sissies don't follow Christ."
With all due respect, MissJean, I am a man who is not a sissy (ex-military/current fireman), and I know and work and minister with other men who are not sissies either. When my fellow men can't sing at Mass because the cantor is five octaves higher than the squeekiest man alive--when you never hear a sermon about how the Faith should challenge us to be vituous and strong (along with loving and gentle)--when shaking hands with many priests is like handling a limp rag --and (the point at hand) when most "religious" movies are about girls and "sensitive" men--the men I know (good, loyal, self-sacrificing and strong men in other parts of their lives) find it easy to make excuses not to pursue holiness. :)