Teen saint is inspiring youth

By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

DAVIE | Hundreds of middle schoolers filled St. David Church in Davie to learn about someone their own age who recently became a saint.

“He always put God first and himself second,” said Scofield Jean, 13, a seventh grader at St. Bartholomew School in Miramar, after a presentation at the church, on Oct. 10, 2025, about the life of St. Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who used his internet expertise to evangelize others.

Seventeen Archdiocese of Miami schools brought their students on school buses to the Davie church to hear about the life of Acutis and view a first-class relic, a strand of the saint’s hair. The students received holy cards bearing the youthful, smiling image of Acutis. The event was close to St. Carlo Acutis’ feast day, Oct. 12, the date of his death in 2006. On Oct. 11, another presentation and Mass at St. David took place for middle-schoolers from St. Bonaventure Church and the Archdiocese of Miami’s St. Carlo Acutis Virtual Academy.

“Most kids my age don’t see the Lord like he did,” Scofield said.  “It was very beautiful for me to learn about him. Sometimes he played video games like I do. Carlo discovered a better purpose; he used his computer for a good cause, showing others to be like Jesus Christ.”

Dario Mobini, director of the website WorldYouthDay.com, who brought the relic from Assisi, Italy, to St. David Church, spoke to the middle schoolers about the life of Acutis.

Acutis loved soccer and playing PlayStation, but he restricted himself to one hour a week said Mobini and explained what relics are and how someone becomes a saint.

“You, too, can become a saint, but you need to want it with your whole heart,” said Mobini. “Acutis used the internet to prove that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.”

Mobini said the apostles walked the Roman roads — the peak of technology at the time — to preach the Gospel.

“Unlike past saints, Acutis had the internet,” Mobini said noting that “it was his way of evangelizing in the digital age. Acutis was extremely tech-savvy at an early age. He learned about coding and algorithms and created a website documenting worldwide Eucharistic Miracles, titled Miracles List. It is available in 17 languages. His website remains active and continues to inspire conversions worldwide.”

Acutis was born in London in 1991, then moved to Milan, Italy, with his family. He died from acute promyelocytic leukemia in 2006. His illness lasted seven days. On his way to the hospital, he told his parents that he would not survive but he would give them many signs.

When he was young, he was cared for by nannies. One of them was an Indian man named Rajish whom Acutis converted to Catholicism.

“Rajish said that he was deeply impressed every time Acutis entered a church,” said Mobini. “The boy’s demeanor changed completely. He became silent and reverent before the tabernacle. He was profoundly devoted and uniquely receptive to faith. Seeing him made Rajish realize that happiness lies not in material things, but, in communion with God.”

Although, his parents were Catholic, they did not attend Mass. Through his intercession, the teenager brought them back to church. His mother called him her, “little savior.”

Mobini told the middle-schoolers that Acutis said, "The Eucharist is the highway to Heaven, and there are five steps to holiness."

“You must go to Mass, participate in Eucharistic adoration, go to confession, be devoted to the Virgin Mary, and perform acts of charity,” Mobini told them. He added that Acutis said you can also become a saint, but "you must desire it with all your heart."

When Acutis was 15, he was diagnosed with leukemia and told he would soon die. According to Mobini, he offered his suffering to God, saying, “I am glad I have not done anything to displease the Lord.”

Acutis reached out to the poor. He carried snacks for the hungry on the streets. Once, he gave his shoes to a migrant boy, and Acutis walked home barefoot.

The millennial saint was buried in his favorite Nike track suit, wearing Adidas shoes and Levi’s jeans. A statue of Acutis depicts him wearing a red polo shirt, blue jeans and a backpack. He is buried in Assisi, Italy, at Santa Maria Maggiore Church. St. Francis of Assisi was his favorite saint.

Miraculously, Acutis’ mother said he came to her in a dream after he died. He told her that she would never be alone. Although, she was in her 40s and had been told it was highly unlikely that she would have more children, she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, Francesca and Michele, four years after his death, Oct. 11, 2006.

Acutis was beatified following a verified miracle that occurred to a Brazilian boy who was born with a rare congenital condition called annular pancreas. The condition caused frequent vomiting and restricted him to a liquid diet. After touching a relic — a piece of clothing from Acutis — the boy was cured and he could eat solid food. Acutis was beatified in 2020, but a second miracle was needed for canonization.

A second verified miracle occurred when a young Costa Rican woman suffered a severe head injury in a bicycle accident. Her family was told she could die at any moment. Her mother made a pilgrimage to Assisi to pray at Acutis's tomb. That same day, the young woman was able to breathe on her own and made a remarkable recovery.

Following the two miracles, Pope Leo XIV canonized Acutis Sept. 7, 2025, in Rome. Acutis is known as the patron saint of the internet and is the first millennial saint.

“St. Carlo Acutis said that ‘everyone is born an original, but most die a photocopy. When you go out in the sunlight, you get a tan, but when you go before the Blessed Sacrament you become saint,’” said Mobini.