Why Carlo Acutis Might Be the Saint Our Kids (and the Internet) Desperately Need

Two weeks ago, I got into a discussion about whether the internet did more harm than good.

And honestly, it’s really easy to see their point. People have lost the ability to communicate with each other. Kids are hooked from the age of 3. Men and women are thrown all sorts of online temptations.

It can seem like a spiritual wasteland. Even our generation can seem like a bit of a wasteland.

And whilst prudence and care need to be taken to be holy online, it is certainly possible. It is certainly possible to become a saint today. 

Carlo Acutis is a shining example of that very fact.

Bl. Carlo wasn’t a martyr or a monk in the desert. He didn’t create a religious order or write volumes of theology books. He was a pretty normal teenager.

Living only 15 years, he made a mark on the world. A mark that will forever be left on the Catholic Church, and shockwaves that the whole world is bracing for now.

And Bl. Carlo just might be the saint this generation of kids, and the online world, desperately need.

Let’s talk about why.

 

A Saint in Sneakers

Many saints can feel distant. They lived in worlds we can’t quite picture robes, sandals, candlelit churches, Latin chants echoing off stone walls. These elements are absolutely beautiful. But to your regular TikTok scrolling teen, also really unrelatable.

Then there’s Carlo.

He played Pokémon and Super Mario. He designed websites. He lived like a relatively normal teenager. Yet, it was his deep love for Christ that gave him the love of a saint… even in those normal activities.

For such a long time, people were intimidated by the word saint. They thought that to become a saint meant to essentially be a priest and fast all your life. For many people, it was so distant from the life that they were living that it completely escaped their minds.

Yet, Bl. Carlo shows us that God calls everyone for sainthood. Layperson and priest, ancient and modern.

He’s proof that holiness is about escaping worldliness and being sanctified within the world.

 

He Didn’t Just Use the Internet, He Evangelised It

Carlo’s most famous project was a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles around the world. He started researching and building an online collection of authenticated miracles, with explanations and photos. Why? 

Because he wanted people to share in the love that he had for God. He wanted people to know that He was truly present in the Eucharist. That God still moves. At what we would now call a ‘digital bronze age’, Carlo wanted to share with everyone possibly the intimacy of God.

In a world where scrolling often leads to despair, he offers an alternative. Instead of consuming endless hours of meaningless content, he invites us into an education about the Lord we consume. That way, we too can be consumed by the fire of divine love.

After Carlo’s life and legacy, there has been a flurry of Catholic activity online. Notably in Australia, Catholic social media bros ‘John is Catholic’ and Fr Sam French have a difference to our country. As time goes on, this new evangelisation is only going to deepen. 

And Bl. Carlo is our leader who went first.

 

Kids Can Be Holy... Right Now

It’s easy to think holiness is for those who got it all together. It can seem like the result of some sort of radical conversion, or elderly wisdom. 

But Bl. Carlo shatters this idea.

Carlo didn’t wait until he was older. Whilst he was still playing PlayStation, he chose holiness.

Of course, he wasn’t perfect and had struggles, but he was aiming towards Heaven. Many children now can get in the mentality that childhood is just about playing and all the important stuff is for later.

Yet Bl. Carlo shows us that you can become holy even through your childhood play.

For Catholic kids today, surrounded by noise, temptation, and confusion, Carlo is proof that you don’t need to reject your childhood to follow Jesus. You just need to give Him your yes.

Even if that yes is given from behind a laptop screen or in a classroom.

 

An Answer to a Digital Generation’s Restlessness

Social media and the internet can be a bit of a black hole. 

It demands more and more constantly. “Just one more reel.” It has an infinite appetite. Yet underneath all of that, it can leave us empty.

It promises connection but often delivers loneliness. It offers validation but robs us of self-worth.

Carlo didn’t fall into that. He had all the tools to become just another teen lost in the noise… but he didn’t. He knew his worth didn’t come from followers, but from the One who made him. He knew how easy it is to get addicted so he only played video games for an hour a week.

That’s the kind of message our young people need. That your life has value even if your posts don’t go viral. That you can live online without losing your soul.

 

His Life Was Short But Full

Carlo died at just 15, from a form of leukaemia. Before his death, he offered his suffering for the Pope and for the Church. His maturity in suffering, his peace even as his body failed is super impressive.

He said, “I’m happy to die because I’ve lived my life without wasting even a minute on things that don’t please God.”

Read that again. Fifteen years old and no wasted minutes. While many teens are numbing out on endless screens, Carlo is wide awake. Alive in the truest sense.

He spent his time in useful ways; learning new skills, sports, helping the homeless, mass, moderately playing video games.

Even in all of this, he took the time as a young teen to be a catechist and share his faith. I personally find it amazing that this little saint can have such a big impact on our society.

 

Why He’s the Saint We Need

- For young people: Carlo proves that you can be holy, joyful, and tech-savvy at the same time. Sainthood doesn’t start later but with your “yes”.

- For parents: He’s hope. Hope that your kids don’t have to get lost online. That they can engage with technology and still stay grounded in truth.

- For all of us: He’s a reminder that our generation is still churning our saints. You don’t have to do great feats to become a saint but have great love in your everyday life.

 

In a World Addicted to Attention, Carlo Chose Intention

We scroll to escape. He logged on to evangelise.

We post for approval. He shared truth.

We look for identity in followers. He found his identity in Christ.

And if that’s not the kind of example our world needs, I don’t know what is

 

A Unique Gift

So many saints get canonised decades, or even centuries after they died. 

It took the great John Cardinal Newman over 110 years to be canonised. For St. Amato Ronconi, it took him almost 750 years.

But with Bl. Carlo's canonisation has gone super quick, and they are canonising him in September!

Because he is going to get canonised 19 years after his death, there is a unique opportunity. His mother will be attending her son’s canonisation. But even more, I think that she will be spending the rest of her life continuing her son’s mission.

In just about a one-in-a-million case, Carlo’s mum (Antonia Salzano) has documented the life of this great saint. As the person who knew him best, she recorded his life from childhood and even up until his last moments.

As a beacon for our generation, people are given a unique gift to peer inside the life and heart of this saint so close to us.

You can get ‘My Son Carlo: Carlo Acutis Through the Eyes of His Mother’ for 10% off with code: VIRTUE today.

 

Keep growing in holiness,

God Bless,

Virtue Books and Gifts